Weekly Release #3
9/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 1 -- at Great American Cross Country Festival (Cary, N.C.), 5:15 p.m.
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.
This Week: Great American Cross Country Festival
The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will send 12 runners to the sixth annual Great American Cross Country Festival on Friday (Oct. 1), held at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Thirty cross country races are scheduled to take place over the two-day festival, with the University Men's 8,000-meter race slated to begin at 5:15 p.m. EDT on Friday.
Great American Cross Country Festival Lineup
Andrew Bauer
Nate Brannen
Victor Gras
Todd Iacovelli
Jonathan Kieliszak
Brian Les
Sean Moore
Matt Mulvaney
Dan Murray
Rondell Ruff
Seth Thibodeau
Mike Woods
Last Year at the Great American Cross Country Festival
The Wolverines placed fourth (145 points) out of 22 teams at last season's Great American Cross Country Festival -- their first scored meet of the 2003 season. Sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) set the pace for Michigan, taking fifth place in his season debut with a time of 25:54.7 while senior Tom Greenless registered his third straight top-15 finish, clocking 26:13.3 in the 15th spot.
Recapping the Spartan Invitational
Freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) set the pace for the Wolverines in his collegiate debut, claiming second place among the 128-man field at the non-scoring Spartan Invitational (Sept. 17), posting a time of 24:56. The Wolverines placed six individuals among the top-five as graduate/senior Jonathan Kieliszak (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Hendricken HS) and junior/sophomore Todd Iacovelli (Kailua, Hawaii/Punahou HS) claimed fourth and fifth, respectively, both with times of 25:01, and freshman Victor Gras (Belmont, Mass./Belmont HS), junior/sophomore Andrew Bauer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) and graduate/senior Matt Mulvaney (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley HS) rounded out the top 10 finishers.
U-M Personal Bests Set at the Spartan Invitational
RUNNER NEW PREVIOUS Jonathan Kieliszak 25:01.0 25:03.8 Todd Iacovelli 25:01.0 25:54.0 Victor Gras 25:06.0 26:50.0 Andrew Bauer 25:06.0 25:18.0 Seth Thibodeau 25:20.0 27:53.0
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
The United States Cross Country Coaches Association released its MONDO preseason national poll on Sept. 21 with Michigan debuting in the No. 6 position with 337 points. In the Great Lakes region, the Wolverines hold the second spot behind top-ranked Wisconsin.
MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (9/21/04)
Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Place 1. Wisconsin (9) GL 414 2 2. Stanford (4) W 403 1 3. Iona College NE 384 4 4. Arkansas (1) SC 378 5 5. Colorado M 363 6 6. MICHIGAN GL 337 9 7. Georgetown MA 333 7 8. North Carolina State SE 298 10 9. BYU M 291 19 10. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo W 242 13 11. Air Force M 241 8 12. Indiana GL 236 12 13. Villanova MA 235 11 14. Providence NE 230 24 15. Northern Arizona M 185 3 16. Minnesota MW 160 26 17. Arizona W 151 23 18. Oklahoma State MW 147 16 19. Central Michigan GL 131 18 20. Miami (Ohio) GL 127 14 21. Oregon W 124 21 Georgia S 104 25 22. Ohio State GL 104 15 24. Butler GL 103 -- 25. Washington W 93 22 26. Florida State S 92 29 27. Colorado State M 91 17 28. Iowa MW 80 -- 29. Notre Dame GL 66 -- 30. Arizona State W 65 --
On the Horizon
The Wolverines will continue their 2004 campaign on Friday, Oct. 8 at the Michigan Intercollegiate in Hudsonville, Mich. Hosted by Grand Valley State University, the men's 8,000-meter race is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start at Rolling Hills Golf Course.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
