The Minnesota men's cross country team placed sixth with 159 points in the Big Ten Conference Men's Cross Country Championships in East Lansing, Mich., on Sunday. Wisconsin won its fifth consecutive title with 40 points.

The team results reflected the Big Ten's prominence in the national poll, as the top six Big Ten teams are included in the national rankings. No. 2 Wisconsin placed three runners among the top 10 finishers, including champion sophomore Simon Bairu, who covered the 8-kilometer course in a time of 23 minutes, 58.8 seconds. Michigan, ranked No. 6 in the nation, placed second, also placing three runners in the top 10 in tallying 57 points. No. 19 Indiana ran well, capturing third with 90, while No. 7 Ohio State was fourth with 93 and No. 25 Iowa finished in sixth with 144. Minnesota has received votes in the national poll throughout the season but was unable to defeat any of its ranked conference foes on this day.

"The Big Ten is the toughest conference in the country, period, there's no question," said Golden Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia. "Our team grouping was tight but what we needed to move up in the team standings was to have a runner in the top 20. That cost us a few points"

Running in his first Big Ten meet, redshirt freshman Antonio Vega was impressive in finishing as the Golden Gophers' top runner. Vega placed 23rd with a time of 24:52.8. Junior Erik Grumstrup was the second Gopher finisher, placing 29th in 25:05.0.

Sophomore Ryan Malmin placed third for the Gophers, 30th overall, with a time of 25:05.3, despite losing a shoe early in the race. Other scoring Gophers were Michael Bialick, who placed 34th in 25:14.3, and Martin Robeck, who placed 43rd in 25:32.3.

Minnesota's next competition is in two weeks, Nov. 15, at the NCAA Midwest Championships in Stillwater, Okla.

Big Ten Cross Country Championships Forest Akers Golf Course - East Lansing, Mich. Nov. 2, 2003 - 8K Team Results 1. Wisconsin 1-3-5-14-17-(19)-(37) 40 2. Michigan 2-7-9-16-24-(26)-(28) 57 3. Indiana 9-10-19-21-31-(32)-(36) 90 4. Ohio State 6-12-20-22-33-(35)-(38) 93 5. Iowa 11-13-27-46-47-(52)-(53) 144 6. Minnesota 23-29-30-34-43-(45)-(50) 159 7. Penn State 4-39-56-58-61-(64)-(66) 218 Michigan State 25-42-48-49-54-(55)-(62) 218 9. Illinois 40-41-44-51-57-(59)-(60) 233 10. Purdue 15-63-65-67-68-(69)-(70) 278 Top 14 Individual Finishers (Places 1-7 earn All-Big Ten First Team Honors, 8-14 All-Big Ten Second Team) 1. Simon Bairu (Wisconsin) 23:58.8 2. Nate Brannen (Michigan) 24:19.2 3. Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin) 24:20.3 4. Dan Mazzocco (Penn State) 24:20.7 5. Tim Keller (Wisconsin) 24:24.0 6. Rob Myers (Ohio State) 24:24.9 7. Tom Greenless (Michigan) 24:26.9 8. Nick Willis (Michigan) 24:30.0 9. Chad Andrews (Indiana) 24:31.0 10. Chris Powers (Indiana) 24:31.0 11. Tony Rakaric (Iowa) 24:33.1 12. Dan Glaz (Ohio State) 24:33.9 13. Brian Rae (Iowa) 24:35.1 14. Bobby Lockhart (Wisconsin) 24:38.2 Golden Gopher Finishers 23. Antonio Vega 24:52.8 29. Erik Grumtrup 25:05.0 30. Ryan Malmin 25:05.3 34. Michael Bialick 25:14.3 45. Martin Robeck 25:29.4 48. Luke Mullranin 25:32.3 54. Ryan Ford 25:42.6 64. Josh DoBell 25:58.4 72. Michael VanBeusekom 26:13.8