Weekly Release #4

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 15 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:40 a.m. EST/CDT
Friday, Oct. 21 -- at EMU Classic (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 30 -- at Big Ten Championships (Falcon Heights, Minn.), 11 a.m. CST

This Week: NCAA Pre-Nationals
The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will send 12 runners to the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 15) in Terre Haute, Ind. Hosted by Indiana State at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, the 8,000-meter race will use the same route as will be used in the NCAA Championships in late November. Michigan will compete in the men's 8,000-meter white race, which is slated for an 11:40 p.m. EST start, and will run four individuals in the men's 8,000-meter open race at 1:30 p.m. Thirty-four teams will compete in the white race, including No. 3 Colorado, No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 Iona.

Last Time at the NCAA Pre-Nationals
Senior captain Nate Brannen and junior Nick Willis finished among the top three individuals in the White race at last season's NCAA Pre-Nationals, pacing the Wolverines to third place in the team standings (188 points). Brannen shaved 1.4 seconds from his previous PR to clock a personal-best 23:56.8 in a runner-up showing while Willis -- in his only race of the season -- finished just a step behind in third place with a time of 23:58.5. Also scoring for the Wolverines were freshman Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS), graduate/senior Jonathan Kieliszak and junior/sophomore Rondell Ruff (Detroit, Mich./Henry Ford HS), who placed 42nd, 52nd and 89th, respectively.

Recapping the Notre Dame Invite
The Wolverines boasted another strong showing in their second scored meet of the 2005 season, claiming sixth place (195 point) in the 8,000-meter blue division race at the 50th annual Notre Dame Invitational (Sept. 3). Sophomore Mike Woods paced the U-M contingent for the second straight meet as seven Wolverines either matched or bettered his 8,000-meter personal best, and a pair of student-athletes dipped under 25 minutes for the first time.

U-M Personal Bests Set at the Notre Dame Invitational

RUNNER NEW PREVIOUS Mike Woods 24:21.0 24:47.1 Justin Switzer 24:30.0 25:00.0 Andrew Ellerton 24:42.0 24:51.5 Andrew Bauer 24:44.0 25:02.0 Rondell Ruff 25:01.0 25:12.8 John Black 25:07.0 25:16.0

Extra Ticks ...
Freshman John Black has improved his personal-best 8,000-meter time in each race this season.
Finishing as Michigan's third man at the Notre Dame Invitational (Sept. 30), senior/junior Andrew Ellerton scored in his first collegiate cross country meet.
Freshman Justin Switzer has been the top U-M freshman finisher in each 8,000-meter race this season.

In the Polls
Despite claiming sixth place at the Notre Dame Invitational (Sept. 30), the Wolverines dropped to the No. 19 spot in the most recent MONDO men's NCAA-I cross country poll, released Tuesday, Oct. 4. In the Great Lakes region, Michigan continued its trend of climbing up the rankings, moving to the No. 3 spot, behind Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

MONDO Collegiate Cross Country Poll (10/4/05)

Rank, Team (first-place votes) Region Points Prev 1. Arkansas (9) SC 473 2 2. Wisconsin (7) GL 465 1 3. Colorado M 461 3 4. BYU M 420 4 5. Stanford W 415 5 6. Arizona W 412 7 7. Notre Dame GL 382 6 8. Iona College NE 365 8 9. Texas SC 320 9 10. Cal Poly SLO W 317 11 11. UTEP M 289 13 12. Georgetown MA 276 12 13. Florida S 258 -- 14. Iowa MW 250 10 15. William & Mary SE 232 15 16. Portland W 223 22 17. Florida State S 220 18 18. Ohio State GL 206 16 19. MICHIGAN GL 175 14 20. Minnesota MW 150 20 21. Indiana GL 143 19 22. Dartmouth NE 137 -- 23. North Carolina State SE 132 17 24. Washington W 116 -- 25. American MA 105 25 26. Air Force M 99 21 27. Arizona State W 78 23 28. Kansas MW 70 24 29. Virginia MA 65 27 30. Colorado State M 38 26

On the Horizon
The Wolverines will compete in their final tune-up prior to the postseason next Friday, October 21, at the EMU Classic in Ann Arbor. The 8,000-meter race is slated for a 4 p.m. start at Buhr Park.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423