Any word yet?
Any word yet?
Women's results:
What does this say about Wisconsin's chances at nationals? Obviously Withrow isn't at 100 percent.
What does this say about Wisconsin's chances at nationals? Obviously Withrow isn't at 100 percent.
ouch
24 24 61 Nicole Edwards Michigan SR 21:36.4
road hawg wrote:
ouch
24 24 61 Nicole Edwards Michigan SR 21:36.4
girls have bad races once a month like clockwork.
Yeah...I wonder what happened there too. She has been running well all fall. She might have really just had a bad day. I want to see you she bounces back at Regionals and Nationals. I mean she placed lower in conference this year than she probably will at Nats.
Mike
If Withrow and Eagon were at the top of their game it would have been 1/2/4/6/9 = 22. They would be very competitive; if they get much better they can be but how much improvement will there be in three weeks. Withrow will likely improve a bunch because he has only been training 9 weeks and had no races, but will only be a pack runner for them. Eagon will also not be in the top 10 in anybody's picks now. They have a shot at 4th but without big improvement, 2 is too far.
Note that Mead and Rombaugh are very good and HM is a top-10 guy probably.
Wasn't Withrow good in high school? What has Wisconsin done to him?
It was a nice day on Michigan's golf course. Lots of big, very old trees, and as many have mentioned, it's as hilly as anyone's course in the NCAA. Lots of long hills. Very spectator friendly. The course is different from the 1970's when I last was here. Back then, it used pretty much all the real estate that hems in the golf course, and the finish was at the top of a 600 meter hill. The start and the finish, and that same start area when you re-do another loop now are about the only flat parts of the course. It's a beast.
I saw both Kevin Sullivan and Brian Diemer (both Olympians) cheering on the runners. The weather was good: about 55 degrees and mostly sunny. Tomorrow it's supposed to be about 70.
Before the race, what appeared to be some of Michigan's men (they're no fools) were at the top of a long hill, shouting down to the Illinois' team of pretty women, "I - L - L" to which the women shouted back, "I - N - I."
I got in a few words with several of the coaches, who were all very nice. Ron Warhurst looked like he was having a ball driving a golfcart, and Wisconsin's new coack Mick Byrne looked a little relieved after the Badgers sewed up their victory.
I talked a little with Craig Miller's (Wisconsin) mom, who was there with a small group of parents. She was sweet as can be. She is very proud and I would be too. Craig M's shoes didn't arrive with his equipment and he wore someone else's spikes. But he ran well so someone might not be getting their spikes back.
The Fighting Illini came in a very nice Orange and Blue bus. The Minnesota team drove all day yesterday in five vans. They'll be driving until late tonight (it's about a 10-1/2 hour trip), sleeping four or five hours, then getting up to go to classes. The Golden Gopher women won the Big Ten though, and Hassan Mead and Chris Rombaugh ran great, so that should make the drive a lot more palatable.
Michigan State's Nicole Bush led from start to finish, and looked extremely relaxed and comfortable. Very impressive. The Spartans need their 3-4-5-6 runners to move up, and they could have made ammends for their one-point loss last year at this meet. I was really pulling for them.
Nicole Edwards was up at the front for at least the first third of the race. I don't think any criticism of her is very fair. She'll be alright. I'm wondering if the Michigan women are dealing with injuries. I didn't see Alyson Kohlmeier anywhere. I thought she was a fifth-year senior. Kelly Sampson ran a good race.
Wisconsin's Gwen Jorgensen also looked very tough. It looked for a while as if Wisconsin's women were going to win it.
Hanna Grinaker is very cute.
In the men's race, Ohio State had their whole team at the front for about the first 2K. Landon Peacock started to pull away after about 3 or 4 K. Mead was in second about 50 meters back, but both Mead and Peacock were pulling away from the rest of the field. Mead wasn't letting him get too far out in front. Landon Peacock looks very dashing in a Hollywood, swashbuckling kind of way. I think with about 1.5 K to go Mead pulled up alongside Peacock, and then just kept going, and his lead widened until the finish. He won it going away, so Mead gets an individual Big Ten championship after finishing second last year.
All in all, a very fun day in Ann Arbor. I saw the Iowa men running through the streets of campus after the race, getting in a post-race cooldown.
Anyone know where the race is next year?
Ground Hog day again. Badgers win after lots of trash talk from Michigan...doesn't change much regardless of the coach, Smith, Schumacher, now Bryne. Good job Wisconsin, the Alumni are proud once again.
Those Iowa men you saw weren't doing a post-race cooldown. They were running back to Iowa City with their tails between their legs.
Minnesota had a very strong showing yesterday. In the men's race, I was suprised how tight the pack was through the 3K or so. Everyone in the race passed by within 5 seconds. I don't remember that happening back in my day. Ann Arbor and all involved did a good job hosting this event. What a killer course!!
Mead looked great.
not so fast wrote:
Minnesota had a very strong showing yesterday. In the men's race, I was suprised how tight the pack was through the 3K or so. Everyone in the race passed by within 5 seconds. I don't remember that happening back in my day. Ann Arbor and all involved did a good job hosting this event. What a killer course!!
Mead looked great.
True, but maybe a little overstated from what I heard. Specifically, because of the hills, the first couple of k went at a modest pace (Ohio State was at the front for a bit!) before it broke up (when Peacock accelerated and everyone starting chasing).
Yes, Ohio State did have all five guys in the front for about the first 3K. Then Peacock took off just as you said.
Mead did look good though. He had more in the tank. Third place was not as close as the times indicate. Peacock slowed a little and the gap closed right at the end.
It was somewhat of a conservative start for both men and women, but seemed even moreso for the men.
Minnesota men and women did look very good. Overall, their teams were the stars of the meet. If I remember it correctly, Minnesota was just three points behind 2nd place Michigan.
But on another note, Michigan really does have a great course--tough to run and spectator friendly. There are so many flat courses these days, it's nice to go to a meet like this year's Big Ten on some good hills. Real cross country.