Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 22, 1992
it T - --
'
]ven's runners
race at EMU
by Wendy Law
'M' women harriers
ready for Big Tens
With the Big Ten Conference Championship in two
weeks, the Michigan men's cross country team looks to
tomorrow's Eastern Michigan Classic as a final tuneup
for the squad.
Six runners have already qualified to go to the cham-
pionships for Michigan. Seniors Matt Smith and Chris
Childs, sophomores Ian Forsyth and Jim Finlayson and
freshmen Scott MacDonald and Theo Molla firmly es-
tablished themselves as the top six
runnersby virtue of their outstand-
ing performances in winning the
Michigan Invitational last Sunday.
These runners will be kept out of
tomorrow's competition, leaving the
rest of the team to compete with
each other for the final three spots
on the Big Ten Championship team.
"My seventh, eighth, and ninth
runners and the rest of the bulk of
S m iit h the team are going to run over at
Eastern Michigan," Michigan coach
Ron Warhurst said. "It's a non-scoring meet. It is low
key as far as team scores are concerned, but there will be
a lot of competition for who'll be my seventh, eighth,
and ninth man. They're going to have to beat each other
to make (the travel) team."
Michigan will be one of twelve teams competing at
the EMU Classic. "The biggest competition there is
probably Eastern," Warhurst said. "There are not going
to be many larger schools there. Everyone kind of re-
laxes the week before (the Big Tens). Eastern Michigan
is doing with their team what we and the other teams
are doing."
Aggression is the key to the Wolverines' improve-
ment for the upcoming Big Tens.
"This conference is very strong," Warhurst said.
"Penn State is starting to improve quite a bit.
Wisconsin is probably way over and above a heavy fa-
vorite and we're going to be looking at Penn State and
us for second place.
"We've got to get a whole lot more aggressive in the
beginning and the middle (of the race). Smith is taking
care of everything up front, but we can't have a minute
spread between first and second or else Wisconsin and
Penn State will put nine people in there. We finished
strong on Sunday, but we have to be much more ag-
gressive in the middle."
The Eastern Michigan Classic starts for the men har-
riers at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Huron Golf Course
in Ypsilanti.
by Rich Mitvalsky
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's cross
country team hopes to turn in one
more outstanding performance be-
fore the rapidly approaching Big Ten
Championships. The Wolverines
travel to Eastern Michigan tomorrow
to compete with several teams from
around the region.
For several Wolverines, this
competition marks the final opportu-
nity to compete this season, due to
conference restrictions upon the
number of athletes allowed to attend
the conference championships.
However, this meet also may
provide some Wolverines with the
chance to fill out the team's Big Ten
lineup. Either way, the Wolverines
are eagerly anticipating this meet
with a light-hearted attitude.
"The team is looking forward to
this meet, and it should be a fun
meet, too," Wolverine junior Kristi
Wink commented. "I think that re-
laxing can definitely help, because
everyone's not as nervous, and any-
thing can really happen."
The course that will be used this
weekend should be less challenging
compared to one week ago. Amidst
rain, wind, and chilly temperatures,
Michigan hosted the Interregional
Champion-ship on a very hilly and
slippery course. Eastern Michigan
sports a course similar to what the
Wol-verines should see in
Champaign one week from now at
Big Tens.
"This course is fairly flat, and
should be nothing to worry about,"
redshirt frosh Mayrie Richards said.
"It's going to be a relaxed race, and
we are pretty positive about the
meet."
"What Coach (head coach Mike
McGuire) doesn't want is for this
meet to become a runoff, in the
sense that there are a few runners
who could still run at Big Tens,'
Wink added. "Coach will determift
who runs on the basis of the wholO
season, and not just one race."
0I
The Big Ten Championships are
shaping up to be a real doozy. With
Michigan's success throughout tht
season, team members and cross
country gurus figure this meet to le
a three-way contest between de-
fending champion Wisconsin, Penn
State and the Wolverines.
"This team is definitely the
strongest Michigan team we've ever
had since I have been here," Wink
said. "We've got all of our guns oit
for this one."
The Wolverines will experience
one new rule change from a year
ago, which could make things a bitO
more interesting. In past years,
teams were forced to declare their
top seven runners at the champi-
onships, while running nine total.
The declared seven were then the
only runners on each team eligible to
score.
"In other words, if your eighth
runner placed third overall, she
couldn't score because she wasn't
declared as one of the top seven',"
Richards explained. "Now, all of the
runners can score.
After Big Tens the runners will
enjoy a weekend off from heated
battle before engaging in the district
championships. There, the Wolvq-
ines hope to finish among the top
two teams, which would qualify
them automatically for NCAAs.
One year ago, Michigan bene-
fited from a wild card berth at dis-
tricts, for which the third and fourth-
place teams are eligible. Wisconsin,
Penn State and Michigan all fall in
the same district, and expect to be
joined by Kansas State in the strug-
gle for the district crown.
Karen Harvey leads the
Ypsilanti this weekend.
MOLLY SIVENS/Uaify
women's cross country team into the Eastern Michigan Classic in
The squad is preparing for the Big Ten Championships in two weeks.
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T - H - E
[SPORTING VIEWS]I
by Ken Sugiura
Daily Sports Writer
Lots of people have special causes. For some, it's
prevention of cruelty to animals. Others devote them-
selves to reducing our trade deficit, a noble cause if ever
one existed. As for me, I fight for something a little
closer to home.
I'll tell you what it is. It's getting those buffoons
who stand up during football games to sit their fannies
down. I know by bringing this issue to the fore, I am
walking on eggshells. I can just foresee how this will
divide our campus, pitting roommate against roommate,
fraternity brother against fraternity brother, regent
against regent.
But it's time we stopped running from the issues, or
in today's vernacular, "pulling a Clinton." Now let's
examine the evidence. Our opposition's first utterances
after I hurl pizza boxes at their backsides and suggest,
"SIDDOWN JERK!" is usually, "Be a real fan, you
sissy!"
Now what does standing have to do with being a real
fan? It's not like anybody makes more noise when they
stand up (let's face it, Michigan fans are a rather quiet
lot). If by standing we were louder, I'd happily stand,
but we aren't, so I'd rather sit, thank you.
And perhaps sitting makes us louder. Michigan's
real fans - I mean, real real fans - are those who
watch Michigan hockey. They sit, and yet, create all
sorts of cacophony.
You see, standing has nothing to do with being a real
fan or showing school spirit; it's about being loud,
which the standees really aren't. Standing is uncomfort-
able and a bother. If we continued Real Fan's line of
reasoning, we'd be "real" students only if we CRISPed
into 8 o'clock classes which had senile professors.
I get the feeling that many of our standees had trou-
bled childhoods, full of parents who constantly harped,
Hey buster, could
'.
J.
you please sit down
"Junior, eat your liver souffle. If you were a real Smith,
you'd be finished by now."
I have a question for Real Fan. When you watc}
Michigan on television, do you stand on the couch, or
do you sit down? It doesn't matter if I sit down when
it's on t.v. because the team can't see or hear me.
Okay, so they can't see or hear you. But you are
perfectly comfortable with the notion of yelling at im-
ages being transmitted from hundreds of miles away
into a little box, aren't you? Something doesn't com-
pute. If you had so much as an iota of school spirit, ac-
cording to Real Fan's logic, you would stand up in your
living room, too.
Real Fan says that if we stand, we can help the team.
Okay, this time tell me that without laughing. If you'll
remember, we stood during the Florida State debacle
last year. Oh wait, you're right. I remember Coach
Moeller saying after the game, "Section 30 started
slouching a little bit back in the second quarter, and it
just took the wind right out of our sails."
I remember during the Houston game, I sat down
during a timeout. I swear, I saw Elvis Grbac wipe away
a tear.
A few more points. When you open your
SportsMonday, would you rather read, "Tyrone
Wheatley's electrifying run brought the fans to their
feet," or "Wheatley's electrifying run prevented the fans
from sitting down?" Think about it.
And if you were Derrick Alexander, would you want
to receive a standing ovation, or an ovation from peoyfe
who happened to be standing? Please, enlighten me
about school spirit.
One more thing. Don't you find it funny that when
the fourth quarters of blowouts roll around and the
stands empty, everyone sits down. If it is true that real
fans stay for the entirety of the games, isn't it odd that
the fans who do remain sit down? Hmmm.
RM
Consider...
T HE MICHIGAN BBA
I~. . Or
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METHE
.VCR AND STEREO SERVICE
SSPEARER REPAIRS AND COMPONENTS
PONO ERIEAD NEDLS CANRhIDC E
AIFIE
STUD1O. .
Attend an Information Session
* Thursday, October 22
- 4:00 - 5:00 pm
" Hale Auditorium
(Michigan Business School
Assembly Hall)
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