CROSS-COUNTRY The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - September16, 1996 - 7B sMichigan women harriers capture Jayhawk Invitational ByMark Snyder Daily Sports Witer Cross-country meets are not much different from practice for the Wolverines' women's team, because in both situations, they are running against their teammates. - Led by freshman Elizabeth ampfe's second-place finish, Michigan improved its record to 2-0 by winning the Jayhawk Invitational in Lawrence, Kan. Seven of the top 10 finishers were Wolverines, combining for a team score of 22 points. Kampfe led all Michigan finishers in the five-kilometer race with a time of 17:11. As impressive as Kampfe's perfor- mance was, the rest of the Wolverines were the reason Michigan trounced the 12-team field. Michigan freshman Allison Noe, who won last week's meet in East Lansing, finished third in Lawrence, crossing the finish line in 17:14. Such domination is rare in such a large meet, but Michigan was well pre- pared. "Coach McGuire) has been really great," Michigan freshman Julie Froud said before the meet. "He's worked us really hard, and we've had some great workouts." The extra effort paid off. Froud, who finished fourth, was among the leaders with a time of 17:22. Michigan's combined time of 1:26:39 was more than two minutes faster than second-place Kansas State and four minutes faster than host Kansas. Although Michigan defeated the Wildcats, 22-43, Kansas State could take solace in the first- and fifth-place individual finishes of its runners. The, Wildcats' Cristy Swartz won the meet by eight seconds in a time of 17:03. At the Jayhawk Invitational, team points were tabulated on the basis of the top five finishers from each school. With five out of the top seven finishers Wolverines, the meet was not even close. Saturday's victory bolstered the Wolverines' confidence as they eye their fourth Big Ten title in five years. For the second consecutive week, Michigan's upperclassmen did not compete, and the younger runners seized the opportunity. The Wolverines top three finishers, Kampfe, Noe and Froud, are in their first season running for the Wolverines, while Katie McGregor, who came in sixth -overall, is only a sophomore. One of the reasons for so many top Michigan- finishers at the Jayhawk Invitational has to do with the team's strategy during meets. With so many talented athletes, the Wolverines are able to run in a pack and pace them- selves off each other. M' men's cross-country stays in pack to win Jacob Wheeler ror the Daily The Michigan men's cross-country team returned from the Jayhawk Invitational with an expected, yet encouraging victory this weekend. Overall, Michigan won the meet with 35 points, followed by Southern Illinois (78) and U.S. Navy (84). "We were pretty happy with the way we ran as a team Saturday,' Michigan senior co-captain Scott MacDonald said. "The gap between our first- and Kth- (place) runners wasn't very big, and that's encouraging. "It was our first big meet of the season (away from home), so there was a lot of verbal communication and helping each other out during the race;' said MacDonald, who finished second in the 8,000 meters. Not running against any real top-notch competi- tiri, Michigan coach Ron Warhurst's squad was just concentrating on running as a team. "In a race like this, we just stuck together (until) two-thirds of the way through the race, before spread- ing out for the finish," Michigan sophomore Todd Snyder said. "In addition to the rest of the team, it was nice having the girls' (team) there cheering us on." Wolverine runners had an advantage before Saturday's race even began. The Jayhawk Invitational featured a flatter course than Michigan is used to, so the best team there was in better shape than anyone else. "Our course at home is just a grinder, (but) here, it's ideal for a race because the ground is nice and hard," Snyder said. The results were shining maize and blue. As expected, sophomore John Mortimer and MacDonald were the top two runners, with times of 24:37 and 24:51. The next four Michigan runners were all within one minute of Mortimer. Senior David Barnett ran a 25:02 for sixth place. Ryan Swan finished 12th with a time of 25:21. Nic Watson and Todd Snyder finished 14th and 15th with times of 25:28 and 25:29, respectively. Other Michigan times included Jeff Beuche, 25:45; Jeff Rogers, 25:52; Ryan Burt, 26:05 and Chris Bunt, 26:10. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Steve Lawrence wasn't able to compete due to a mix-up in the paperwork. "That was real disappointing," Snyder said. "Being one of our top five runners, he's a real lift." With two weeks off, the runners will now begin a rigorous training period in preparation for a tough upcoming meet at Notre Dame. 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