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Page 4-D-Thursday, September 10, 1981-The Michigan Daily
Blue harriers push
to top of Big
Ten
Indiana
poses big
hurdle
fior men,
By JOHN FITZPATRICK
The men's cross country team, co-
champions in the Big Ten (with In-
diana) last year, face a struggle for
supremacy in the conference with the
Hoosiers, as well as a strong Wisconsin
team, again this fall. "We'll be fighting
it out," predicted Coach Ron Warhurst.
One of the Wolverines' biggest assets
is the number and quality of runners
they retain from last year's squad,
which finished a strong seventh at the
NCAA meet, Michigan's best showing
ever.
THOUGH THE squad no longer has
the services of All-American Dan
Heikkinen and veteran runners Dave
Lewis, Bill Weidenbach, and Gary
Parenteau, the nucleus of a potent team
remains, with Brian Diemer, Gerard
Donakowski, Dan Beck, Bill O'Reilly,
Steve Brandt, and Glenn Croaze retur-
ning.
Diemer, Big Ten champ in the 3,000-
meter steeplechase last May (8:45.48),
is a runner possessed of an abundance
of talent and versatility. The junior
harrier has run times of 3:47 in the 1,500
meters, 14:04 for 5,000 meters, and
29:53 in the 10,000. His track speed,
coupled with his cross country ex-
perience (he was an All-American in
last year's NCAA race, finishing 38th
overall) makes him one of the leading
collegiate runners in the Midwest.
Donakowski, a runner thought to
have a great deal of potential when he
first came to Michigan three years ago,
began to show some of it last winter
when he won the Central Collegiate in-
door two-mile. He has continued to im-
prove, recording an impressive
"double" at the Big Ten outdoor meet,
finishing second in the 10,000 meters
(29:40) and third in the 5,000 (14:14).
O'REILLY HAS an extensive track
background and has run close to 14:00
in the 5,000 on several occasions. Beck,
though primarily a miler (4:04 indoor
best, 3:44 for the 1,500 meters), has
proven to be a solid performer during
previous seasons. Brandt and Craze are
talented as well, and are capable of
much improvement.
This season's Michigan team looks
like another contender for the Big Ten
crown, but Warhurst is cautious about
making any firm predictions: "You
never know what's going to happen.
One year I thought we would win and
we ended up fourth," he said.
Though it is a sport saturated with
caprice and uncertainty, with victory
or defeat hinging on such factors as the
weather, runners' attitudes, and the
condition of a course, one thing is cer-
tain: Michigan will be "fighting it out"
at the top of the Big Ten once again.
Wo men
looking up
By JOHN FITZPATRICK
From its quiet beginning two years'
ago, the women's cross country team
has grown in size and quality to the
point where it is likely to be a
significant factor in the Big Ten this fall
after finishing sixth in 1980.
Coach Ken "Red" Simmons, long
associated with the Michigan women's
track program, retired at the con-
clusion of the 1981 spring track season,
but was optimistic nonetheless in his
assessment of the harriers' chances for
success in the fall. "I'm leaving it (the
team) in pretty good shape," he said.
"Whoever's taking over will inherit
some pretty good athletes." ,
INDEED, WITHOUT the loss of a
single runner to graduation from last
year's squad, and the return of a num-
ber of talented performers, the team
would seem to be in "good shape"
Melanie Weaver, Lisa Larsen, Lynn
Fudula, and Sue Frederick lead the
pack of veterans. Weaver has compiled
a variety of quality times, including a
34:38 10,000 meters and a number of 16
to 17 minute 5,000-meter runs.
Larsen showed tremendous im-
provement last year. She has run a
17:26 5,000-meters indoors and has a
fast 4:53 mile to her credit, which set a
Track and Tennis Building record.
Fudula also displayed signs of im-
provement for the Wolverines during
the past year, and her experience
should prove an asset to the harrier
squad.
Frederick set a Big Ten record in the
indoor 880-yard run last February with
a national-class time of 2:08.
Like other non-revenue sports teams
at Michigan, the cross country program
has a limited recruiting budget and
must depend heavily on walk-ons. Josi
Von Voightlander and Martha Gray
were two of last year's walk-ons, and
both displayed consistency and im-
provement last year. Carol Lam, a
miler, and Ingrid Rader should also
help form an experienced nucleus for
the squad.
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... speedy harrier
V
MICHIGAN CROSS COUNTRY run-
ners leadthe pack in a race last fall.
The harriers were co-champions of the
Big Ten one year ago.
NINE LETTER WINNERS RETURN:
No household names for spikers*
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By SCOTT STURLEY
If you would be hard-pressed to name
any member of Michigan's volleyball
team, you are in the majority among
Blue sports followers. But while the
team's roster certainly isn't filled with
household names, the outlook for the
1981 season is filled with promise.
Nine letter winners are back from
last season's 26-17 squad which finished
third in the state, leaving two spots*
open for new prospects to battle over.
Coach Sandy Vong will count on his
three seniors to provide leadership and
poise for the team, which begins, its
season in late August.
LINDA CUNNINGHAM, a defensive
specialist, will be looked to as the
stabilizing force for the Michigan
spikers. Janice Margulies is Michigan's
regular setter; her job is to put the ball0
into position for the spikers to blast
winners. Julie Stotesbury, the third
senior, is a superior power hitter and an
"excellent jumper", according to Vong..
Another standout, junior Keri Ken-;
ningston, played middle blocker last
fall, but Vong hinted that she might be
moved to the power hitter spot in '81.
Rounding out the returnees are
sophomores Alison Noble, Sue Rogers,
Robin Zisser, Jeanne Weckler, and
Stacy O'Toole. With a year of experien-
ce behind them, all can be counted on to
make sizable contributions to the
Wolverines' fortunes.
Vong believes that popularity of
volleyball is increasing at the high
school level, which in turn leads to the
availability of more and better recruits
for the colleges. He pointed to the
example of Noble, who played an impor-
tant role in the Wolverines' third place
finish in the state tournament and was
rewarded by being one of only six
players named to the tourney's All-
State team.
With the right blend of experience
and talent, Vong looks for more high-
caliber performances out of his
Michigan volleyballers. If he gets them,
the Wolverines could be in store for a
stellar season.
-Photo by Emily Koo
MICHIGAN'S ALISON NOBLE sets the ball up for a teammate to spike.
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