The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 13A M' men's track seeks to prove team is state's best Rick Harpster Sports Writer In preparation for the Big Ten championships on Feb. 8, the Michigan men's track team is in action each of se seven weekends preceding the event. This Saturday, the team will complete the fourth leg f that journey as it travels to East Lansing to compete the Michigan Intercollegiates. Consisting only of chools from within the state, the Michigan tercollegiate offers the opportunity to battle for state apremacy. "There will definitely be a good representation of the competing this weekend, so state bragging rights at stake," Michigan's John Mortimer said. Mortimer and his distance Who's Best team have definitely had plen- ty to boast about lately. Who: The top track At last weekend's Red teams in the state Simmons Invitational, Kevin of Michigan. Sullivan set the Michigan record with his time of 7:51.65 What: The Michigan in the 3000-meter run. Intercollegiates In addition to Sullivan, Jay Cantin and Mortimer have also sere: East Lansing already qualified for the indoor national championships. When: Saturdy Cantin's performance (4:05.69) in the mile run two weeks ago at Indiana earned him a spot in the NCAA championships, hile Mortimer qualified with his 5000-meter time 13:48.47) in The Michigan Open on Jan. 10. Mortimer 'as named Trackwire Publications Athlete of the Week >r his feat in the 5000-meter. howing the depth of the distance squad, Steve rence and Don McLaughlin finished first and sec- nd, respectively, in the mile run at the Red Simmons svitational. Although the distance squad has earned most of lichigan's points, the sprinting team has made signifi- "We're not going to run any of our guys out now. We're really just getting ready for the Big Ten and national championships" - Jack Harvey Michigan men's track and field coach cant progress. "There's no doubt the distance squad's success has rubbed off on the sprinters," Michigan coach Jack Harvey said. "They're continuing to work hard and improve each week." One of Harvey's top sprinters, Kevin Bowman, echoes his coach's thoughts. "We're working hard and continuing to get better as a group," Bowman said. "Everyone is starting to run faster, and we plan on continuous improvement." Last weekend, Bowman finished third in the 200- meter race with a time of 22.33, while Steve Jenkins reached the finals in the 55-meter dash. Although he hopes to prove that they are among the state's elite this weekend, Harvey views the Michigan Intercollegiates as preparation for the Big Ten and national championships. "We're not going to run any of our guys out now," Harvey said. "We're really just getting ready for the Big Ten championships." POLL PosiTIoN: Trackwire Publications recently announced its men's Top 25 rankings. The initial poll ranked the Wolverines ninth, higher than any other Big Ten team. The Michigan Intercollegiate will be Michigan's first opportunity to show that it is worthy of this ranking. With the threat of state rivals facing the Michigan men's track team on Saturday, the ninth-ranked Wolverines will be looking to defend their pride, as well as win some bragging rights. Tumblers Pk oo to drop state pponents ly Kim Hart )aiy Sports Writer The battle for state pride in women's gymnastics becomes a ight to the finish in Jenison Field louse this Saturday. Michigan will aake the journey to East Lansing to ace Michigan State, Central Oichigan, Eastern Michigan and Otern Michigan in the aptly-titled higan Classic. The competition could be fierce or the Wolverines, who as of this ast Wednesday's poll were ranked elow the eighth-ranked Chippewas nd the 15th-ranked Spartans. Aichigan is ranked No. 17. The Wolverines have had almost a veek to heal from some minor njuries and prepare for this latest hallenge. The all-around contest ,once again be spearheaded by he efforts of Bridget Knaeble, who ermains as the only Wolverine telthy enough to compete in all uoutrevents. "We're really excited about this veekend's meet," Michigan coach le Plocki said. "We are slowly but ure y starting to feel better, so this hould be a fun meet for us." This is the first of three meetings #een the Spartans and the Volverines this season. The partans have a 24-12 advantage in he series but the Wolverines have von the last three contests between he schools. Along with the efforts of Knaeble, ve should see strong performances rom senior Heather Kabnick and ophomore Sarah Cain. Kabnick will omp eteain at least three events - }t, beam, and floor exercise. It is ,possible for her to become an ll-around competitor if she is added tbe uneven bars roster. Thesbars is Cabnick's weakest event, but if she eels strong enough and becomes ne f the top six bar performers for hete am, she could easily be added > the list. Cain will also compete in three vents this weekend - the vault, the en bars, and the beam. Ahe Wolverines' are carrying the omentum from last weekend's meets, where they defeatedUtah at tome and finished second to eorgia ondSunday. "We competed reasonably well on unday," Plocki said. (The Michigan lassic) "is always a fun meet for us nd weook forward to this week- rnd The Daily's books are in! A limited-edition first printing of The Michigan Daily's book, "We're No. 1: The 1997 National Championship Season," is now available at the Daily's offices at 420 Maynard St. and at select local retail outlets. Get the most completecoverage available of Michigan's football season along with breathtaking photography. Limited firstr edition available for a short time only Stunning coverage produced entirely by University students. jE inO !flV! HOOSIERS Continued from Page11A But are they ready to go? "They have ants in their pants," Urbanchek said. Umm ... okay, sounds good. But won't the stars of the team feel just a little tarnished after their recent travels? Or will they bejust as excited to start the conference sea- son? "They better be," he laughed. Minnesota is Michigan's chief competition for the Big Ten title, Urbanchek said, but Indiana boasts a formidable lineup, especially in diving events. Urbanchek said that he will need his swimmers to deci- sively outpace the Hoosiers, because Indiana's diving corps could take some events one-two-three. To close out their afternoon with a resounding 'Hoosier Daddy' the Wolverines will have to take the top places in the swimming events. It shouldn't be a problem according to Mark Lambert, aquatics director and longtime observer of Big Ten swim- ming and diving teams. Lambert is responsible for the entire operation of Canham Natatorium, and spends more time its the building than the Wolverines do. "I live here," he laughed. The Hoosiers are "just a couple swimmers away" from being able to compete with the Wolverines, Lambert said. Freshman Matt Thompson said most of the competition in his events -- the 500-and 1000-yard freestyle - will most likely come from his own teammates, rather than from the Hoosiers. "It's good to see where you are," with the rest of the competition and with yourself, Thompson said. PACK THE POND: This weekend's meets - both the women's swimming and diving team's home meets and t ce men's-- come on parents' weekend for the swimming and diving teams. Also. the athletic department is promoting the meets with their "Pack the Pond" campaign. -. "I invited like 15-20 friends, so if around 10-15 show up, that's great," Thompson said, adding that most of the other freshmen on the team have invited friends to the meet. I I .. d~ .. - "- , '+ C!' Aso i V f a ,, _. ?£ , ,, Tt dags "AUto,,,t.~r Tomorrow's technology is something that frames all our thinking at today's Rockwell Automation. Because if you only focus on today's technology, you'll end up totally out of the competitive picture a few years from now. Zoom inon us. We're looking for the visionaries, dreamers and non-stop creative thinkers who are changing the way the world controls things - from roller coasters and Broadway shows to pharmaceutical production and food processing. Join the people of today's Rockwell and get a close-up view of tomorrow. See Rockwell Automation at: University of Michigan On-Campus Presentation: February 12, 1998 On-Campus Interview: February 13, 1998 Check your placement office for locations. 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