Heading into last weekend's NCAA Pre-Nationals, the goal of the No. 9 Michigan men's cross country team was to start running peak times as the postseason got underway.

With a third-place finish in Terre Haute, Ind., the Wolverines did just that.

Michigan will compete in the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor in less than two weeks, and after the team's solid performance last Saturday, the Wolverines are positioning themselves to come away with a conference title.

“It was the best performance of the season,” Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said.

Six of the top 10 teams in the country competed in the race, including Michigan. But even though the Wolverines beat every Big Ten team in the competition, No. 5 Wisconsin, the conference-favorite, didn't race.

The race was held at the same course as the season-ending NCAA Championships, scheduled for Nov. 24. Michigan redshirt junior Ciaran O’Lionaird seemed to like the trail, finishing 10th in the 41-team blue division to record his personal-best 8,000-meter time (23:50.6). Sophomore Craig Forys also posted a personal-best time and finished 14th (23:55.2).

The blue division set a blistering fast pace, with the leader finishing the first mile in an astonishing 4:28. Forys and O’Lionaird were able to stay with the pack throughout, leading the Wolverines to a third-place finish in the division.

Michigan fifth-year senior Justin Switzer, a surprise entry who finished in 42nd place, caught Warhurst's attention.

“I thought (Switzer) performed really well, and he ended up being our fourth guy today,” Warhurst said. “He is an added incentive for us now.”

Switzer, a distance track runner, is working with the cross country team to train for the track season. The Pre-Nationals were Switzer’s first race of the season.

Seven Wolverines competed this past weekend, and each placed in the top 75 of the 276-person race.

“It was a great team effort from top to bottom,” Warhurt said. “We are going to get rested up and sharpen up for the Big Ten Championship."