Sept. 15, 2005

The Wayne State University men's cross country team was ranked eighth nationally in the NCAA Division-II Cross Country Coaches Association pre-season poll, making it the second-highest ranked team representing the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), behind only sixth-ranked Grand Valley State University.

To this point, the Warriors have lived up to those high expectations. The team placed third at the six-kilometer Iowa Hawkeye Invitational on Saturday, September 3, despite being the only non-Division I participant in the race. Senior Justin Kessler (Ionia, Mich./Ionia) led the Warriors with a seventh-place finish in a time of 18:47. Also running well for WSU was junior Chris Mehay (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay), who placed ninth in a time of 18:51. Redshirt freshman Abdullah Saleh (Dearborn, Mich./Fordson) was 11th in a time of 18:53.

The team went on to win the four-mile Detroit Mercy Titan Invitational on Saturday, September 10, as WSU runners took the top three finishes. Kessler won for the second year in a row with a time of 20:07, while Mehay finished second at 20:19, and redshirt senior Matt Fecht (Warren, Mich./Mott) placed third at 20:20. Saleh also placed in the top ten, running in 20:39 for seventh. Sophomore Kevin Christensen (Battle Creek, Mich./Penfield) took 11th place with a time of 20:55, and junior Lance Jones (Saranac, Mich.) rounded out the top 20 at 21:21.

The Warriors will be running in the Midwest Collegiate race in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday, September 17, at 1:45 p.m.