2016 Season to Commence with Michigan Open
8/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Aug. 31, 2016
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THIS WEEK
Friday, Sept. 2 -- at Michigan Open (Dexter, Mich.), 10:30 a.m.
The 18th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will begin its 2016 season on Friday (Sept. 2), hosting the Michigan Open at Hudson Mills Meteropark in Dexter, Michigan. The non-scoring race will be contested at 5,000 meters and will begin at 10:30 a.m. following the women's race, which is set for a 10 a.m. gun.
For fans, admission to Hudson Mills Metropark is $10; price of parking included. The site opens at 7 a.m. daily. [ More Information ]
Top Returning Times at 5,000 meters
• Connor Mora -- 15:02.5
• Aaron Baumgarten -- 15:04.3
• Ben Flanagan -- 15:05.7
• Kyle Kroon -- 15:10.1
• Micah Beller -- 15:13.4
• Keenan Rebera -- 15:17.5
• Colin Martin -- 15:18.2
THINGS TO KNOW
• After being run for 10 straight seasons from 2005 to 2014, the Michigan Open was not competed last fall, as the nearby squad from Eastern Michigan began the 2015 season with the EMU Celebration. This year, the Open is back, and the Wolverines are ready to run on their home course in Dexter.
• The Michigan Open will provide an opportunity for many of U-M's younger runners to gain valuable race experience. Several Wolverines will make their collegiate debut in the 5K race, as U-M plans to race 14 runners in uniform and 10 more who will compete unattached.
• Under head coach Kevin Sullivan, U-M begins its quest to defend the Big Ten championship it won last fall, the program's first since 1998.
• U-M opened this week ranked third in the regional poll (Great Lakes) and 18th nationally in the coaches' poll.
• The Wolverines return 14 athletes from the 2015 roster, including five members of the Big Ten championship squad.
• After graduating six seniors last fall, the Maize and Blue welcome a class of six true freshmen to the roster this fall, while three graduate transfers join the U-M ranks from Ivy League institutions (Connor Herr; Cornell, Will Sheeran and Ned Willig; Brown) to help bolster the depth of the roster.
• U-M spent the last eight-plus days at the U-M Biostation in Pellston, Michigan, preparing the annual tradition of preseason camp up north.
• The Wolverines are coming off an explosive 2015 season, one that saw them complete the Big Ten-NCAA Great Lakes Regional sweep for the first time since 2003, and the team marked its first season with both those titles and a top-10 NCAA finish (ninth) since 1997.
A LOOK AHEAD
Saturday, Sept. 10 -- at Indiana State Sycamore Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.)
Friday, Sept. 16 -- at Spartan Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
TWEET OF THE WEEK
The Reigning B1G Champs are ready for Year 3 of the @ksully330 Era
Season Preview » https://t.co/DMc30TDek4 pic.twitter.com/5foe54Ijxg-- Michigan Track&Field (@UMichTrack) August 30, 2016
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
