Michigan
Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational
Michigan Men Ready for National-Caliber Field at Wisconsin
10/12/2021 1:45:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 15 -- at Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational (Madison, Wis.)
"B" Race - 11:40 a.m. CDT | Championship Race - 1 p.m. CDT
TV: B1G+ | Live Results | Live Video
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Two weeks after a statement performance at Notre Dame, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will once again line up many of the nation's top squads Friday (Oct. 15) at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.
In what will be the de facto conclusion to the Wolverines' regular season ahead of Halloween weekend's Big Ten Championships, the team will be among 17 teams ranked top-30 in the latest edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coaches' Poll, as well as seven more in the "also receiving votes" category.
Those teams and more will battle at 1 p.m. CDT on the eight-kilometer (4.97-mile) circuit around the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course for head-to-head victories that will play a pivotal role in qualification to November's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
Seven runners are allowed per team, which for the Wolverines could include reigning Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year Devin Meyrer, Zach Stewart, Joost Plaetinck, Oli Raimond, Nick Foster, track All-American Christian Hubaker, Colton Yesney, track All-Americans Tom Brady and Tom Dodd, John Florence, James Gedris, Cole Johnson, Will Landowne, Joe Meyers, Thomas Shilgalis and Jack Spamer.
Whatever the lineup, the Wolverines will look to recapture the depth and pack-running that resulted in a runner-up finish in a field at Notre Dame last time out that featured 13 other nationally ranked teams. In that race, only 27 seconds separated top runner Meyrer from seventh runner Yesney, all of whom finished top-50 individually. Only one other team had seven runners in the top-100.
The Wolverines will enter as the 10th-highest ranked team in the field, behind No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 9 Oregon, No. 10 Furman, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Tulsa, No. 13 Washington and No. 14 Iona.
They also will have to hold at bay the likes of No. 16 Butler, No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 21 Southern Utah, No. 26 Portland, No. 27 Syracuse, No. 29 Utah State, No. 30 Air Force and vote-receivers Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Harvard, Boise State, NC State and UMass Lowell.
The competition also will serve as another mini-preview of both the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Michigan will be joined by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin -- more than half the conference -- on the Big Ten front. Seven of the top eight teams in the latest regional rankings are in the field as well, including No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Butler, No. 5 Purdue, No. 6 Michigan State, No. 7 Indiana and No. 8 Eastern Michigan.
Fans can follow the race as it happens via live results from Primetime Timing. Updates also will be posted to the official social media channels of the program.
Things to Know
• Led by newly appointed Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Kevin Sullivan, the U-M men will enter ranked No. 3 in the deep Great Lakes Regional rankings and No. 15 in the National Coaches' Poll announced earlier this week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
• Among Big Ten teams, Michigan is ranked second-best behind No. 11 Wisconsin, and ahead of the trio of Michigan State, Indiana and Purdue that is in the "also receiving votes" category.
• Last winter, the Wolverines were shut out of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2014 in a season that was largely derailed by a department-wide shutdown as a result of COVID-19 precautions, and will look to return to November's national meet in Tallahassee, Fla., with only two returners -- Devin Meyrer and Joost Plaetinck -- from 2019's historic seventh-place scoring lineup.
• Michigan outperformed its pre-meet rank two Fridays ago at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, finishing second overall after entering the meet seeded sixth among 14 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.
• All of the indicators were positive at Notre Dame, with depth and cohesion unrivaled by any other team in the field. Seven runners finished top-50; only winner Furman managed to get seven in the top-100, and just barely did so with a 99th-place finisher. Only 12.7 seconds separated Meyrer from No. 5 finisher Nick Foster and no other top-10-finishing team had a 1-5 spread smaller than 42 seconds.
• The Wolverines gained places when it mattered most at Notre Dame, with the top seven runners all gaining at least one spot in the final kilometer and combining for a 31-spot improvement.
• Between the Penn State Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Classic in early September and at Notre Dame, Michigan has amassed a 9-1 head-to-head record over teams in the Wisconsin field, including wins over six teams presently ranked or receiving votes. The Wolverines will get another shot at taking down No. 10 Furman, which defeated Michigan by 21 points at Notre Dame, as well as the opportunity to add second victories over No. 16 Butler, No. 21 Southern Utah, No. 27 Syracuse and vote-receivers Indiana, Purdue and NC State.
Up Next
Friday, Oct. 22 -- at EMU Fall Classic (Dexter, Mich.), 4:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
