Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Michigan Finishes Third in Close Battle at NCAA Great Lakes Regional
11/9/2018 3:48:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Site: Terre Haute, Ind. (LaVern Gibson Championship Course)
Event: NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Distance: 10 Kilometers (6.22 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 3rd place of 29 teams (109 points)
Top U-M Individual: Jack Aho, 10th (31:20.1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 10 -- NCAA Championships Selection Show (NCAA.com), 5 p.m.
• Photo Gallery | Complete Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A strong third-place finish by the No. 27 University of Michigan men's cross country team at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday (Nov. 9) may not have secured the Wolverines an automatic berth to next weekend's national championships, but it puts them in very good position to receive an at-large bid.
Led by 10th- and 11th-place finishes for Jack Aho and Isaac Harding and a breakthrough 20th-place run for true freshman John Tatter in his first 10-kilometer (6.22-mile) cross country race, the Wolverines outperformed their pre-meet No. 5 regional ranking with closely fought upsets over Big Ten rivals Purdue and Indiana, 109-121-124.
Michigan emerged from that group of tightly packed Big Ten rivals to position itself for an at-large berth to next week's NCAA Championships on Saturday (Nov. 17) in Madison, Wisconsin. The Great Lakes Region's two automatic berths went to winner Wisconsin (49 points) and runner-up Notre Dame (91).
Teams around the country, including Michigan, will learn their qualification fate when the 13 at-large bids will be officially announced at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 10) during a selection show webcast on NCAA.com.
The Wolverines will be in good position to hear their names called thanks to Aho in 10th (21:20.1), Harding in 11th (21:21.2) and Tatter in 20th (31:34.6), as well as depth that pushed them ahead of both Purdue and Indiana.
Jordy Hewitt in 33rd (31:50.3) and 35th-place Ben Hill (31:54.2) rounded out the five-man Michigan scoring lineup.
Though Purdue was stronger up front with individual winner Jaret Carpenter and eighth-place Curt Eckstein, the Wolverines had all five of their scorers through the chute by the time the fourth Boilermaker came through in 41st.
Indiana's depth was similar to Michigan's with five men through among the top 37 finishers, but the difference was that Michigan's runners at the Nos. 2 through 5 positions in the lineup were all across the line before their Hoosier counterparts.
Nearly the entire field was packed up together through much of the early going, but the Wolverines managed to position themselves well in the mass of humanity. Through two kilometers, the Wolverines came through in fifth with 229 points, just two back of Purdue. The Wolverines steadily moved up, sitting fourth by the next checkpoint at three kilometers and climbing to third by four kilometers.
The Wolverines were the second-biggest movers in the field during what turned out to be a crucial splitpoint between 3K and 4K, as their top-five runners at that point moved up a combined 114 spots. Driving that move were the field's second-biggest individual move during that split from Isaac Harding (37 spots), as well as big strides forward for Tatter (28), Hewitt (27) and Aho (24). Though those moves amounted to little more than a few meters forward in a still tightly grouped pack, it put the Wolverines in position needed to overtake and navigate through fewer runners in the later stage of the race.
Split data became inaccurate through the second half of the race, but the Wolverines continued to run strong. Feeling good, Tatter made a move near the race's three-quarters mark to move slightly ahead of the main chase pack behind then-leader Ben Kendell of Detroit, with Aho and Harding right near the razor's edge of the pack behind him.
With less than 2K to go, Tatter dropped back into the pack, but Harding and Aho continued to push strong with the lead group. They held steady with much of that group throughout the remaining duration of the race, while Tatter managed to keep that group in his sights.
Hill made a big move forward in those same late stages of the race. Running alongside both Lee and Branch -- both of whom finished in the 50s -- with less than 2K to go, Hill kicked forward through the pack and worked his way up into the 30s -- a move by Michigan's No. 5 runner that could have made the difference in close races against Purdue and Indiana.
Michigan Results
10. Jack Aho -- 31:20.1*
11. Isaac Harding -- 31:21.2*
20. John Tatter -- 31:34.6*
33. Jordy Hewitt -- 31:50.3
35. Ben Hill -- 31:54.2
52. Jacob Branch -- 32:08.6
54. Jacob Lee -- 32:12.3
* All-Region (Top 25)
Team Standings
1. Wisconsin -- 49 points
2. Notre Dame -- 91
3. MICHIGAN -- 109
4. Purdue -- 121
5. Indiana -- 124
6. Michigan State -- 173
7. Butler -- 234
8. Dayton -- 243
9. Miami (Ohio) -- 275
10. Bowling Green -- 314
11. Youngstown State -- 396
12. Cincinnati -- 403
13. Central Michigan -- 407
14. Akron -- 431
15. Marquette -- 455
16. Eastern Michigan -- 455
17. Indiana State -- 492
18. Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- 500
19. IUPUI -- 504
20. Xavier (Ohio) -- 512
21. Ohio State -- 544
22. Valparaiso -- 563
23. Detroit Mercy -- 573
24. Ohio -- 598
25. Purdue Fort Wayne -- 710
26. Wright State -- 716
27. Toledo -- 794
28. Evansville -- 896
29. Wisconsin-Green Bay -- 973
Up Next
Michigan will now await the announcement of its fate as an at-large qualifier for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be officially made Saturday (Nov. 10) during the 5 p.m. selection show on NCAA.com. Should it be selected for an at-large bid, Michigan will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, for the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 17. The meet will be broadcast live on Flotrack.org through its Flotrack Pro service.
Players Mentioned
