Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Michigan Finishes Third at Regional, Just Misses Automatic NCAA Berth
11/15/2019 5:04:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Site: Madison, Wis. (Thomas Zimmer Championship Course)
Event: NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Distance: 10 Kilometers (6.21 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 3rd place of 29 teams (86 points)
Top U-M Individual: Isaac Harding, 9th (30:23.1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 16 -- NCAA Championships Selection Show (NCAA.com), 5 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
MADISON, Wis. -- Every point mattered at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday (Nov. 15) as the No. 16-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team finished third overall and now awaits its NCAA Championships qualifying status.
In a team race that saw the top four teams separated by just eight points -- with just two points separating second through fourth places -- the Wolverines finished third in the team standings with 86 points. The top spot in the team standings went to No. 17 Purdue with 79 points, with No. 19 Notre Dame (85 points) and No. 13 Indiana (87 points) sandwiching the Wolverines in the standings.
Finishing third, Michigan was the first team on the outside looking in at the region's two automatic qualifying berths to the NCAA Championships next Saturday (Nov. 23), which went to Purdue and Notre Dame. Based on a solid regular season and a good postseason run to date, the Wolverines are in a very strong position to pick up an at-large berth to nationals.
The field will officially be announced Saturday (Nov. 16) at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Wolverines have advanced to seven of the last eight NCAA Championships, including three times as an at-large qualifier.
Isaac Harding led four USTFCCCA all-region honorees with a ninth-place finish, covering the 10-kilometer (6.21-mile) Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in 30:23.1. He was joined in the top 25 -- the standard for all-region -- by 11th-place Devin Meyrer (30:30.6), 17th-place Jack Aho (30:45.5), and 18th-place Jordy Hewitt (30:46.4).
Rounding out the five-man scoring lineup was 31st-place Joost Plaetinck (31:04.6).
The race was the first 10K of the season for the Michigan men. Should they qualify for NCAAs, they will again run 10K next Saturday.
Just as they have all season long, the Wolverines excelled at keeping a tight-knit pack. All of Michigan's top five finished within 41.5 seconds of one another as they crossed the line. Only three other teams had a tighter time spread between their No. 1 and No. 5 runners.
In leading the Wolverines to the cusp of NCAA Championships qualifying, Harding had his best race of the season when it counted most. After establishing himself near the front of the race in a tight-knit pack, he continued to work his way up the pack as the race progressed. By the time he passed the six-kilometer split, he had moved up from 24th to seventh. He held mostly steady over the final four kilometers, coming through 8K still in seventh and dropping only two more spots when he crossed the line. The all-region honor was the second for him in as many years.
Meyrer was solid as always, putting himself in the lead pack from the start and sticking there throughout. After coming through 4K at 13th with the pack still largely intact, he moved up to 10th as the race started to string out in the next 2K. By the end of the race, he dropped only one spot in the standings.
Aho continued to round into form with a strong 17th-place finish as he earned all-region for the third time in his career. After moving up to 10th at 4K, he dropped down to 21st with just 2K left. He rallied and picked off four men in the final two kilometers, including the uphill finish.
Right next to him was Hewitt, who earned all-region for the first time since 2016. He came through 4K near the front of the big pack in eighth but dropped down to 22nd by 6K. He held steady there and moved forward, running down four men over the next four kilometers.
Plaetinck came from the farthest back to join the scoring lineup. At 4K he crossed the split point in 50th place but quickly clawed back many of those spots. He took back 13 spots by 6K to move up to 37th and gained six more over the next four kilometers.
Michigan Results
9. Isaac Harding -- 30:23.1
11. Devin Meyrer -- 30:30.6
17. Jack Aho -- 30:45.5
18. Jordy Hewitt -- 30:46.4
31. Joost Plaetinck -- 31:04.6
34. Jacob Lee -- 31:15.3
60. Nick Foster -- 31:54.7
Team Standings
1. No. 17 Purdue -- 79 points
2. No. 19 Notre Dame -- 85
3. No. 16 MICHIGAN -- 86
4. No. 13 Indiana -- 87
5. No. 9 Wisconsin -- 96
6. Michigan State -- 170
7. Butler -- 197
8. Akron -- 298
9. Ohio State -- 326
10. Eastern Michigan -- 347
11. Central Michigan -- 350
12. Miami (Ohio) -- 381
13. Marquette -- 395
14. IUPUI -- 419
15. Ohio -- 450
16. Cincinnati -- 478
17. Toledo -- 493
18. Milwaukee -- 506
19. Oakland -- 537
20. Dayton -- 559
21. Bowling Green -- 560
22. Valparaiso -- 577
23. Youngstown State -- 589
24. Wright State -- 667
25. Detroit Mercy -- 693
26. Xavier (Ohio) -- 719
27. Purdue Fort Wayne -- 785
28. Wisconsin-Green Bay -- 902
29. Evansville -- 924
Players Mentioned
