Michigan
Br. Doyle Meet of Champions
Michigan Runs Away With Br. Doyle Meet of Champions
9/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Site: New York, N.Y. (Van Cortland Park)
Meet: Br. Doyle Meet of Champions (8,000 Meters)
U-M Team Finish: 1st Place of 26 Teams (39 Points)
Top U-M Individual: Ciaran O'Lionaird, 3rd (24:46.7)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 3 -- at Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), 2 p.m.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Five Wolverine runners finished in the top 15 as the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team won the Br. Doyle Meet of Champions on Saturday morning (Sept. 20) at Van Cortland Park. The Maize and Blue finished with a team score of 39 points to finish on top of the team standings, well ahead of Big Ten rival Penn State (121) and the host school, No. 4 Iona (153).
Junior/sophomore Ciaran O'Lionaird(Cork, Ireland/De La Salle) followed his first-place showing at the Spartan Invitational with another strong race as he led U-M with a time of 24:46.7, good for third place overall. The finish was his third top-three finish in as many races this season.
Right behind O'Lionaird was sophomore Craig Forys(Howell, N.J./Colts Neck), who finished fourth with a time of 24:52.4. He was soon followed by senior/junior Sean McNamara(Elmhurst, Ill./York) in sixth (24:56.1), fifth-year senior Seth Thibodeau(Milford, Mich./Milford) in 11th (25:04.8) and junior/sophomore Peter Christmas(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) in 15th (25:09.4).
Using the same strategy that served them well at the Spartan Invitational the U-M runners ran as a pack through the first 5,000 meters before several closed on the frontrunners over the final 3,000 meters. The entire group of runners never fell below the top 25 at any point during the race. At the four-mile mark the runners were forced to deal with a steep 300-meter hill on which they managed to hold their own before finishing strong on the flats.
Other Wolverines in the top 50 of a 277-racer field included senior/junior John Black(Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Brother Rice) in 24th (25:19.2), senior Tony Nalli(Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter) in 31st (25:25.3), senior/junior Brandon Fellows(Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) in 36th (25:30.5) and freshman Bobby Aprill(Dexter, Mich./Dexter) in 48th (25:45.1).
Michigan will return to action on Friday, Oct. 3, when the team will travel to South Bend, Ind., to run in the Notre Dame Invitational. The race is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Team Standings (Top 10)
1. MICHIGAN 39 2. Penn State 121 3. Iona 153 4. Navy 197 5. Lehigh 205 6. Marist 211 Kentucky 211 8. Penn 214 9. Southern Utah 218 10. UMass-Lowell 241
Top 10 Individuals
1. Cameron Levin, Southern Utah 24:24.1 2. Mohamed Khadraoui, Iona 24:28.3 3. Ciaran O'Lionaird, U-M 24:46.7 4. Craig Forys, U-M 24:52.4 5. Chris Clark, California (Pa.) 24:55.5 6. Sean McNamara, U-M 24:56.1 7. Tim Ritchie, Boston College 24:58.2 8. Tim Hodge, Stoney Brook 24:59.5 9. Girma Segni, Marist 25:01.4 10. Andrew Hanko, Navy 25:03.6
Other Michigan Individuals
11. Seth Thibodeau 25:04.8 15. Peter Christmas 25:09.4 24. John Black 25:19.2 31. Tony Nalli 25:25.3 36. Brandon Fellows 25:30.5 48. Bobby Aprill 25:45.1 66. Michael Dobmeier 26:04.4 135. Mark Pokora 27:02.7
Contact: Joe Arancio (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
