Toeing the Line #7: at NCAA Great Lakes Regional
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 12, 2015
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THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 13 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Madison, Wis.), Noon CST
• Event Information | Course Map 
| Course Tour (Video) | Box Draws | Live Results | Live Blog
The seventh-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team are ready to continue the 2015 postseason with Friday's (Nov. 13) NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The 6,000-meter race will be run at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
Michigan's lineup will include: Rachel Barrett, Erin Finn, Sophie Linn, Shannon Osika, Anna Pasternak, Jaimie Phelan and Gina Sereno. The first alternate for U-M will be Claire Borchers.
The NCAA Great Lakes Region contains three top-18-ranked programs, including conference foe No. 18 Michigan State. All in all, the race will include 105 athletes competing from all 15 programs in the region.
The Thomas Zimmer Championship Course is a world-class course offering challenging and exciting terrain for runners and elevated viewing for spectators.
Located adjacent to University Ridge Golf Course, UW's cross country course features an exterior loop of approximately 2,500 meters and an interior loop of 1,000 meters. Both loops cover the area's rolling hills and valleys, while the outside loop also runs through a section of dense woods.
[ More on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course ]
THINGS TO KNOW
• U-M posted a 79-1 mark this fall, including a 14-0 mark against the Great Lakes Region. That impressive record has yielded the No. 7 overall ranking for the Maize and Blue in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll and a runner-up team finish at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 1).
• Under head coach Mike McGuire, U-M has placed first or second in the conference in 19 of 24 seasons.
• U-M has been running at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet since 1982, and has collected 10 regional titles overall. A team victory on Friday would give McGuire his ninth career title, and the program's first since 2013.
• Under McGuire, U-M has placed among the top three in the region in 21 of 23 years. That placing on Friday would guarantee Michigan's team bid to the 2015 NCAA Championships later this month (Nov. 21).
• After claiming the individual title at the Big Ten Championships (Nov. 1) in Chicago, junior All-American Erin Finn is once again the Big Ten Women's Athlete of the Year (2013, 2015). She is one of five athletes in conference history to earn multiple Big Ten titles and is the first since 1999-2000 to do so.
• Finn also became the first multiple-title-winning individual in program history since Katie McGregor (1996-99). Her second career individual conference title gives Michigan six individuals with eight titles in total.
• Finn currently sits at No. 4 in the country in the latest edition of Saucony's Flo50 rankings.
• Michigan returns three athletes from its 2014 NCAA Great Lakes Regional lineup, but five with regional experience in their careers.
Top Returning Times from the 2014 NCAA Great Lakes Regional
| Athlete | Time |
| Erin Finn | 20:09* |
| Shannon Osika | 20:25* |
| Taylor Manett | 20:36* |
| Anna Pasternak | 21:03 |
| Gina Sereno | 21:03 |
| Jaimie Phelan | 21:04 |
* = Time is from 2013 NCAA Great Lakes Regional; did not compete in 2014
TWEET OF THE WEEK
ICYMI: the premier of WOLV TV's 'Wolverine Women' is online!
@DevonHoppe & @bennyflanagan join in at 13:20.
WATCH: https://t.co/YPFt4B1c7j
-- Michigan Track&Field (@umichtrack) November 11, 2015
UP NEXT
Saturday, Nov. 21 -- at NCAA Championships (Louisville, Ky.), 1 p.m.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
