The only things certain in life are death and taxes — but
lately it seems Rebecca Walter leading the Michigan women’s
cross country team can be added to that list.

For her eighth race in a row, Walter was the first Wolverine to
cross the finish line. She came in fourth overall, leading the
Wolverines to a second-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals at
Indiana State University this Saturday.

“Walter was her typical consistent self,” Michigan
coach Mike McGuire said of the performance.

McGuire was pleased with his team’s overall performance,
as it battled rough weather this weekend.

“These are very tough conditions it’s wet, cold and
windy — but we still had some excellent times,” McGuire
said.

McGuire was also pleased with the performance of Michigan
freshman Alyson Kohlmeier, who was competing in her first
6,000-meter race of the year. Kohlmeier finished with a time of
21:08.1, and placed 21st overall.

Seniors Andrea Parker (21:05.8) and Sarah Pizzo (21:17.6) also
contributed heavily to the Wolverines’ strong finish, as they
came in 18th and 32nd, respectively.

Pizzo’s time was a bit slower than usual because her foot
was bothering her, but she expects to be ready for the Big Ten
Championship in two weeks.

Katie Erdman, who turned in what McGuire deemed a “solid
performance,” finishing in 34th place with a time of 21:19.7
rounded out the top 50 performances for Michigan was.

No. 4 Colorado, led by first place finisher Renee Metivier, was
the only team able to top the Wolverines.

McGuire was not concerned that his team did not win, stating
that the difference between the top five teams is very limited.

“We didn’t lose to them, they beat us,”
McGuire said. “They’re ranked right behind us. They
just brought their ‘A’-game today.”

Although some runners will be competing in the Eastern Michigan
University Classic on Friday, many will be held out as the
Wolverines rest up for the Big Ten Championship, where they hope to
defend their title once again and go for the
“three-peat.”

McGuire likes his team’s chances at the Big Ten
Championship.

“We’ve seen every Big Ten team now, so there
shouldn’t be any surprises,” McGuire said.

“We need to stay healthy and keep our level high and go
into Big Tens prepared.”