Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverines Place Third in Deepest-Ever Big Ten Championships
11/3/2019 2:24:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University Golf Club)
Event: Big Ten Championships
Distance: Six Kilometers (3.73 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 3rd of 14 teams (88 points)
Top U-M Individual: Ericka VanderLende, 6th (20:26.3)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 15 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Madison, Wis.)
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team fell short of claiming a fourth-straight team title at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (Nov. 3), but still turned in a strong performance amongst the conference's deepest-ever field.
The Wolverines finished third in the 14-team race -- one with a nation-best eight national top-25 teams -- with 88 points as All-Big Ten honorees Ericka VanderLende and Kathryn House led the way for the Wolverines.
VanderLende came through first for Michigan -- and first among all freshmen -- with a sixth-place finish for first-team honors, covering the six-kilometer (3.73-mile) Ohio State University Golf Club course in 20:26.3. House wasn't far behind in 10th in 20:33.9.
Rounding out Michigan's scoring lineup -- comprised of its top five runners -- were 19th-place Anna West (20:53.5), 26th-place Camille Davre (21:03.6) and 27th-place Emma Sloan (21:08.0).
Michigan has now finished top-three in the conference in each of the past 10 seasons, with four team titles during that stretch.
No. 9 Michigan State took the team title with 56 points, followed by No. 7 Wisconsin at 62.
As they have all season long, the main Wolverine pack grouped up well behind the frontrunning VanderLende. The rest of its top five finished within 34.1 seconds of one another as they crossed the line. Michigan's sixth and seventh runners -- 31st-place Micaela DeGenero and 43rd-place Alice Hill -- were not much farther behind as they came through the chute within another 10 seconds.
Michigan was the only team in the field with all nine of its runners finishing 50th or better, but the Wolverines managed only three top-25 performers, which ended up being the difference. Michigan State had five in the top-25, and Wisconsin had four.
The Wolverine women were in strong position at the two-kilometer split point, coming through first in the standings with 72 points to Penn State's 89. Wisconsin (100) and Michigan State (111) were third and fourth, respectively. VanderLende was running second overall at the point of a still-large pack, with seven others in the top 30.
Both the Badgers and Spartans made big moves over the next kilometer, with Wisconsin leading MSU and Michigan, 69-84-90, at the halfway point.
Thanks largely to surges by House (four spots) and West (two spots) over the next kilometer, Michigan was able to claw back some points at the 4K split, but still trailed Michigan State and Wisconsin, 63-75-85, as the Spartans made what would be a title-winning move.
The Wolverine women could not gain any more ground in the penultimate kilometer (86 points), and had significant work to do if they wanted to catch Michigan State (56) or Wisconsin (64). Ultimately, the Wolverines would drop two more points on the scoreboard in the closing 1,000 meters of the race.
VanderLende ran well in her first collegiate postseason race, earning first team All-Big Ten honors and likely Freshman of the Year plaudits as the top-finishing first-year runner. Though she dropped to seventh with a kilometer to go, she was able to rally and gain back one position in the final split.
House had arguably her best race as a collegian to take 10th overall for second team All-Big Ten honors in her cross country postseason debut. She was a steady frontrunner from the start, never dropping below 13th place at any of the six checkpoints. Her average pace per kilometer was 3.56 seconds better than when she ran this same course in late September, the second-best improvement on the team.
West had her best race of the season in 19th, and she did so with a strong finish. After coming through the halfway point in 25th, she chopped off two spots in each of the three final splits.
Davre and Sloan also had their best races of the year. Sloan was particularly impressive over the final two kilometers as she picked off 10 opponents, including nine between 5K and the finish. in the end, Sloan had run 7.33 seconds faster per kilometer than her Buckeye Preview race here in late September.
No. 6 runner DeGenero also made a big move in the final kilometer, running down 10 other competitors en route to the finish chute.
The moves by DeGenero and Sloan were the third- and fourth-best in the entire field between 5K and 6K.
Michigan will get a rematch with the Spartans and the Badgers at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals on Nov. 15, this time with berths to the NCAA Championships on the line.
Michigan Results
6. Ericka VanderLende -- 20:26.3
10. Kathryn House -- 20:33.9
19. Anna West -- 20:53.5
26. Camille Davre -- 21:03.6
27. Emma Sloan -- 21:08.0
31. Micaela DeGenero -- 21:10.7
43. Alice Hill -- 21:17.6
45. Maddy Trevisan -- 21:19.3
46. Jena Metwalli -- 21:20.1
Team Standings
1. No. 9 Michigan State -- 56 points
2. No. 7 Wisconsin -- 62 points
3. No. 8 MICHIGAN -- 88 points
4. No. 18 Penn State -- 138 points
5. No. 21 Ohio State -- 144 points
6. No. 19 Illinois -- 144 points
7. No. 25 Minnesota -- 145 points
8. No. 23 Indiana -- 177 points
9. Iowa -- 273 points
10. Nebraska -- 283 points
11. Purdue -- 302 points
12. Maryland -- 336 points
13. Northwestern -- 353 points
14. Rutgers -- 428 points
Players Mentioned
