College Cross Country
- By Doug Kurtis
Free Press Columnist

Tim Moore will return home to Michigan this weekend to run in a cross-country race. Moore, a four-time high school All-America from Novi, will compete Saturday in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Ypsilanti Township. Eastern Michigan University will host the event. The women's race will begin at 11 a.m. and the men's at 12:15.

Moore, a junior at Notre Dame, was last year's Big East cross-country champion. He also qualified for the world cross-country championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Moore was the second finisher from the United States and 34th overall, helping the team to an eighth-place finish.

Notre Dame will be counting on him Saturday to help the Irish qualify for the NCAA championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The close proximity to South Bend should work to his advantage. He has run the course several times and thinks it suits him well. Plus, he doesn't like to travel.

Running in South Bend has been ideal for Moore. He likes the community atmosphere and supportiveness of his classmates. He was a straight-A student at Novi and continues to excel at Notre Dame, where he majors in finance and mathematics.

Moore plans to pursue a master's degree and isn't sure he will run after college. He said it's tough to combine running at a national level and studying for classes at a top-rated university.

"There is more volume and higher intensity, along with less rest in my workouts," Moore said. "Races are much more competitive, but for me the biggest thing to get used to is how fast I have to run the last kilometer in order to finish up with the top guys"

Some of the nation's best teams will be competing. Wisconsin is ranked No. 1 for the men, and Notre Dame is fifth. Michigan and Central Michigan are ranked in the top 30. In the women's race, Michigan is ranked No. 4. Notre Dame is No. 6, and Michigan State is No. 13.

MORE CROSS-COUNTRY: Last Saturday, the Grand Valley State men and women won the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regionals at Edwardsville, Ill. The women won for the fourth consecutive year, and the men made it three straight.

Nate Peck and Ryan Cole of Grand Valley finished 1-2 among the men, and Mandi Long-Zemba finished second among the women. ... Big Ten champion Danette Doetzel of Michigan State became the second freshman in league history to win the athlete and freshman of the year awards in the same season. Doetzel, from Macklin, Saskatchewan, beat Michigan's Rebecca Walter, the 2003 champion and athlete of the year, by 20 seconds. Michigan won its third straight team title.

Contact Doug Kurtis at Detroit Free Press, 600 W. Fort St. Detroit, 48226