Weekly Release #4
10/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 8 -- at Michigan Intercollegiate (Hudsonville, Mich.), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 16 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 22 -- at EMU Classic (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 4 p.m.
This Week: Michigan Intercollegiate
The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will send 12 runners to the Michigan Intercollegiate on Friday (Oct. 8), hosted by Grand Valley State at the Rolling Hills Golf Course in Hudsonville, Mich. The men's 8,000-meter race slated to begin at 5:30 p.m..
Last Year at the Michigan Intercollegiate
U-M claimed five of the top-six spots in their first-place performance at last season's Michigan Intercollegiate. Michigan's top-five runners crossed the finish line within a 19-second time frame to tally 20 points in the victory, 49 points better than second-place Michigan State. Sophomore/freshman Andrew Ellerton (Sudbury, Ontario/Confederatio HS) paced the Wolverines with a second-place finish at the 25:06 mark.
Recapping the Great American Cross Country Festival
In just their first scored meet of the season, the Wolverines captured team title at the Great American Cross Country Festival last Friday (Oct. 1) as all five scored runners finished among the top-30 placers. Senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) led the Wolverine contingent to the finish line, claiming third place overall with a time of 24:25.89. Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) also placed among the top-15, claiming 12th with a time of 24:55.43 while graduate/senior Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Hendricken HS), freshman Victor Gras (Belmont, Mass./Belmont HS) and junior/sophomore Todd Iacovelli (Kailua, Hawaii/Punahou HS) finished within just five seconds of each other to round out the Wolverine scoring in 23rd, 26th and 28th place, respectively.
Brannen Nets Big Ten Weekly Honor
Senior captain Nate Brannen was named Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Week in recognition of his third-place performance at the Great American Cross Country Festival. The weekly distinction is the first for the Wolverines this year and the second for Brannen during his four seasons at Michigan. He shared the honor with Indiana's Sean Jefferson on Oct. 8, 2002, after pacing the Maize and Blue at the Notre Dame Invitational with a seventh-place performance.
From Athens to Ann Arbor
Junior Nick Willis returns to the U-M lineup after representing New Zealand in the 1,500-meter run at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Willis just narrowly missed advancing to the final, placing sixth in the slower of the two heats with a time of 3:41.46, just 0.19 seconds out of the final automatic spot. In the first round, Willis outkicked five opponents down the final stretch to register a time of 3:39.80, automatically qualifying for the semifinals with a third-place finish.
In the Polls
After holding the No. 6 spot in the first two polls of the 2004 season, the Wolverines moved up one position to No. 5 in the most recent MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll, released Oct. 5. In the Great Lakes region, the Wolverines hold the second spot behind top-ranked Wisconsin.
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (10/5/04)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Wisconsin (14) GL 420 1 2. Stanford W 404 2 3. Arkansas SC 384 4 4. Iona NE 383 3 5. MICHIGAN GL 358 6 6. Colorado M 336 5 7. Georgetown MA 334 7 8. North Carolina State SE 318 8 9. Notre Dame GL 296 30 10. Butler GL 276 11 11. Villanova MA 268 12 12. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W 266 10 13. Air Force M 257 13 14. BYU M 245 9 15. Arizona State W 230 14 16. Providence NE 185 17 17. Minnesota MW 172 16 18. Florida State S 161 28 19. Indiana GL 141 15 20. Oklahoma State MW 137 22 21. Colorado State M 121 20 22. Miami (Ohio) GL 113 19 William & Mary MA 113 -- 24. Ohio State GL 88 21 25. Oregon W 75 25 26. Montana State M 62 29 27. Georgia S 60 23 28. Central Michigan GL 59 18 29. Washington W 50 26 30. Iowa MW 33 26
On the Horizon
The Wolverines will return to action in the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 16) in Terre Haute, Ind. A preview of the NCAA Championships, the first of two 8,000-meter men's races is slated to begin at 12:10 p.m. EST at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
