Weekly Release #6: U-M to Host Big Ten Championships

This Week
Sunday, Nov. 2, 10:45 a.m. -- Big Ten Championships (U-M Golf Course)

The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team will host the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Nov. 2) at 10:45 a.m. at the U-M Golf Course. This will be the first time U-M has hosted the conference championships since 1998, when it finished second behind Wisconsin.

Minnesota is the defending Big Ten champion, winning its first-ever crown in 2007, snapping U-M's run of five consecutive Big Ten championships (2002-06). Michigan finished third last season led by Nicole Edwards' seventh-place finish.

Wisconsin has won the title 13 times, more than any other school; Michigan is second with eight Big Ten championships.

The top seven finishers in Sunday's race will earn All-Big Ten first team honors and the next seven finishers will earn All-Big Ten second team honors. The race length for the Big Ten Championship is 6,000 meters.

Wolverine to Watch

Alyson Kohlmeier (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's)has twice finished second at the Big Ten Championships, in 2006 at Indiana (20:35) and 2005 at Minnesota (21:02.74). This season, Kohlmeier has had a pair of top-20 performances at two highly competitive meets, 11th (17:00) at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 3 and 16th (20:47.0) at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 18.

How They Rank
The Wolverines are ranked eighth in the latest USTFCCCA Women's Division I Cross Country National Poll. U-M is one of seven schools in the Big Ten ranked in this week's top 30.

USTFCCCA Women's Division I Cross Country National Poll

Ranking	Team (first place votes)	Region/Rank	Totals	Previous
1	Washington - (12)	West-1	360	1
2	Oregon	West-2	347	2
3	Florida State	South-1	334	3
4	Princeton	Mid-Atlantic-1	324	4
5	West Virginia	Mid-Atlantic-2	311	5
6	Villanova	Mid-Atlantic-3	302	6
7	Minnesota	Midwest-1	280	7
8	Michigan	Great Lakes-2	273	8
9	Michigan State	Great Lakes-1	259	9
10	Illinois	Midwest-2	245	10
11	Georgetown	Mid-Atlantic-4	237	11
12	Texas Tech	Mountain-1	231	12
13	Arkansas	South Central-1	204	13
14	Florida	South-2	202	14
15	Arizona State	West-3	192	15
16	Wisconsin	Great Lakes-3	183	16
17	Baylor	South Central-2	173	17
18	Stanford	West-4	165	18
19	Penn State	Mid-Atlantic-5	153	19
20	Rice	South Central-3	136	20
21	Iowa	Midwest-3	112	21
22	Stony Brook	Northeast-1	107	22
23	New Mexico	Mountain-2	95	23
24	Providence	Northeast-2	69	24
25	Wake Forest	Southeast-1	55	25
26	Southern Methodist	South Central-4	53	26
27	Nebraska	Midwest-4	52	27
28	BYU	Mountain-3	43	28
29	Northern Arizona	Mountain-4	33	29
30	Duke	Southeast-2	20	30

Current Wolverines in the Big Ten Championships
Seven current Wolverine harriers have experience competing at the Big Ten Championships. Fifth-year seniors Nicole Edwards(Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey) and Alyson Kohlmeier(Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's) have each competed in three championships and have recorded top-10 finishes in each appearance. Edwards has a seventh (2007), eighth (2005) and ninth (2006), while Kohlmeier has placed second twice (2005, '06) and seventh (2004). In addition, five current Wolverines competed at last season's Big Ten Championships. Senior/junior Geena Gall(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) (20th), junior Jennifer Morgan(Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) (31st), senior/junior Kelly Sampson(Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) (35th), junior/sophomore Katie Williams(Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) (50th) and sophomore Danielle Tauro(Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) (51st).

Leader of the Pack
Fifth-year senior Nicole Edwards has run three times this fall for the Wolverines and three times has been the highest-placing Michigan harrier. Each of Edwards' three performances have also placed her in the top five overall at the respective meets, including a first-place, course-record (17:19) finish at the Detroit Titan Invitational on Sept. 6.

Tauro Continues to Run Up Front
Through four events this season, sophomore Danielle Tauro has consistently found herself near the front of the pack. Tauro has been among the top-three finishing Wolverines in each of the four races and has posted two top-five overall finishes -- a first in the Michigan Open on Aug. 29 and a fifth at the Detroit Titan Invitational on Sept. 6.

Last Time Out: EMU Classic
Junior/sophomore Rachel Severin(Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) paced the field at the EMU Classic, taking the top spot in the non-scoring meet in 18:00. Four other Wolverine harriers also recorded top-10 finishes: freshman Mary Grace Pellegrini(Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) (2nd, 18:18), sophomore/freshman Amanda McKenzie(Dexter, Mich./Chelsea) (5th, 18:27), sophomore/freshman Alysha Valencia(Lawrence, Kan./Free State) (6th, 18:55) and sophomore/freshman Alice Lehman(Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka) (8th, 19:03).

Last Time at the Big Ten Championships
Nicole Edwards led the Wolverines to a third-place finish (90 points) in the 2007 Big Ten Championships at the Ohio State Golf Course. Edwards earned All-Big Ten first team honors with a seventh-place finish in 20:17.52. Erin Webster (2004-07) finished 11th for Michigan (20:22.97), earning All-Big Ten second team honors.

Leaders and Best in Academics
The 2007 women's cross country team was recently recognizedwith the 2007-08 Leaders and Best Award for highest overall women's team grade-point average. This marked the sixth straight season the cross country team has been recognized with the Leaders and Best Award. As recipients of the award, the cross country program received a trophy and a $5,000 award, donated by former football letterman Larry Johnson.

The Mike McGuire File
Mike McGuire is in his 17th season as head coach of the Michigan women's cross country team. During his tenure, the Wolverines have won eight Big Ten titles and five NCAA Regional crowns. McGuire has been honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year on eight occasions and has been named NCAA Regional Coach of the Year five times. Under McGuire, Michigan has posted 14 top-two finishes in 16 seasons at the Big Ten Championships, 11 top-two finishes at NCAA Regionals and eight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships.

Up Next...
The Wolverines will next travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Nov. 15.

Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423