Weekly Release #10
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Monday, Nov. 22 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:00 a.m.
This Week: NCAA Championships...
The Wolverines travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 22 at 11:00 a.m. EDT at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
Michigan finished fourth in the nation last year. U-M's best national finish was second in 1994. The only Wolverine to be crowned Individual NCAA Champion was Katie McGregor in 1998.
Michigan will run seven harriers in the championship, led by junior Rebecca Walter. Joining Walter will be a combination of freshman Lisa Canty, junior/sophomore Katie Erdman, senior/junior Theresa Feldkamp, junior/sophomore Arianne Field, freshman Alyson Kohlmeier, fifth-year senior Andrea Parker and senior Sarah Pizzo.
Walter won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and finished second at the Big Ten Championships, leading U-M in five scoring events this season. Kohlmeier finished third at regionals and seventh at the Big Ten Championships and has competed in just five races this season. Parker took eighth at regionals and finished ninth at Big Tens, giving her four top-10 finishes in 2004.
Feldkamp took 13th at regionals and 16th at Big Tens, while Erdman placed 15th at regionals and 11th at Big Tens. Field crossed 18th at regionals and 23rd at Big Tens, while Canty took 26th at regionals and 39th at Big Tens, competing only twice for Michigan this season. Pizzo has two top-five finishes this season, but was held out of the Big Ten Championship and NCAA Regional.
U-M has competed on the championship course at Terre Haute twice already this season at the Indiana State Invitational and the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Walter, Pizzo and Feldkamp place second, third and seventh respectively at the Indiana State Invitational, while at pre-nationals, Walter took fourth and Parker placed 18th.
In 2003, Walter led Michigan at nationals with an 18th-place finish, while Pizzo placed 52nd and Erdman took 120th. Michigan finished fourth out of 31 teams.
Thirty-one teams are selected to participate in the championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large. Thirty-eight individuals, the first four from each region whose teams did not advance to the championships race, and two additional qualifiers, were selected to participate in each championship. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 in their region.
The following teams automatically qualified for the championships by winning their regional (national ranking):
Arizona State (7) C West Region
Arkansas (18) C South Central Region
Brigham Young (11) C Mountain Region
Colorado (3) C Mountain Region
Columbia University (19) - Northeast
Duke (5) C Southeast Region
Georgia (22) C South Region
Illinois (16) C Midwest Region
Michigan (4) C Great Lakes Region
Missouri (9) C Midwest Region
North Carolina State (10) C Southeast Region
Notre Dame (6) C Great Lakes Region
Providence (2) C Northeast Region
Southern Methodist (12) C South Central
Stanford (1) C West Region
Tennessee (15) - South Region
Villanova (14) C Mid-Atlantic Region
West Virginia (28) C Mid-Atlantic Region
The following teams earned at-large bids to the championship based on season performance and out of region wins:
Baylor (rv)
Butler (30)
UCLA (rv)
UC Santa Barbara (17)
Colorado State (23)
Idaho (rv)
Indiana (27)
Marquette (rv)
Michigan State (13)
North Carolina (8)
Princeton (20)
Wake Forest (21)
Washington (25)
At NCAA Pre-Nationals, Michigan finished second in the White Division behind Colorado, while Walter placed fourth.
NCAA Pre-Nationals Results (White Division)
1. Colorado 94 2. MICHIGAN 109 3. Arizona State 187 4. North Carolina State 207 5. Michigan State 218
Individual Finishers (White Division)
1. Renee Metevier, Colorado 20:03.6 2. Ida Nilsson, North Arizona 20:16.9 3. Amy Hastings, Arizona State 20:18.5 4. REBECCA WALTER, U-M 20:20.1 5. Marina Muncan, Villanova 20:21.7 6. Dannette Doetzel, Michigan State 20:25.6 7. Cassie Hunt, Illinois 20:28.7 8. Christine Bolf, Colorado 20:35.7 9. Julia Lucas, N.C. State 20:44.1 10. Lindsey Scherf, Harvard 20:50.1
In the Blue Division, Stanford placed first and posted three runners in the top 10, led by Alicia Craig's first-place finish.
NCAA Pre-Nationals Results (Blue Division)
1. Stanford 49 2. Notre Dame 111 3. North Carolina 129 4. Missouri 174 5. BYU 192
Individual Finishers (Blue Division)
1. Alicia Craig, Stanford 20:20 2. Carol Henry, North Carolina 20:23 3. Molly Huddle, Notre Dame 20:29 4. Laura Turner, BYU 20:30 5. Erin Donohue, North Carolina 20:36 6. Anita Siraki, Stanford 20:42 7. Kate Gorry, Rice 20:47 8. Katy Trotter, Stanford 20:48 9. Nicole Lee, Georgetown 20:50 10. Cack Ferrell, Princeton 20:52
Regional Title ...
Michigan won its fourth NCAA regional title last weekend, winning with 40 points over regionally ranked teams like Notre Dame, Michigan State and Indiana. Junior Rebecca Walter captured U-M's fourth individual regional crown and the first since 1998, finishing in 20:01.4, while freshman Alyson Kohlmeier placed third just five seconds back of Walter. Five Wolverines placed in the top 15 including 5th/senior Andrea Parker (eighth), senior/junior Theresa Feldkamp (13th) and sophomore Katie Erdman (15th).
Big Ten Coach of the Year ...
Head coach Mike McGuire was voted the Big Ten Coach of the Year by his fellow conference coaches for leading Michigan to its third-straight Big Ten title. McGuire has earned the honor six times in his career, including the last three seasons.
Maize and Blue Earn Big Ten Championship Three-Peat ...
Michigan won its third straight Big Ten title on October 31, as five U-M harriers place in the top-16, led by junior Rebecca Walter's second-place finish (20:53). U-M finished with 45 points, 40 better than second-place Michigan State. Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier took seventh place in 21:19, while senior Andrea Parker placed ninth (21:30) and sophomore Katie Erdman took 11th (21:38). Michigan has won the last three cross country titles (2002, 2003, 2004) and the program has six Big Ten titles overall.
Fourth in the Nation ...
The Wolverines are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll with 348 points. Only Stanford, Providence and Colorado are ahead of the Wolverines in the polls.
Big Ten Sportsman - Rebecca Walter ...
Rebecca Walter was honored with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award after the Big Ten Championship for her ethical behavior and good sportsmanship during competition.
Leaders and Best in Academics ...
The 2003 Michigan women's cross country team earned the 2003-04 Leaders and Best Award, given to the team with the highest grade point average. It was the second time in a row that coach McGuire's squad received the award, a $20,000 monetary award donated by football letterman Larry Johnson. Women's cross country is only the second team to win the award more than once.
Rebecca Walter Profiled by the Big Ten ...
Junior Rebecca Walter is featured on the Big Ten web site (bigten.org) on the women's cross country page this season. A Q&A with the defending Big Ten champion touches on her remarkable 2003 season, her thoughts on the sport and her interests other than running.
Walter - Can't Stop Her ...
Junior Rebecca Walter has been U-M's top finisher in 14 scoring meets in her career so far, leading the two-time Big Ten champions in four events in 2002, five events in 2003 and five events so far this season. In Walter's career, she has competed in 19 scoring events for U-M, leading all U-M harriers in 72 percent of them.
Kohlmeier Freshman Sensation ...
Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier ran sparingly in the beginning of the season but has posted back-to-back best finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals, finishing seventh and third respectively and earning All-Big Ten first team honors in her debut season. Kohlmeier also placed 21st at NCAA Pre-Nationals, giving her some exposure to the competition in the current championship field.
Conquering Champions ...
The Wolverines return 16 letterwinners from last year's roster, including Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter, All-Big Ten first teamer Sarah Pizzo and All-Big Ten second teamer Katie Erdman.
Walter Walks on Water ...
2003 Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter led the Maize and Blue to the finish line in four meets last season, including all three postseason races. Walter placed first at the Big Ten Championhsips, third at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 18th at the NCAA Championships. The 2002 Big Ten Freshman of Year, Walter led the Wolverines to the finish line in each of U-M's final three races in 2002, including a 51st-place showing at the NCAA Championships. At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, Walter helped the Wolverines to the conference crown as she crossed the line in fifth place, earning All-Big Ten first team honors.
2004 Team Captains Named ...
Head coach Mike McGuire has named junior Rebecca Walter and junior/sophomore Katie Erdman team captains for the 2004 season. Erdman earned All-Big Ten second team honors with a 14th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, while placing 24th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 120th at the NCAA Championships.
Preseason Number Seven ...
Michigan ranked seventh in the FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll with 316 points. Stanford is No. 1 with ten first place votes, while Providence ranks No. 2 with three first place votes. Brigham Young, Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Colorado round out the top six.
The Mike McGuire File ...
Mike McGuire is in his 13th season as a head coach for the Michigan women's cross country team. McGuire led the Wolverines to their fifth Big Ten Conference team title in 2003 while earning his fifth Big Ten Coach of the Year award. In his first four seasons, McGuire won three consecutive Big Ten and NCAA District IV team championships, and the Wolverines finished as high as second (1994) at the NCAA Championships. McGuire's Michigan teams have 11 top-two finishes in 12 seasons at the Big Ten Championships and nine top-two finishes at the regional championships, winning the regional meet in 1993, '94 and '95. His teams have finished among the nation's top 10 six times at the NCAA Championships. McGuire has helped 49 cross country and track athletes earn All-American honors and has coached five Big Ten individual champions and five Big Ten freshmen of the year.
Michigan Cross Country Olympian ...
Former Wolverine cross country standout Courtney Babcock (1992, '94, '96) represented Canada in the 5,000- and 1,500-meter runs at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Babcock was a seven-time All-American in track and cross country at Michigan and was a member of U-M's 1994 NCAA champion distance medley relay team. She still holds the U-M school record for the indoor mile (4:39.31) set in 1994.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
