8A -- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 12, 1998
TRACK AND FIELD
This weekend at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, Michigan athletes will be ...
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Tracking
down
the
title
Sullivan, Mortimer lead 'M' men's team
By Rick Harpster
Daily Sports Writer
,'For most of the Michigan men's track and field
team, the indoor half of the season ended with the
Silverston Invitational on March 7.
But for five of the Wolverines' stars, this week-
end marks the most significant point of the season
the NCAA Indoor
Championships in Indianapolis.
"Personally, this is the most
important event of the season,"
All-American John Mortimer
said. "We seemed to focus and {
concentrate a little more thisx
week."
Michigan hopes to be well-
represented, with five competi-
tors who qualified in four sepa-
rate events. Three-time NCAA Sullivan
champion Kevin Sullivan qual-
ified in both the mile and 3,000-meter runs, while
teammate Mortimer has qualified in the 3,000 and
5,000 meter runs.
Sullivan, Jay Cantin, Dwayne Fuqua and Don
McLaughlin will also represent the Wolverines in
the distance medley relay.
Sullivan, the most experienced of Michigan's
Headin' to indy
The following Wolverines will try to capture an NCAA
title in Indianapolis this weekend:
runners, boasts the best times in the nation this
season in both the mile and 3,000.
He posted a memorable time of 7:51.65 in the
3,000 at the Red Simmons Invitational on Jan. 24.
The performance broke the old Michigan 3000
record (7:54.87), which was set in 1986 by Chris
Brewster.
Two weeks after his feat at the Red Simmons
Invitational, Sullivan posted his season-best time
(3:56.88) in the mile at the Meyo Invitational.
While this will be Sullivan's fourth trip to the
NCAA Championships, fellow All-American
Mortimer will be making his first. The sophomore
takes the nation's fourth-best time in the 5,000
(13:48.47) and third-best performance in the 3,000
(7:56.11) to Indianapolis.
Mortimer wasted no time earning his spot in the
5,000 - he qualified at the Michigan Open on Jan.
10, the first weekend of the indoor season.
NCAA rules do not permit competition in both
the 3,000 and 5,000 runs. Because of this rule,
Mortimer will just run in the 5,000.
Mortimer thinks that previous experience in the
NCAA Championships is an advantage that some
of his opponents will have over the rest of the
field.
"There's a lot of pressure and hoopla surround-
ing this event," he said. "Anyone who has been
there before will know how to handle it."
While Sullivan and Mortimer have received
most of the attention this year, the Michigan dis-
tance medley relay team is also a serious contender
for a national championship. Michigan holds the
nation's third-best time (9:37.59) in this event and
hopes to post its top performance this weekend.
Cantin runs the opening leg of 1,200, followed
by Fuqua in the 400 leg, McLaughlin in the 800
leg, and Sullivan, who anchors the final mile.
The Wolverines head to Indianapolis ranked
fifth in the Trackwire Publications' Top 25, despite
their underachieving sixth-place finish at the Big
Ten Championships.
Because- the NCAA Championships only host
the nation's elite athletes, Michigan's lack of depth
- which was detrimental in the Big Ten
Championships - should not be very costly this
weekend.
Still, the Wolverines think a top-five national
finish is within reach.
"We're only entered in a few events, but we have
a chance to do really well in those competitions,"
Mortimer said. "We could finish in the top five,
and that would be great to show we can compete
with the best (teams) in the country."
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Michigan men's track stars Kevin Sullivan and John Mortimer will both be repre-
senting the Wolverines at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis.
Women shoot for
national success
McGregor, Forrester headline seven
Wolverines at NCAA Championships
Men
Mile
3,000 meters
5,000 meters
Distance medley relay
Women
Mile
3,000 meters
5,000 meters
High jump
Triple jump
Distance medley relay
Kevin Sullivan
Sullivan, John Mortimer
Sullivan, Mortimer
Sullivan, Jay Cantin, Dwayne
Fuqua, Don McLaughlin
Katie McGregor
McGregor
Elizabeth Kampfe
Nicole Forrester
Tania Longe
McGregor, Sarah Hamilton,
Lisa Oullet, Adrienne Hunter
The Michigan
women's track
team will try to
follow its Big Ten
championship per-
formance last
week at the
NCAA Indoor
Championships in
Indianapolis this
weekend.
FILE PHOTO
II ii Ii ii
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are now being accepted
are now being accepted.
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Future funding is also available. The offices of
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Interested students may apply by submitting a
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Applications should be delivered or mailed to
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A non-discriminatory, affirmative action institution.
Students with business and organizational talents are
invited to apply for the position of business manager of
the Gargoyle.
The Gargoyle is a magazine of humor with commercial
publishing goals produced by students at the University
of Michigan. Funding is available and approved for the
production of a spring 1998 edition for those who apply
early. Future funding is also available. The offices of the
magazine are located at the Student Publications
Building, 420 Maynard Street.
Interested students may apply by submitting a brief biog-
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manager and why they would be successful. Candidates
will be evaluated on the basis of talents and emerging
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A non-discriminatory, affinnative action institution.
By Kevin Rosenfield
Daily Sports Writer
Concluding a dominating indoor
season that saw their team capture a
Big Ten title two weeks ago, seven
athletes from the Michigan women's
track team will set their sights on
individual success this weekend at the
NCAA Indoor Championships in
Indianapolis.
Only those athletes who have post-
ed one of the top
15 times in the
country are eligi-
ble for participa-
tion tomorrow
and Saturday.
Leading the
way for the'
Wolverines will
be 1997 All-
American Katie
McGregor, who McGregor
has qualified in
three distance events. McGregor will
compete in the mile and the 3000-
meter, in addition to anchoring the
final leg of Michigan's distance med-
ley relay.
The medley relay posted the fastest
time in the nation this season and is
widely considered the Wolverines'
best bet for an NCAA title.
McGregor's three- teammates in the
event will be Lisa Oullet opening in
the 1,200, Adrienne Hunter second in
the 400 and Sarah Hamilton in the
800 leg.
"We've been looking forward to
this weekend for a long time," Hunter
said. "We'll be up against a top field,
but we're definitely there to win. We
feel we can compete with anyone."
Another member of Michigan's tal-
ented distance group, Elizabeth
Kampfe, will represent Michigan in
the 5,000. Kampfe is currently ranked
13th nationally, with a time of
16:38.30.
One Michigan field athlete, Nicole
Forrester, is assured a spot in thD
NCAA field, while the status of a sec-
ond, Tania Longe, remains unclear.
Forrester qualified in the high
jump, posting a leap of 6-feet-2 that
ranks fourth nationally. Longe, a
three-time Big Ten champion, is still
hoping to qualify in the triple jump.
Her season-best jump of 41-10 3/4
places her 16th overall in the country.
The Wolverines' balanced squad
was the key to their dominant perfor,
mance at the Big Ten Championships,
but Michigan coach James Henry said
he believes the format of the NCAA
Championships will likely hamper
their hopes for team honors in
Indianapolis.
Teams win conference champi-
onships, but they don't qualify for the
NCAA meet as an entire squad.
As a result, teams that rely on a few
highly talented individuals fare much
better than more balanced squads
such as Michigan. Henry looks for his
team to finish in the top 10 at NCAAs
but said the more team-oriented con-
ference titles are much more signifi-
cant.
"That's why I emphasize the Big
Ten so much," Henry said. "That is
our party. The NCAAs are icing on
the cake."
Henry, in addition to Longe, gar
nered Big Ten honors this past week.
Henry was named the Big Ten's
indoor coach of the year after leading
Michigan to its first Big Ten title
since 1994. It was his second such
honor.
Longe, a senior, was honored as the
Big Ten indoor athlete of the year,
boosted by a stellar performance in
the Big Ten Championships. She won..
conference crowns in three events
long jump, triple jump and the pen
tathlon.
Coverage of the NCAA Indoor
Championships will be shown on
ESPN at 1 pm on March 19.
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