Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Brannen, Michigan Take Fifth at Big Ten Championships
10/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) claimed fifth place to lead the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team to a fifth-place team performance (125 points) at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Oct. 31) at Iowa's Ashton Cross Country Course. Wisconsin captured the team title for the fifth consecutive year with 23 points, while only 21 points separated the Wolverines from second-place Indiana.
Wisconsin took the lead straight off the gun, sending three runners to the front, where they would remain throughout the race. Nearly the entire field stayed on the initial pace early in the race as the field ran in a tight bunch through the opening 3,000 meters. Brannen ran among the leaders within the top five, clocking an opening 3,000-meter split of 9:00.
At the 5,000-meter mark, Wisconsin's lead group accelerated the pace with Minnesota's Andrew Carlson in tow, building a slight gap on Brannen as they came through on the second loop. Forced to run the last 3,000 meters alone, the Wolverine senior could not make up the necessary ground.
Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) also placed among the top 25 as the Wolverines' second man in the 23rd spot with a time of 24:54. Michigan's pair of graduate/seniors -- Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Henricken HS) and Matt Mulvaney (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley HS) -- crossed the finish line together in the 30th and 31st spots with times of 25:05 and 25:06, respectively.
Junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS), who claimed Big Ten weekly honors last week after pacing the Wolverines at the EMU Classic, rounded out the Wolverine scoring in 36th place with a time of 25:11, just five second off his personal-best mark.
After a two-week hiatus, the Wolverines will continue postseason competition at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Ypsilanti, Mich. The men's 10,000-meter race is slated for an 11 a.m. start.
Team Standings
1. Wisconsin 23 2. Indiana 104 3. Iowa 110 4. Minnesota 124 5. MICHIGAN 125 6. Ohio State 127 7. Michigan State 158 8. Illinois 162 9. Penn State 206 10. Purdue 312
Top 14 Individuals
(All-Big Ten: Top seven finishers are first team, next seven are second team)
1. Simon Bairu, Wisconsin 23:45 2. Chris Solinksy, Wisconsin 23:55 3. Matt Tegenkamp, Wisconsin 23:57 4. Andrew Carlson, Minnesota 24:00 5. Nate Brannen, U-M 24:16 6. Josh Spiker, Wisconsin 24:18 7. Brian Olinger, Ohio State 24:21 8. Sean Jefferson, Indiana 24:30 9. John Jefferson, Indiana 24:31 10. Ryan Malmin, Minnesota 24:33 11. Bobby Lockhart, Wisconsin 24:34 12. Steve Sherer, MSU 24:34 13. Tim Nelson, Wisconsin 24:36 14. Micah VanDenend, Iowa 24:39
Other Michigan Individuals
23. Michael Woods 24:54 30. Jonathon Kieliszak 25:05 31. Matt Mulvaney 25:06 36. Andrew Bauer 25:11 46. Dan Murray 25:30 49. Todd Iacovelli 25:34 53. Rondell Ruff 25:38 58. Sean Moore 25:43
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Ron Warhurst
On the team's performance ... "We gave it a shot. There were some surprises -- Nate (Brannen) got a stitch and he didn't handle the surges really well. He got caught in no-man's land, but he did a tremendous job. He's a leader and a tremendous captain. It's not a one-man team -- it takes five guys to score. I thought Mike Woods ran well and so did Jon Kieliszak and Matt Mulvany. Andrew Bauer was a nice surprise for our fifth man. He moved well at the end. Wisconsin was way up there and then it was anyone's game."
Senior Captain Nate Brannen
On his fifth-place finish ... "I'm a little disappointed. It's my senior year and I really wanted to come out with the win. Wisconsin made a break right around 3K and had three runners up there. I stayed with them for another 1,000 meters, but then I got stuck between that lead group of two Wisconsin guys and a Minnesota guy -- who were 50 meters ahead of me -- and another pack that was 50 meters behind me. I got stuck in no-man's land and started getting a cramp, and mentally, it wasn't really good."
On the course .. "It's actually pretty similar to the course that we'll run at nationals. It's pretty flat with a couple small hills and really wide open. I liked it. The last 400 meters was a straight shot to the finish line, making it possible to see how many guys were around me entering the final stretch."
N O T E S
With his finish in the top seven, senior Nate Brannen earned All-Big Ten first team honors for the third straight season. Brannen finished third in 2002 and second in 2003 to earn his first two conference honors. Brannen is also a two-time NCAA cross country All-American.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
