8B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - February 23, 1998 World's elite outrun 'M' men runners By Josh Borkin Daily Sports Xvnter The New Balance Invitational did not feature Eastern Michigan or Notre Dame, as did most of the Michigan men's track meets this year. This meet included competitors from almost every continent on the globe. Michigan assistant coach Ron Warhurst entered four of his top distance runners in the New Balance Invitational on Friday. The 'big three' of Kevin Sullivan. John Mortimer and Jay Cantin, along with top 800-meter runner Don McLauglin, kept up with some of the stiffest competition they've faced this year. "The competition was a step above what we usually face," Sullivan said. "It was good to Lave that compe- tition, but it was nothing we weren't prepared for or intimidated by." The Wolverines were brought to the meet to show that they could compete with some of the world's elite runners. But they did not fill the expectations of sever- al top finishes on Friday. The invite-only meet was used as a warmup for the Big Tens this upcoming weekend. Michigan was the only university with representatives present at the meet. Most of the runners were affiliated with either Reebok and Nike, or were from countries such as Somalia, Great Britain and Japan. Sullivan, in his fifth year running for Michigan, has accumulated countless top finishes and several nation- al championship titles. But on Friday, Sullivan stepped out of his realm and entered a fast 1,000-meter run. Sullivan holds the nation's best times this year in the mile and 3,000. "I was trying to work on speed this week," Sullivan said. "I'm not really used to running this event, and I had a few problems adjusting to the pace." Sullivan captured a fourth-place finish with a time of 2:22, just a half-second behind first-place finisher Steve Holman of Reebok. "I was not pleased at all with my finish, Sullivan said. "I am really working hard, soI am able to do well in the postseason, but it just didn't go the way I want- ed it to this past weekend." After capturing athlete of the week honors last weekend at the Central Collegiates, John Mortimer continued to shine in Boston. Mortimer, who is Sullivan's running mate, and respected as one of the top three distance runners in the nation, notched another record Friday night. Mortimer led off the evening with the fourth-best 3,000 meters (7:56.11) in Michigan history. His record-breaking time garnered a second place and the best collegiate time at the meet. Cantin finished in 10th-place with a time of 4:10. In a meet in which the runners were expected to step up due to the elite competition, Cantin had more excuses than the other Michigan runners present at the meet. "I was not at all happy with how I did," Cantin said. "I was focused before the meet, but I came out flat. I also have this infection with my foot which I'm taking antibiotics for, and the rabbit didn't pace the race cor- rectly. The rabbit didn't start off fast like I would've liked." Not only was Cantin upset with his performance, but he was disappointed that he let Warhurst down. "Of course Coach is disappointed with my results," Cantin said. "But there were a lot of reps and agents around, and when you don't run well, it's embarrassing for the coach." DivisiON i SHOWDOWN: You probably couldn't tell the difference between Friday's Eastern Michigan Classic and a local high school track meet. The buzz at the meet was: Which team would do well at Division II nationals? Only a couple Michigan sprinters partici- pated, and their opponents ranged from Division II Ohio Technical College to Macomb University. Although Michigan faced mainly Division II schools, the Wolverines failed to even garner a first- place finish in any of their events. Sprinters Brian Theisen and Dwayne Fuqua finished second (49.78) and third (50.00), respectively. Theisen and Fuqua's times were comparable to the rest of their times this season, despite their lack of interest. "It was a tune-up meet," Fuqua said. "We just didn't want to get hurt. All I'm saying, don't be surprised if we come home with a Big Ten Championship." MARGARET MYERS/Daily Michigan's finest runners tested their abilities against some of the world's finest athletes In the New Balance Invitational last weekend. Thano's Lamp lighter " Ann Arbor's Original Sicilian Pizza " Full Greek Menu NIGHTLY SPECIALS Mon. & Tues. 30% off all Pizza &a FREE soft drink Women's track uses Classic as practice By Rick Harpster Daily Sports W riter For the many Michigan students who have big plans for spring break, this weekend probably seemed somewhat uneventful. The Michigan women's track and field team can definitely relate. With just one week left to prepare for the Big Ten Indoor Championships, the Wolverines made the trip across town to compete in the Eastern Michigan Classic on Friday. Since the event was not scored, the Wolverines really just used the meet to gear up for next weekend's Big Ten Championships at Michigan State. Many of Michigan's top athletes took the weekend off in preparation for the big week ahead. These included All- American distance runner Katie McGregor and All-American high- jumper Nicole Forrester. Michigan coach James Henry felt the Classic gave some of his athletes a chance to rest and others the opportunity to stay sharp. The meet "gave some of our develop- ing kids an opportunity to perform and also gave some of the kids who will be performing at the Big Ten a chance to finely tune their performance," Henry said. "We pretty much let the distance and middle-distance runners rest, and we gave the sprinters and hurdlers a race or two just to keep their timing up." Although this weekend marked the first meet all year in which the Wolverines did not have at least one indi- vidual victory, many Wolverines turned in strong efforts. Most of Michigan's top performances came in the field events. Nikki Keith had the second-best shot put of the event (45- feet-7 1/4), while Sarah Clauw delivered her personal best in the weight throw with a toss of 77-9 1/4, also good for a second-place showing. Henry also got strong perfor- mances from his sprinters Friday afternoon, especially in the 200- meter dash. Atiya Bussey finished third in the 200 with a time of 25.7 seconds, while teammate Sara Bernard finished fourth (25.91). In addition to its success in the 200, Michigan also had two victories in a semifinal heat in the 55 dash. Maria Brown won her heat with a time of 7.16. and Kenise Bocage was victorious in her heat by running the 55 in 7.14. 0 Despite some successful perfor- mances this weekend, there is no ques- tion that all Michigan's focus will now turn to the Big Ten Championships next RAJU Continued from Page 31 common fan. He didn't come up with really catchy sayings. Only "Holy Cow," and sonic other lamentations like "He popped it up!" The most clever thing hie would do is try to spell names back- wards, like "Grace spelled backwards is ecrag!" And he was the voice of an entire young generation. I can't even count how many times I would come home from school, and turn on WGN to watchl Transformers at 3:30, only to catch the final innings of the Cubs game, hearing Harry say, "The winning run is only 90 feet away!" or "I'm a Cub fan and a Bud man and I hope you are, too!" years before I knew what that meant. Before the Cubs, Harry was the voice of the White Sox, A's and Cardinals. But my generation only knew him as the Cubs' announcer. He was there for 15 years - nearly my entire life. And now I'm positive my childhood is over. I'm 21, I'm looking for a possi- ble career path, and now the summer voice of my youth is gone. But Harry's death isn't just my loss, it isn't just the loss of Cubs fans or even sports fans. Harry's death is everyone's loss. But Harry is immortal. He will live on whenever anyone enjoys life, whenever anyone watches baseball and whenever "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" is sung. His passion in life, his love toward his job - that's something everyone should try to imitate, or at least remember. - Shaat Raju can be reached at sraju@umrich.edu Wed. 20% off all Greek Entrees FILE PHOTO Tanya Longe and the rest of the Michigan women's track team set their sights on the Big Ten Indoor Championships next week. 421 E. Liberty 996-0555 open 7 days Friday and Saturday. Henry stressed that the season up to now is history, and that next weekend is the most important of the season. "I think we've come together and peaked at the right time," Henry said. "But now everything is in the past, and it's just a question of whether or not we can put it all together this weekend." The Wolverines placed third at Big Tens last year, but they hope to do better this year. "Our expectations are to improve over last year," Henry said. "We can compete among the top three teams, and we have a definite shot to win it." The most significant part of the indoor season for the Wolverines starts this weekend in East Lansing and ends with the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis on March 13-14. U"'..t~ [^ ow t r co sp yo You should spend your college years wisely. Study hard, have fun, and carry The Associates {a Visa card. You can get.° * 3% cash back on purchases* * Discounts on brand name merchandise * No annual fee * Credit line up to $2,500 4 i