Surrounded by groups of Oklahoma, Florida State and Wisconsin jerseys, only one maize block 'M' stood at the starting line.

Redshirt junior Craig Forys was the sole Wolverine present at the NCAA cross country Championship meet on Monday, held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Last weekend, the Michigan men’s cross country team failed to qualify for the national championship meet, but Forys’s third-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13 earned him an individual bid.

Forys wrapped up his season with a 113th-place individual finish in the 10,000-meter event, crossing the finish line with a time of 31:18.10 — just eight seconds shy of his personal-best time, which he earned at the 2008 NCAA Championship meet.

This was his first championship since then, as he redshirted last season due to knee and calf injuries.

“Craig started out toward the middle and was a little conservative during the race today,” Michigan coach Alex Gibby said Monday. “He did a heck of a job this season coming back from an injury last year, but today he kept it pretty conservative.”

Oklahoma State repeated its 2009 National Championship, taking top honors again this year with a score of 73 points.

Liberty’s Samuel Chelanga also finished first for the second straight year, crossing at 29:22.3.

This was Forys’s third appearance at the NCAAs, as he ran in the 2007 and 2008 races. In 2007, Forys finished 96th as a freshman. He took 137th place the next year.

“Although I’m pleased with Craig’s racing, it is frustrating that this was the first time in eight years that we went to NCAAs without a team," Gibby said. "We really want to get Michigan back there next year."

After continuing practice last week in order to both support Forys and carry on with workouts through the remainder of the postseason, the Wolverines wrapped up their campaign. After a year in which they fielded a very young team, Gibby and the rest of the Wolverines hope to improve next year.

Forys and junior Bobby Aprill were the obvious leaders of the team, racing in the top positions throughout the season.

“Craig was a main leader this year and is definitely a role model,” Gibby said. “He and Bobby Aprill are part of the program that are really going to help it move forward next year.”