The Michigan men's cross country team was ranked eighth among teams in the White Division in NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday. It finished fourth.

"I think we surprised a lot of people, and a lot of guys really stepped it up this weekend," said senior Mike Woods, who finished seventh overall (23:24) in the 8,000-meter race.

Woods started fast but fell back from the leaders after 5,000 meters. Still, the captain's time was his season best, despite the hilly landscape of the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

The 18th-ranked Wolverines have surprised all season with their continued improvement.

Two other Wolverines finished in the top 50: redshirt sophomores Sean McNamara (23:48) at 28th and Brandon Fellows (24:03) at 48th.

Junior Lex Williams, out with a case of poison oak, didn't compete.

"Once we get Lex in jersey, we will really be a force to be reckoned with," Woods said.

Williams is set to return next Friday at the EMU Classic, and could eliminate 30-40 points per meet.

He will also be in the lineup in two weeks when the team heads to Columbus for the Big Ten Championship. Last year, the Wolverines finished second behind Wisconsin.

"Wisconsin has got to be the heavy favorites," Warhurst said. "They are Big Ten Champions eight years in a row. I think we can run with them. We have to have the best run of the season, and they have to have a mistake or two. But I think we could win."

Michigan has been preparing since Aug. 20, and the top runners on the team ran anywhere between 92-98 miles last week, said Warhurst. The team has used the training to improve mentally. The runners admit they were not mature enough in their preparation for last year's championship meets, when they didn't qualify for nationals.

As the Wolverines continue to improve and surprise the competition, they are getting a sense of how good they are.

"The teams that were there (at Pre-Nationals) were very good," Warhurst said. "So we compare ourselves to them, and we think we came out pretty good."