Michigan
NCAA Pre-Nationals
Brannen, Willis Pace Michigan to Third at Pre-Nationals
10/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and junior Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) claimed the second and third individual finishes, respectively, to lead the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team to third place (188 points) in the White race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 16) at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Staying off the early pace, Brannen and Willis -- who made his season debut among the 242-man field -- ran together from the gun, hanging among the top-30 pack through the opening mile. The U-M pair began to work their way through as the field began to string out at 5,000 meters into a lead pack of three runners and a chase pack of 10. Brannen and Willis moved to the front of the chase pack with 1,000 meters remaining and pressed the leaders, who held a 10-second advantage on the rest of the field.
With Brannen taking the lead, the Wolverine tandem kicked down the leaders, moving around Illinois' Jason Bill and Florida State's Andrew Lemoncello in the final stretch. The Wolverine captain nearly caught race winner Ryan Hall of Stanford but came up just a couple seconds short, finishing with a personal-best time of 23:56.8 -- shaving 1.4 seconds from his previous best mark. Willis crossed the line just a step behind, registering a season-opening performance of 23:58.5.
Rounding out the Wolverines' five scored runners were freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS), graduate/senior Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Henricken HS) and junior/sophomore Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS), who placed 42nd, 52nd and 89th, respectively. Woods and Kieliszak posted career days as the pair crossed the finish line just six seconds apart; Woods registered a time of 24:55.4 to trim 18.3 from his previous personal best, while Kieliszak shaved 6.4 seconds from his best with a time of 25:01.0. Ruff scored the first team points of his career for the Maize and Blue as the Wolverine junior recorded a time of 25:12.8, missing his personal best by just 2.3 seconds.
The Wolverines will wrap up regular-season competition with their final tuneup prior to the postseason next Friday (Oct. 22) at the EMU Classic in Ann Arbor. The 8,000-meter race is slated for a 4 p.m. start at Buhr Park.
Top 10 Teams (White Division)
1. Stanford 77 2. Notre Dame 165 3. MICHIGAN 188 4. Brigham Young 190 5. Florida State 203 6. North Carolina State 263 7. Colorade State 272 8. Villanova 274 9. Northern Arizona 348 10. Duke 356
Top 10 Individuals (White Division)
1. Ryan Hall, Stanford 23:54.4 2. NATE BRANNEN, U-M 23:56.8 3. NICK WILLIS, U-M 23:58.5 4. Jason Bill, Illinois 23:59.4 5. Nef Araia, Stanford 24:01.0 6. Andrew Lemoncello, Florida State 24:03.9 7. Josh Rohtinsky, Brigham Young 24:06.6 8. Kurt Benniger, Notre Dame 24:07.8 9. Lucas Meyer, Yale 24:07.9 10. Jacob Gomez, Stanford 24:09.4
Other Michigan Individuals (White Division)
42. Mike Woods 24:47.1 52. Jonathan Kieliszak 24:53.6 89. Rondell Ruff 25:14.5 96. Matt Mulvaney 25:17.8 100. Todd Iacovelli 25:18.8
Michigan Individual Finishes (Men's 8K Open Division)
15. Dan Murray 25:23.9 23. Seth Thibodeau 25:32.2 34. Andrew Bauer 25:41.1 45. Sean Moore 25:56.5
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the team's performance ... "We ran great up front. Both Nate (Brannen) and Nick (Willis) ran very controlled and very well within themselves. This was really the first big race of the season for both of them. We need a little more help in the middle with 3-4-5-6. They ran okay, but we didn't execute the plan quite as we wanted. This was a little bit of a reality check for us, which is fine. We just can't have two horses pulling the wagon; we need to have five."
Senior Captain Nate Brannen
On the team's performance ... "Overall, we did about what we were expecting to do. A few guys were hurting today from all the mileage we've been running and probably didn't run as well as they wanted to, but anytime you can finish among the top three, it's a pretty good performance. We have five weeks to go until nationals, and I think we have the capability for a lot more improvement."
On the return of Nick Willis ... "I think the best thing about today's race was having Willis back to help me. Anytime you can have another block 'M' to run beside, it's just going to make it easier. We're friends, we're training partners, and we complement each other very well in races. Whenever I'm feeling bad, he's there to push me along and vice versa. I'm glad to have him back."
Junior Nick Willis
On his first race of the 2004 season ... "It went really well. I think it set up just as I would want for my first race back; there was a good, solid pack and a really steady pace. Nobody really made a move until the end; had it gone earlier, I might not have had enough races under my belt for a big move down the stretch. I just settled in until the last 1,000 meters, and we were able to catch a couple at the end to move into second and third. I'm a little disappointed in our team finish, but that's something we can work on. There's not really any pressure on us until nationals."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
