A lot of first-year college athletes will use the first season as a way to get used to the difference from high school and college, maybe through red shirting the season or just using the time to acclimate to the new team.

However, the UD men's cross country team welcomed a man to the roster this fall who made an immediate impact.

Milford, Mich. native Michael Andersen is only a freshman but has led the men's cross country team in all six competitions this fall.

The former four-time high school All-American; Andersen started his first year of collegiate running well. He finished in 16th place and first for the team at the Flyer 5K, the only Flyer home meet of the season. Also the only 5K of the year, it was the one race where the freshman would run the traditional high school distance.

The rest of the 2005 season flew by as Andersen and his teammates continued to work hard and impress with his performances. Next up for the Flyers was the National Catholic Invitational where the team would have their first test running an 8K course.

'Mentally it's a little bit tough, but you just have to stay positive' Andersen added about the increase from a 5K to an 8K.

However, the increase did not seem to upset him or the team. Andersen finished in 17th place in the division I field and the Flyers worked together to place fifth among the 33 competing teams.

The season continued to roll on as the Flyers traveled to Louisville, Ky. for the Greater Louisville Classic, Delaware, Ohio for the All-Ohio Championships, and Bowling Green, Ohio for the Falcon Invitational.

In each race, Andersen lead the team and was awarded for his accomplishments. He was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week for his races at the All-Ohio Championships and for his first invitational win in Bowling Green.

The main event of the season for the men is the Atlantic 10 Championships and Andersen and his teammates continued to work hard for the meet. Andersen noted that a strong work ethic is really what allows him and his teammates to run well and compete.

'Running pays off in itself,' Andersen explained, acknowledging that they put the work in during practice and over the summer in order to be ready to race.

All the running and the training did pay off for the men at the championships as numerous Flyers impressed on Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, Pa.

Most notably, Andersen was honored as the Atlantic-10 Rookie of the year and also garnered a spot on the A-10 All-Conference Team for his ninth place finish in the championship race on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Andersen was the first freshman to cross the finish line in the 131 man race. He finished in 25:06 for the 8K course, eclipsing the UD team 8K record of 25:13 set in 1998 by Rick Heitkamp.

The A-10 meet was not only a success for Andersen, but also his teammates as seven of the top nine men, Andersen, Mike Connolly, Brian Gilchrist, Billy Przybyla, Dan Sammons, Matt Peters and Tim Kaelin, finished with their best times of the season helping UD to eighth in the 14-team field.

'Mike, along with the whole team ran peak performances at the A-10 meet,' said men's head coach Rich Davis.

The great atmosphere of the men's team is also another aspect Andersen cited to his achievements this fall.

'We are like a big family to everyone, really close,' he explained. 'We kind of have a responsibility to the team to run well.'

Andersen hopes that the expectations and strong work ethic the team will allow for many goals to be reached within his next four years.

'I want to win A-10's individually,' Andersen listed as a goal. 'I look for the team to steadily improve and hopefully be a top four or three team for the next three seasons.'

While he is already looking ahead, Andersen will have his last cross country race as a freshman on Nov. 12. The Flyers will travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the Great Lakes Regional. The men will compete in their only 10K of the season as the race will determine which individuals and teams qualify for the NCAA Championships at the end of November.