The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 4, 1996 - 23
* FILE PHOTO
Thee-time All-American Kevin Sullivan will not run for the Michigan cross-ountry team this season after a lower-leg Injury.
He will receive a medical redshirt as a result of the injury, leaving him with one year of eligibility.
Sullivan lost for cross-country
season with lower-leg injury
fo
r
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Writer
For three years, Kevin Sullivan has
anchored the Michigan cross-country
program.
But the Wolverines will have to do
without their star this season. The three-
time All-American will receive a med-
i redshirt for bursitis in his ankle.
hebursa, a muscle next to the
Achilles tendon, has plagued Sullivan
for some time. Since Sullivan made the
decision to skip last spring's outdoor
track season for other reasons, the
injury has persisted.
A native of Brantford, Ontario,
Sullivan's intention was to use the
spring as a training ground to prepare
fQr the Olympics.
,,Jnfortunately, he never even made it
the track.
His original plan had been to com-
pete at the Canadian Olympic Trials in
both the 1,500-meter and the 3,000-
meter events. But those hopes were
dashed when the pain wouldn't disap-
pear.
"After he wasn't going to make the
Olympic (team), we figured we'd wait-
and-see if it would heal without
surgery," Michigan coach Ron
Warhurst said.
The wait and see attitude did not pay
off. The results were the same as the
initial prognosis and Sullivan will have
surgery on the bursa today.
Yet Sullivan's career is far from over,
despite being sidelined for the upcom-
ing cross-country and indoor track sea-
sons.
After one of the most prolific cross-
country tenures in school history, the
three-time NCAA champion intends to
return.
"We knew (Sullivan) was going to
be here another year anyway," Warhurst
said. "So he'll miss cross-country and
indoor track and then will have outdoor
track and a full fifth year (in 1997-
98.)"
Sullivan has garnered nearly every
award the Big Ten has to offer during
his Michigan career.
A three-time Big Ten Athlete of the
Year, Sullivan has surpassed the
accomplishments of even the most sto-
ried Michigan distance runners. One
more individual cross-country title
would make Sullivan only the third
runner in the history of the conference
to win the individual championship
four times.
But for now, Sullivan will put aside
his ambitions of entering the record
books and settle for being a sideline
cheerleader.
Without Sullivan, cross-country
team faces adversity from outset
iichigan will try to overcome with returners, talented freshmen
INTRAMURAL
SPORTS
PROGRAM
Each week throughout the year, the Intramural Sports Program will place information in the
Michigan Daily using the format as in this ad. The information will consist of upcoming
IM activities/sports as well as officiating opportunities. Be on the lookout each Monday so that
ou can be part of the fun and exciting action during the year. Also, information can be obtained
by visiting the Rec Sports World Wide Web site at: http://www.recsports.umich.edu.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Wrnter
Championship athletes come in all
shapes and sizes, and for the Michigan
men's cross-country team, this season is
no different.
From the outset, the team faces
rt:ersity. Senior All-American Kevin
,ivan will sit out the season after
li'aying surgery to correct bursitis in his
ankle. Michigan coach Ron Warhurst
sees the loss as an obstacle, but not a
stumbling block, in the team's path to
the Big Ten Championship.
"Without Kevin in there, it's going to
make it a little more difficult," Warhurst
said. "But the way the fellas did their
(own training) this summer, we'll do
really well."
he Wolverines lost only two signifi-
c nt members of the squad to gradua-
tion, Warhurst said.
Despite the return of Michigan's
top runners, Warhurst was determined
not to stay put. After a 1995 freshman
class that included All-American
John Mortimer and Todd Snyder,
Warhurst actively recruited through-
out last season and garnered a couple
of outstanding prospects.
*The off-season went really well,"
he said. "We had a really good
recruiting year. We got two new
Canadian athletes, one who has run
3:42 for 1,500 meters -- a sub-four-
minute mile."
Warhurst is speaking of Jay Cantin
of Camlachie, Ont., who finished
fifth at the Canadian Olympic Trials
earlier this year. His recruitment was
a major coup for the Michigan pro-
gram, and he is already drawing com-
parisons to the sidelined superstar.
"He's almost as fast as Sullivan was
during his freshman year," Warhurst
said.
The second of the two upstarts is
Steve Lawrence, also a native of
Canada. Lawrence's resume is
impressive as well. He clocked a 4:07
in the 1,500 meters to go with an 8:56
in the 3,000. His second-place finish
at the Canadian cross-country cham-
pionships grabbed Michigan's atten-
ti on.
Warhurst sees the squad as
extremely developed and is excited at
the prospect of reclaiming what was
once the Wolverines.
"Wisconsin's been our nemesis for
the last nine years," Warhurst said.
"We've won (the Big Ten
Championship) once in that time.
(Wisconsin) has won it all the other
(seasons). It's been that way for years,
except when we won in 1993."
The starting lineup is anchored by
co-captains Scott MacDonald and
David Barnett.
MacDonald and sophomore John
Mortimer are the top two returning
runners in the coach's eyes.
"I'd like (Mortimer) to improve
about 20 places at the national cham-
pionships," Warhurst said. "Last year
he was 37th and this year I'd like to
see him in the top 20 (nationally)
along with MacDonald."
When breaking down the Big Ten,
the Badgers are the primary competi-
tion for Michigan. While the
Wolverines have improved with their
new talent, Wisconsin was not as suc-
cessful, losing its top two runners to
graduation.
"We should be stronger than last
year," Warhurst said. "We'd like to
win the Big Ten Championship, be in
the top two or three in the district, and
the top six in the nation.
"We've goth(almost) everybody
back, but the problem is that we don't
have Kevin Sullivan," he said.
In another season, that may have
spelled doom for the Wolverines, but
this year the prospects aren't half bad.
SOCCER
3-on-3
BASKETBALL
Instant Scheduling: Tues 9110 11am - 5:30pm IMSB
Entry Fee: $65.00 per team
Managers Meeting (Mandatory): Weds 9/11 6pm IMSB
Play Begins: Thurs 9/12 at Mitchell Field (Fuller Rd)
Instant Scheduling: Tues 9/17 11am - 5:30pm IMSB
Entry Fee: $35.00 per team
Manager's Meeting (Mandatory): Weds 9/18 6pm IMSB
Play Begins: Thurs 9/19 at IMSB (Hoover Street)
ICE HOCKEY Entries Taken: Weds 10/23 11am - 4:30pm IMSB (Main Ofc)
Entry Fee: $130.00 per team
Manager's Meeting (Mandatory): Thurs 10124IMSB
Play Begins: Sun 10/27 at Yost Ice Arena (state street)
The deadline for TRACK & FIELD entries is Tuesday October 1.
SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL entries will be taken until Wednesday 10/2.
Get readv now!!
'M' women lose 2 golfers, rebuild
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