Just 14 seconds separated the five scoring Wolverine runners in Friday's Harry Groves Invitational.

Led by sophomore Bobby Aprill, the Wolverines placed all five runners in the top 10 to secure the invitational crown. Aprill crossed the finish line second to pace the team, registering his best career finish with a 26:37.

The Michigan contingent scored 25 points, and its closest competitor, SUNY-Geneseo, scored 40. Fellow Big Ten challenger Penn State placed third, nearly 60 points behind the Wolverines.

The difficult and hilly course at the Blue-White Golf Course in State College was made more arduous by the wet and muddy conditions.

"The plan was to go out very conservative, just run together in a group and just work our way through just so we can a good feel for the Big Ten meet there in six weeks," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said.

The Wolverines ran near the back of the field early to reserve their speed for the last mile of the race. The strategy worked to the team's advantage as the Wolverines made up ground throughout the latter part of the contest.

The meet was the team's first opportunity to race against other teams. Michigan competed in a 6K time trial on its home course last weekend to kick off the 2009 campaign. Warhurst was pleased with impressive performances from Aprill and freshman Zach Ornelas.

"Bobby faded in the end last year because of the workouts, and he trained very well this summer," Warhurst said. “Zach is kind of a pleasant surprise, I didn't think he would make this much of a contribution this early."

Because of the number of underclassmen on the team, Warhurst has decided to change the Wolverines' schedule to help make the transition to collegiate athletics easier. Gone are the Notre Dame Invitational and the Pre-National meet, which tested the Wolverines among the nation’s best teams. They also had just one demanding workout prior to the race to give the freshmen plenty of rest for their first big collegiate race.

"Last year we ran pretty hard early and it didn't seem to work out that well for the national championship meet," Warhurst said. "I got a lot of young kids and I didn't want to run really hard really soon, so we'll see how it works.”