8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 3, 1994 I Track teams look to qualify for NCAAs Split men's squad heads to South Bend, East Lansing for weekend competitions JUDITH PERKINS/ Daily Kevin Sullivan finishes the last leg of the world record medley relay last weekend. Wolverine runners are hoping to qualify for NCAAs this weekend. Skers hit the slopes in northern Michigan By EUGENE BOWEN FOR THE DAILY For the first, and perhaps only, time in the 1994 men's track and field in- door season, the Wolverines' coaching corps will be at two different meets on the same day. Michigan assistant coach Ron Warhurst will accompany nine ath- letes to the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame. Simultaneously, head coach Jack Harvey will lead an entourage of 19 to the Spartan Relays at Michigan State. The 28 athletes are competing forquali- fication for the NCAA Championships to be held during the second week of March. Two hopefuls for the national com- petition, freshman Kevin Sullivan and sophomore Scott MacDonald, will be competing in the mile at Notre Dame. Both are positive that they will make a good showing. "There's a larger track, so it's a lot easier to run on," Sullivan said. It's doubtful that any size track wouldhbe a problem for Sullivan, who won the 800-meter run in 1:50.98 at East Lansing two weeks ago. This time made him a provisional qualifier for the NCAA meet. He also anchored the first place distance medley relay team, running a time which would have qualified him for the NCAAs if it had been in an individual race. MacDonald, while also shooting for a spot in the NCAA meet, has high personal aspirations. "I'd like to break four minutes," the native of Canada said. Also receiving a great deal of atten- tion is sophomore Jon Royce, a provi- sional qualifier for the NCAA champi- onship meet. Royce is one of two high jump- ers traveling to Notre Dame (the other is junior Ben Ludka). He be- came a provisional qualifier in the event by jumping 7'2" at Eastern Michigan in January. For Royce to become an automatic qualifier for the NCAA, he must jump a height of 7'4", which he has been unable to clear to date. However, Royce is confident that he will make it. "I'm good," Royce said. "I should be better. I've improved enough to be consistent." Harvey says that a jump in the high 7'3"range will very likely enable Royce to qualify as well. Freshman Neil Gardner will also be making waves on behalf ofthe Wolver- ines, only he will be doing so in East Lansing. Gardner has been an integral part in the team's improvement. In his first appearance at Michigan State, he won both the 55-meter high hurdles and the long jump. He will be competing in those two events this weekend. Gardner injured his hamstring three weeks ago and pulled a groin muscle last week, said his biggest fear is that he Women strive to achieve championship form at Meyo Invite. By JEFF ZAHODNIK FOR THE DAILY As the cold Michigan winter drags on, the Michigan men's and women's iki teams continue to heat up the slopes. The men's team has won every meet it has entered and the women's .eam has lost only one. This weekend, the Wolverines are focusing their at- tention on the Midwest Collegiate Di- vision meet of the United States Colle- giate Ski Association. The competition, which only in- :ludes the giant slalom, will be held at :he Sugarloaf and Caberfae Ski Re- ;orts in northern Michigan Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Michigan will compete against a field that includes Michigan State, ,Northern Michigan, Ferris State and central Michigan. On the men's side of the slopes, the Wolverines are led by Bing Brown and lim Schaefer, who have both domi- nated their respective events, the sla- orm and giant slalom. The duo has yarned the top medalist position in ev- ary one of Michigan's victories. "We've had a good team nucleus, and with some added transfer students, we've really developed some depth," Brown said. With most racers having competed in national competitions and with U.S. developmental ski squads, the men's team looks forward to more success in the near future. "We'rereally dominating right now, and we've got the potential to go a long way," Schaefer said. On the women's side of the moun- tain, the Wolverines should face stron- ger competition, especially from rival Michigan State. "I expect us to win barring any falls or last minute surprises," sophomore Jen Shorter said. Women's team captain Amy Portenga is enthusiastic about this year's squad, and said she expects that the type of courses the team will face this weekend will be beneficial to the team. "The longer hills (especially at Caberfae) will help us with our times and (our) performances should be a lot better," Portenga said. By DOUG STEVENS DAILY SPORTS WRITER All season long the Michigan women's track and field team has strived for improvement. Now that the Big Ten champion- ship meet is only three weeks away, and the competition is intensifying, the Wolverines are pushing to reach prime form. Saturday, the team will get an op- portunity to show just how far it has come as it faces Big Ten foes Purdue and Iowa, in addition to host Notre Dame, at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The invitational will also give Michigan a chance to see what type of effect its recent, more focused prac- tices are having. "We're just getting off our strength and endurance base and getting more into speed," Michigan coach James Henry said. "There has been more in- tensity lately." One goal that the Wolverines have for this meet is for some of its runners to achieve automatic qualifying times for the NCAA Championships. The distance medley team of Kristine Westerby, Richelle Webb, Jessica Kluge and Karen Harvey are deter- won't be able to perform to the best of his abilities due to injury. Despite his trepidation, Gardnerremains a favorite in his events. Harvey has no qualms in splitting the team this one time. "Neither of the meets are timed. If they were, we probably wouldn't do this," Harvey said. "I'm looking for (overall) improvements in perfor- mance." However, Harvey expects to return to Ann Arbor hailing the coming of a myriad of NCAA meet qualifiers. mined to reach the standard. "They (the distance medley relay team) need an outstanding perfor- mance," Henry said. "Westerby and Kluge will step things up this week- end." Also striving for automatic quali- 'We're just getting off our strength and endurance base and getting more into speed. There has been more intensity lately.' James Henry Track coach fying times will be Molly McClimon and Courtney Babcock. McClimon, who has already qualified in the 3000 meters, will be running the 5000 meters. Babcock, who won the 3000 meters last week at Eastern Michigan, will be running the same event in South Bend. Another athlete who is coming off of a strong meet is Laura Jerman. Jerman, who usually competes in the pentathlon, won the 55-meter hurdles last week in impressive fashion. Saturday, Jerman will be running. the hurdles and mile relay for the Wol- verines. She could have her hands full as Notre Dame brings a strong hurdling, corps to the meet. One runner who could present problems is Erica, Peterson, who finished second at the, World Junior Championships in the* 400-meter hurdles. Michigan's sprinters look strong heading into this meet. Last week, the team received what Henry called an "outstanding performance by Tearza Johnson." Johnson won both the 55- and 200-meter dashes by comfortable margins at Eastern Michigan. Webb, who finished second last week in the400meters, will berunning the 55meters in addition to the distance medley. In the shot put, both Rhonda Meyers and Jayne Greiner are looking to place as high as last week. At EMU, Meyers finished first and Greiner third. "We still need to continue to step it up," Henry said. "Out of that will come new NCAA qualifying times." "Michigan could present a problem for everyone in the meet," said Notre@ Dame coach Joe Piane. 'M' volleyball hosts Collegiate Classic at CCRB By DAN McKENZIE DAILY SPORTS WRITER Michigan fans will get a chance to see some of the top volleyball teams in the midwest this Saturday when the men's volleyball team hosts the Colle- giate Classic Tournament at the Cen- tral Campus Recreation Building (CCRB). Play begins at 9 a.m. on Sat- urday and will continue throughout the day. Thirty teams from around the coun- try will participate in the tournament, including powerhouses Graceland-a small college in Iowa - Iowa State, and Illinois State as well as all Big Ten teams except for Minnesota and Pur- due. "This is probably one of the most elite tournaments in the country be- sides the Midwest Championships," Michigan coach Pam Griffin said. "Twenty-four teams were originally invited, and the rest of the spots have been filled since Christmas Break." The tournament will bedivided into six pools of five teams with the top two teams from each pool advancing into the quarterfinals. Michigan is seeded second in their pool behind Graceland. Despitehavinga 1-3 BigTen record, team members feel optimistic heading into Saturday. "We'vealways played very well in tournaments," junior setter Stan Lee said. "I think it's because we know we're supposed to play well." Senior outside hitter Bill Seeley agreed with his teammate. "In a tournament setting, we get to see a number of different opponents which gives us a chance to work on our unity of focus," Seeley said. "Playing a lot of matches helps us to focus on one common goal." Focusing on one common goal has been a problem for the Wolverines throughout this season. It began with three losses including a blow-out at the been here," Griffin said., "I think that we are focusing on the right things now." The Wolverines will be relying on a talented line-up which has included* some surprises. Griffin pointed to the performance of senior outside hitter 'This is probably one of the most elite tournaments in the country besides the Midwest Championships. Twenty-four teams were originally invited, and the rest of the spots have h^^" f"^l "a "^ a nr a ram aa r UVVH 1IIICU 511IGC WIFIbLIM: U li fill BURNHAM ASSOCIATES 1001S. 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