Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Brannen First, Michigan Fourth at Great Lakes Regional
11/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Senior captain Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) captured his first collegiate victory to lead the No. 23-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team to a fourth-place team performance (111 points) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday (Nov. 13) at Eagle Crest Golf Course. Wisconsin claimed the team title and Notre Dame took second to claim the two automatic team berths in the NCAA Championships.
As Wisconsin, Indiana and Notre Dame pressed to the front straight off the gun, Brannen stayed off the initial pace and ran with the pack until the 31-team field began to string out at one mile. Indiana's Sean Jefferson made the race's first big break at the 4,000-meter mark to put a sizable distance between himself and the rest of the field while the first chase group of three runners tried to stay within striking distance. Brannen hung with the second chase pack and trailed by 100 meters when the group started moving at 7,000 meters.
Running alongside Notre Dame's Kurt Benninger, Brannen pushed his way to the front, moving around a pair of runners and catching Jefferson and Ohio State's Brian Olinger with 1,000 meters remaining. The Wolverine senior stayed among the pack for another 500 meters before Benniger pushed the pace again, pulling away from the group with Brannen on his heels. With 100 meters to go, Brannen took off and kicked down Benniger in the final stretch, finishing seven second ahead of the Fighting Irish runner and four seconds in front of Jefferson, the race's runner-up.
Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) also placed among the top 25 as the Wolverines' second man in the 16th spot with a time of 30:31.5. Michigan's pair of graduate/seniors -- Matt Mulvaney (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley HS) and Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Henricken HS) -- crossed the finish line in the 32nd and 35th spots with times of 30:56.0 and 31:05.9, respectively.
Junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) took the 35th spot in 31:10.2, while junior/sophomore Dan Murray (Rochester, Mich./Brother Rice HS) and junior/sophomore Todd Iacovelli (Kailua, Hawaii/Punahou) rounded out the Wolverine finishers with 50th- and 88nd-place performance at 31:31.4 and 32:29.3, respectively.
Only the top two teams at the regional receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, but Michigan is expected to receive an at-large bid with its excellent showing at regionals. The NCAA Championships will be held Monday, Nov. 22, in Terre Haute, Ind, and at-large selections will be announced by 7 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 14).
Top Five Teams
1. Wisconsin 47 2. Notre Dame 82 3. Butler 102 4. MICHIGAN 111 5. Indiana 116
Top 10 Individuals
1. Nate Brannen, U-M 30:10.85 2. Sean Jefferson, Indiana 30:14.30 3. Kurt Benninger, Notre Dame 30:17.30 4. Brian Olinger, Ohio State 30:18.70 5. John Jefferson, Indiana 30:24.30 6. Matt Tengenkamp, Wisconsin 30:24.65 7. Chris Solinksy, Wisconsin 30:25.10 8. Kaleb Van Ort, Notre Dame 30:25.45 9. Tim Moore, Notre Dame 30:25.45 10. Simon Bairu, Wisconsin 30:25.70
Other Michigan Individuals
16. Michael Woods 30:31.5 27. Matt Mulvaney 30:56.0 32. Jonathan Kieliszak 31:05.9 35. Andrew Bauer 31:10.2 50. Dan Murray 31:31.4 88. Todd Iacovelli 32:29.3
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
