The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS: MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY Women's Cross Country Team Wins The Big Ten Title, While The Men Place Second a breakthrough Big Ten Championships Oct. 28, with the women claiming their first league title since 2006, and the men recording their highest finish (runner-up) since 2008 (also second). "I wore that Block 'M' and ran on two championship teams, and I'm happy to see things get rolling again for their pro- gram, for the autonomy of their program and because their success has a positive effect for us, and our success helps their mission also. We both represent Michigan," women's coach Mike McGuire said. Hired in 1992, McGuire has led the Wolverines to nine Michigan's men's and women's cross country teams enjoyed cades, is pretty special," McGuire said. For the men, race day was both a cause for celebration and motivation. "If you would have asked me last year or before the season if I would be satisfied with a second-place finish, I would have said absolutely, "I thought we ran well, but I still think that there are better races left in us. The men improved from last year's third-place showing thanks to three runners that finished inside the top 15, in- cluding a fifth-place effort by fifth-year senior Dan Lowry (23:39.7). Juniors Morsi Rayyan (13th, 24:10.8) and Mark " " said third-year head coach Alex Gibby. Michigan's women's cross country team claimed the conference championship for the first time since 2006. conference titles now, including a dominant stretch of five straight wins from 2002-06. However, the Maize and Blue hadn't won since then, placing second in both 2010 and 2011. This fall, though, they would not be denied, relying on a senior trio of Rebecca Addison (third individually, 20:21.7), Amanda Eccleston (10th, 20:35.5) and Jillian Smith (11th, 20:35.8) to catapult Michigan back to the top of the league. "I knew they had what it took to help us get back, said. "We had a couple of lean recruiting classes in a row. For one reason or another, with injuries and transfers, it left us with a void. But you do this long enough and you know it's going to take a little time to get it back. Then last year, after being so close, we had our sights set on winning. Our kids had a lot of resolve and did a nice job. Mike always talked about how Michigan used to dominate the Big Ten," Addison added. "The Big Ten has gotten a lot stronger ,and we wanted to get back up on the podium. "It meant a lot to do it for Mike and for each other. U-M claimed its crown this fall in East Lansing, uniting championship teams from 1993 and 2003 that also won on Michigan State's campus. "To win it three times here, spanning three different de- " "It means a lot to us because when we came to Michigan, " " McGuire PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Beams (14th, 24:12.1) also ran well. Wisconsin captured the conference title for the 14th consec- utive season, but there were plenty of positives to build on for the Wolverines, with five runners finishing in the top 20. "As a team, I thought things went really well, Lowry was a prime-time performer for the Maize and Blue, especially considering this was his first appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Still, he hopes to see improvement when Michigan participates at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Nov. 9. "We had a lot of good performances, and it was good to see some of the younger guys stepping up. " Lowry said. " said. McGuire's team, meanwhile, isn't looking at regionals as a mere formality, but has its sights set on the NCAA Cham- pionships Nov. 17 in Louisville, Ky. Michigan placed fourth, sixth, sixth and third, respectively, from 2003-2006, but hasn't placed top 10 since. "I'd be disappointed if we finish outside the top 10," McGuire "We have a lot of momentum going into regionals," Lowry said. "Our objective this season was to win the Big Ten. That's been accomplished. And now, we want to get back to where I feel like we're nationally relevant. And that's top 10." — Michael Spath & Kevin Minor NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 113