Michigan
NCAA Championships
Edwards Leads Michigan to Third at NCAA Championships
11/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Site: Terre Haute, Ind. (LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course)
Meet: NCAA Championships (6,000 meters)
U-M Finish: 3rd Place of 31 Teams (233)
Top U-M Individual: Nicole Edwards, 12th (21:07.2)
Next Meet: Season Completed
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Behind the All-America performance of junior/sophomore Nicole Edwards (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey), the University of Michigan women's cross country team earned a third-place team finish at the NCAA Championships on Monday (Nov. 20) at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The third-place finish is the second highest in team history, as the 1994 squad finished in second-place. Stanford won the team championship with 195 points.
Edwards earned All-America honors for the first time in her career, leading the No. 10 ranked Wolverines across the finish line in 12th place with a time of 21:07.2. She improved 60 spots from her placing last season at the NCAA meet.
Holding a tight pack, three other Michigan runners were able to finish within just seven seconds of each other to help the Wolverines finish as one of the top teams. Junior Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's) finished 49th with a mark of 21:38.2, with senior/junior Erin Webster (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child) right behind in 51st (21:40.1). Fifth-year senior Arianne Field (Kalamazoo, Mich./Hackett) ended her collegiate career with a 61st place finish, crossing the line in 21:44.9. Field's previous best finish at NCAA's was a 103rd place finish in 2004.
Michigan's top four ran strong in the beginning of the race before slightly fading toward the end. Erin Webster was among the top runners for the majority of the race, but began to fall back in the final 1,500 meters. Arianne Field was able to stay in the 50-60 place range for the entire race, while Alyson Kohlmeier was able to move up a few spots over the last half of the race. Nicole Edwards was around 20th place halfway through the course before making a huge push to finish 12th.
Rounding out U-M's scoring was junior/sophomore Claire Otwell (Traverse City, Mich./Central), who made her NCAA championship debut by finishing 122nd with a time of 22:19.2.
The third-place performance was Michigan's fourth straight top-10 finish at the NCAA's and their ninth overall under head coach Mike McGuire in his 15-year tenure at U-M.
Top 10 Teams
1. Stanford 195 2. Colorado 223 3. MICHIGAN 233 4. Wisconsin 262 5. Arkansas 286 6. Texas Tech 300 7. Providence 301 8. Illinois 304 9. UC Santa Barbara 318 10. Duke 320
Top 10 Individuals
1. Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech 20:11.1 2. Jenny Barringer, Colorado 20:37.9 3. Lindsay Donaldson, Yale 20:42.7 4. Arianna Lambie, Stanford 20:43.8 5. Julia Lucas, N.C. State 20:47.1 6. Kassi Andersen, BYU 20:53.8 7. Aine Hoban, Providence 21:04.3 8. Diane Nukuri, Iowa 21:05.7 9. Irene Kimaiyo, Texas Tech 21:06.3 10. Alissa McKaig, Michigan State 21:06.7
Michigan Individuals
12. Nicole Edwards 21:07.2 49. Alyson Kohlmeier 21:38.2 51. Erin Webster 21:40.1 61. Arianne Field 21:44.9 125. Claire Otwell 22:19.2 191. Laura Glynn 22:55.4 208. Eileen Creutz 23:18.8
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Cross Country Coach Mike McGuire
On today's race ... "We got a really outstanding race by Nicole (Edwards) and Arianne (Field). I'm very happy for the team, but I'm also very happy for Arianne, being a fifth-year senior and our captain. She was our leader all year. Today was a great way to close out a career."
On the entire 2006 season ... "I thought we battled hard all year. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be on the podium after NCAAs as a top four team and to win the Big Tens. Mission accomplished on both of those things. The conference was better than it has ever been and we were equal to the challenge."
Contact: Tim Trunzo (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
