The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 3, 1995 - 13 *NCAAs on minds of men's track Silverston Invitational provides opportunity for qualification times By Doug Stevens Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's track and field team had numerous goals heading into its 1995 in- door campaign. Its primary objective was to win the Big Ten Championships. The Wolver- ines fell short of that goal last week as they placed third, eight points behind the first- place Wisconsin squad. However, Michigan could attain one of its goals tomorrow at the Silverston Invitational. At this meet, the Wolverines will attempt to qualify a number of their athletes for the NCAA Championships next weekend in In- dianapolis. The Silverston Invitational, which will be held at the Track and Tennis Building, is a non- scoring meet. However, Michigan will com- pete against the likes of Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Nebraska and Big Ten rivals Illinois and Michigan State. The Wolverines' top priority tomorrow is the distance medley. Michigan will sport all of its big guns in an effort to reach the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 9:38. Nick Karfonta, Trinity Townsend, Kevin Sullivan, and Ian Forsyth will compete for Michigan. Sullivan, who was recently selected Big Ten Athlete of the Season, is fresh off a double victory at the Big Ten meet - winning both the mile (4:09.07) and 3000 meters (8:08.66). Forsyth and Townsend both attained provi- sional qualifying times by placing fourth in the 3000 and 400 meters, respectively. "We've already qualified provisionally," Sullivan said. "We're going to try again this weekend for nationals." Even if the relay team - which finished third at last year's nationals - doesn't reach the 9:38 qualifying standard, there is still hope. "I think if we run close to 9:40, we should get in," coach Jack Harvey said. In addition to the distance medley runners, the Wolverines also hope that Neil Gardner will lock up a spot in the hurdles. Gardner, who also competes in the long jump and triple jump, will concentrate solely on the hurdles in hopes of achieving a time similar to the 7.28 which qualified him last year. Gardner placed fifth in last week's Big Ten meet. High jumper Jon Royce, who has al- ready automatically qualified for NCAAs, will compete this weekend in a competi- tive meet in Atlanta. The junior departed from the rest of the team in hopes of further preparing himself for next weekend's National Championships in In- dianapolis. "At this meet, I will get to see what the top competition is like and how I measure up," Royce said. "The Georgia Dome is similar to the Hoosier Dome. It should be close enough to get a good feel for what nationals will be like." Two notable runners who will not be competing this weekend are Felman Malveaux and Tyrone Wheatley. The duo has already begun their preparation for the outdoor season. Malveaux placed third in the 200 meters and fourth in the 400 at the conference championship while Wheatley took second place in the hurdles. "I'm looking to compete," Wheatley said. "This (outdoor season) will be the first time that I get to train for track and not come in the last two weeks of the season and run. I'm not looking for anything spe- cial. Ijust want to help the team as much as possible." Women host meet as season winds down By Keith Smith For the Daily With a successful indoor season winding down, the women's track team will host the Silverston Invitational this weekend. Last weekend the Wolverines hosted the Big Ten Championships. This invita- tional will not be as big, because the entire team will not be competing. The invitational will showcase runners who are attempting to qualify for the national and provisional championships. The Wolver- ines will compete against Bowling Green, Rice, Kent State, Detroit, Notre Dame, East- ern Michigan and Michigan State. This meet is an opportunity for some runners to assure their place in the NCAA Indoor Championships. For others, this meet is their last chance to prove themselves before the outdoor season starts. While others see this meet as low-key and an opportunity to regroup for the out- door season, the athletes who are trying to qualify for the NCAA Finals feel the inten- For those (runners) going to nationals the intensity is still flowing. - Beth Gould Michigan captain sity level is pretty high. "For those (runners) going to nationals the intensity is still flowing. They have the potential to go all the way," Beth Gould said. Tearza Johnson in the 200 meter dash, Karen Harvey in the mile, and Tania Longe in the long jump will all look to qualify for NCAAs this weekend. Also competing are Tonya Clay in the 800-meter, Beth Gould in the 55-meter dash and long jump, Jen Barber, Kathy Hollbacher and Michelle Slater. TONYA B RUAU/Daly The Women's track team hosts the non-scoring Silverston invitational this weekend. S i F1 .......... ...- . . . . . ... . . . WRESTLING continued from page 12 along with two wildcards. "We have the potential as a team to have three, four, possibly five All- Americans," Bahr said. "And if you can do that, you can be ranked in the top five *in the country at the end of the year." Some of the team's brightest sur- prises have evolved from red-shirt freshmen No. 5 Jeff Catrabone (158 pounds) and No.12 Airron Richardson (heavyweight), who incidentally is wrestling in his first season after play- ing football at Morehouse College. Both have amassed a wealth of experience this season, especially Richardson, who experienced two heartbreaking losses early in the sea- son. "I definitely built up my confidence in the second half of the season to know that I have the tools to compete at this level," Richardson said. "It's only natu- ral to be a little nervous, but I have no doubts, so that makes me feel better." Finally, bidding for his second All- American honor, 177-pound Jesse Rawls will compete at the tournament after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament against then No. 4 Rohan Gardner from Northwestern. "I think I'm in better shape now than I was before, even after suffering such a severe injury," Rawls said. "I think it's a blessing in disguise. I am not going there hoping to take second -I want to come back a champion." I ' :.;: <: Tumblers face improved Kentucky By Sarah DeMar Daily Sports Writer After agrueling schedule last week against four teams ranked in the top 10, the Michigan women's gymnas- tics team should be allowed to let its guard down with a sigh of relief. The Wolverines hit the road tonight to face off against No. 10 Kentucky, a team which has turned itself around after a 2-17 record in 1994. "I haven't seen Michigan yet," Kentucky coach Leah Little said. "But I'll tell you what-we'dreally liketo knock them off." Michigan coach Bev Plocki was surprised over the Wildcats' wretched record last season. "They werea better team than that," Plocki said."Kentucky competes in the SEC (Southeastern Conference), which is the most dominant conference in the country - it always has top 10 schools in it. (The Wildcats' previous record) can't reflect their talent." The Wildcats scored a whopping 195 points last weekend against Towson State. Michigan will have to maintain the high level of competi- tion it exhibited recently against Geor- gia, Florida and UCLA. The Wolver- ines scored their all-time high of 196.45 against Utah. "Hopefully those kind of scores can continue," Plocki said. "Our per- formance at Georgia was motivating - we really got a taste of what it would be like to win a National Champion- ship. But every arena is different; we don't know the judging and we don't know the equipment." Junior Jenny Hanson, a two-time all-around National Champion, leads Kentucky. "Jenny used to be a large make-up of their program," Plocki said. "But now the other gymnasts seem to be rallying around her and they have become a very good, very reputable team. This is no breather for us." Michigan may rely heavily on its scores from the vault and uneven bars after setting school records in each of the events the previous weekend - 49.6 and 49.075, respectively. The spotlight tonight will focus on the Wolverines' big gun, Beth Wymer, as she challenges Kentucky's super- power, Hanson. Both gymnasts are consistently the top performers on their respective teams. I The women's gymnastics team guns for No. 10 Kentucky tonight. ____j *Men's gymnastics battle injuries and intrasquad foes this weekend By Julie Keating Dafly Sports Writer The Men's gymnastics team has fallen to the hands of fate. Two of its'top performers are hurt with the possibility of one more being added to the injured list. With two meets against cross-state rivals Michigan State and Western Michigan this weekend, the team will have to rely on its depth. Senior Raul Molina has a dislo- cated finger and is still unsure if he will compete this weekend. Senior rian Winkler aggravated a back injury and junior Chris Onuska is out for the season with a torn Achil- les tendon. Coming off a tough spring break shorthanded, the Wolverines exerted a Chris usually scores a solid 9.6 or 9.7, and without him we hill have to rely on the other five guys to turn in near-flawless performances." - Bob Darden Michigan men's gymnastics coach Last weekend, Michigan had problems with the pommel horse once again, and aims to improve in its upcoming outing without the solid routine of Onuska. "Chris usually scores a solid 9.6 or 9.7, and without him we will have to rely on the other five guys to turn in near-flawless performances," Darden road trip of the season, so they have to achieve the highest scores possible to maintain their No. 13 ranking. The lineup for this weekend will mimic last week's effort with sopho- more Flavio Martins competing in five events, and freshman Tim Lauring on vault. Jason McDonald will perform in m