Michigan
John McNichols Invitational
Wolverines Set for First Road Test at Indiana State
9/18/2019 12:21:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
» The No. 4 University of Michigan women's cross country team will make its first trip to Indiana State -- site of the 2019 NCAA Championships -- on Saturday for the John McNichols Invitational.
» The Wolverine women will race a five-kilometer (3.11-mile) course against the likes of top-10 opponents Washington, Stanford, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Sept. 21 -- at Indiana State John McNichols Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.), 9:45 a.m.
TV: FloTrack Pro | Live Results | Live Video
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The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team will make its first of two regular-season visits to the site of the NCAA Championships this Saturday (Sept. 21) as it competes against top-tier opponents at the Indiana State John McNichols Invitational.
Michigan Open winner Ericka VanderLende leads one of the country's deepest rosters into Saturday's five-kilometer (3.11-mile) competition on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at 9:45 a.m.
The true freshman VanderLende -- the top-ranked freshman in the country by FloTrack -- is part of a 12-woman delegation set to get an early-season test against some of the top squads in the NCAA. Also in the field from the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll are No. 3 Washington, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 8 Stanford and No. 9 Wisconsin, as well as No. 28 Indiana and vote-receiving Northern Arizona.
Joining VanderLende are 2018 All-American Camille Davre, 2017 All-American Anna West, two-time NCAA top-100 finisher Maddy Trevisan and indoor track and field All-American Alice Hill. Also in the lineup are Micaela DeGenero, Kathryn House, Kayla Keane, Jena Metwalli, Raquel Powers, Faith Reynolds and Emma Sloan.
Several other top contributors, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year Anne Forsyth and NCAA top-100 finisher Jessi Larson, are expected to make their debuts later this season.
Later in the season, the women will transition to running the six-kilometer (3.73-mile) distance contested during the Big Ten and NCAA postseason.
Among those 6K races later this season are potentially two more in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Pre-National Invitational will be held on this course on Oct. 19, and the Wolverines hope to qualify for an 18th straight NCAA Championships and return again on Nov. 23.
Things to Know
• Led by reigning Great Lakes Region and Big Ten Coach of the Year Mike McGuire, Michigan remained No. 4 in the first regular-season National Coaches' Poll and moved up to No. 1 in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Rankings announced Tuesday (Sept. 17) and Monday (Sept. 16), respectively, by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
• The Wolverines have claimed six of the last seven regional titles and are in the midst of the third-longest active NCAA Championships qualifying streak in the nation at 17 years running.
• With a fourth-straight NCAA Great Lakes Regional title last fall, Michigan now owns the longest win streak in region history. The top two teams in the region automatically will advance to the NCAA Championships.
• This marks the 17th consecutive year Michigan has earned a top-30 national rank to start the season. Of those 17 years, Michigan has gone on to outperform their preseason rank at the NCAA Championships in 10 of those seasons.
• In addition to its No. 4 rank in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, the Wolverines also checked in at No. 5 in Flotrack's preseason rankings and at No. 8 per The Stride Report.
• Ericka VanderLende made a significant impression in her collegiate debut, winning the Michigan Open in a performance only surpassed in meet history by Erin Finn. VanderLende's 16:57.3 run over five kilometers earned her Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week honors, becoming the first true freshman in program history to earn the award. Last week, she checked in at No. 41 overall in FloTrack's Top-255 Individuals ranking, better than any other first-year runner. The Wolverines had two of the top three freshman at last year's NCAA meet in Camille Davre (No. 1) and Anne Forsyth (No. 2).
• VanderLende is not alone on the FloTrack Top-255 Individuals rankings; eight Wolverines appear on the list, tied for third-most in the country behind Arkansas and Boise State with nine each. Joining VanderLende in the top-50 are No. 37 Davre, No. 43 Anna West and No. 49 Forsyth, putting Michigan behind only Arkansas for top-50 runners.
• West clocked 17:19.5 for second behind VanderLende at the Michigan Open, a 35-second improvement over her time from a year ago. After finishing top-100 at NCAAs a year ago, her 2019 debut might be an early indication of a return to the All-American form she showed at Baylor two years ago.
• After missing the 2018 campaign with injury, team captain Maddy Trevisan is back and ready to run. Trevisan was third in the opener at 17:23.3, more than five seconds faster than her last run at Hudson Mills in 2017. Her reintegration into the lineup could be a significant boon for the Wolverines, particularly if she recaptures her freshman-year magic when she was 46th at NCAAs. That run came in Terre Haute, the site of this November's national meet.
• Numerous injuries have prevented redshirt senior Kayla Keane from suiting up in the Block M during the cross country season for years, with her last in-uniform appearance on the trails coming in September 2015. That made her 17:37.8 run for fourth-place even more special. Coincidentally, her time was nearly identical to the 17:39.2 performance from her collegiate debut at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic in 2015.
The Course
Name: LaVern Gibson Championship Course
Distance: Five Kilometers (3.11 miles)
Maximum Elevation: 620 feet
Minimum Elevation: 565 feet
A Look Ahead
• Saturday, Sept. 28 -- at Ohio State Big Ten Preview (Columbus, Ohio)
• Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at Pre-National Invitational (Terre Haute, Ind.)
Players Mentioned
