The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 23, 1998 - 7B A season to remember Okay, Here's the Latest Women's season full of peaks and valleys By Ryan C. Moloiey Daily Sports Writer Looking back on the Wolverines' 1998 cross country season, is like watching an action-adventure movie backwards. Instead of all the best action and inevitable victory for the good guy occurring at the end of the movie, the outcome is reversed. Although the Wolverines were ranked as high as third in the nation with team victories in each of their first four meets, the remainder of the season held little for the team - except for the record-setting perfor- mances of Katie McGregor. McGregor, Michigan's first cross country national champion, solidified her status as one of the greatest ath- letes in school history with her break- through season. McGregor won every race except for the Michigan Interregional. To top it off, McGregor won an individual NCAA champi- onship. While McGregor performed consis- tently throughout the season, the rest of the team faltered towards the end, placing second in the two meets before its I Ith place showing at nationals. Though the team did not perform up to their personal standards, coach Mike McGuire didn't make excuses. "There were some disappoint- ments," McGuire said. "You can say 'Woulda, coulda, shoulda,' but that won't accomplish anything. "We tried hard and we had a couple of untimely injuries. We didn't under- or over-achieve." McGregor, for all she accomplished this season, was still mindful of the team's decline - yet she managed to keep it in perspective. "A whole lot of effort goes into a season and to put a lot of emphasis in one race is too much," McGregor said. "We've won many races as a team." While it is easy to say wait until next year, the Wolverines cannot afford that luxury. Among the notable losses include not only McGregor, but also senior Michelle Slater, who was a formidable No. 3 runner in the lineup as well as a leader. McGuire's focus for next season lies in improving upon an area of dif- ficulty for the team - pack-running. "If we have five people in the front who can get under the 250th place, we do better (in the national race)," McGuire said. "We need to develop kids who will be mentally and physi- cally prepared for the competition. "There's no way people will come in and be as good as (McGregor and Slater). Hey, these realities happen. It will be a situation by committee for that particular race day. "Right now, we don't have someone who will get first in every race, but we have people like (Lisa) Ouellet and (Elizabeth) Kampfe who will place high consistently," McGuire said. McGregor, who will graduate in May and likely continue training with the team as she pursues a professional running career, doesn't view the suc- cess of the team in terms of stats. Interesting, considering the number of new statistical standards she has established this season. 20 Off 1.1 rec. 14th Dec. 18 D Ith DANA UNNANE/Daity The Michigan women's cross country team finished a disappointing 11th at NCAAs after junior Elizabeth Kampfe dropped out of the race. Men's team found way to overcome troubles *Excluding Textbooks \ "Midnight Madness Buyback Party" Wed. Dec. 15th Free Food, Pictures with Santa, Caroling, and of course CASH for your BOOKS!! By Raphael Goodsten Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's cross country team entered the year with questions about how would they replace Kevin Sullivan. But just like every other time adversity surrounded the Wolverines, ty found a way to succeed. 11 year, the team wanted to win the -Big Ten Championship. The race was in Ann. Arbor, and Michigan coach Ron Warhurst celebrated his 25th year of coaching. Former run- ners including CrOSS COUntry Olympic captain C enIay and medalist Brian Diemer, W ng others, were there. All-America s jor John Mortimer was injured, yet managed to finish third in the race. Mortimer once said that running in Ann Arbir on Warhurst's anniversary was the reason he decided to run this year, rather than redshirt. Fellow senior All-America Todd Snyder turned in his best race up to date, finishing fifth. But the stars of the day were Steve Lawrence and Jay Cantin. Lawrence finished in l lth and Cantin ' 2th. The two kept the team together. They paced other runners and beat other teams' third and fourth runners. The day was also special for the Wolverines' fifth place runner, senior Don McLaughlin, who finished in 19th place. Like Lawrence and Cantin, McLaughlin beat every other team's fifth place runner. But for Lawrence, it was the last time that he would run with Snyder in Ann Arbor. The two had been teammates in high school. They won the state title together at Ann Arbor Pioneer and both came to Michigan for days like these. Michigan's sixth-place runner, Mike Wisniewski, finished in 33rd, good enough to beat second-place Michigan State's fifth-place runner. Wisniewski managed to save the team very impor- tant points. One goal set. One goal met. The Wolverines best runner, Mortimer, could not run in the NCAA regional race because of injury but again the team managed to overcome adversi- ty. Snyder finished in second place and freshman Mark Pilja, who ran in place of Mortimer, also stepped up. Pilja finished in 29th place and helped the team insure a' bid to the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan. The team finished in second place behind Michigan State. Considering the circum- stances, the team was ecstatic. More adversity. Another hero. The team went to Kansas knowing that their best runner would run. Mortimer was still injured but had prac- ticed through the pain and was deter- mined to run. The team wanted to come home with something, and since only the top four teams receive trophies, another goal was set. The No. 8 Wolverines went to Kansas with their best runner - and more importantly - confidence. They fin- ished in fourth place. Once again, Snyder stepped up, finishing in 10th place. More amazingly was Mortimer. An injured Mortimer finished in 31st place. Any other race, he wouldn't have run. The Wolverines found a way to suc- ceed. If it was a freshman runner, or a senior All-American, the team managed to make coach Warhurst's 25th anniver- sary a special one. $ $$ Chun-Ma Taekwondo * Kickboxing Acadamy (734) 994-0400 "om of National & Olympic Champions Receive instruction in: Taekwondo Kickboxing Hapkido Judo Our Cardio-Fit Kickboxing. pro- gram takes the music, excitement and energy of aerobics but adds important self-defense techniques like jabbing, kicking, punching and blocking. You learn-while you burn - at 800 calories per hour! Bet en t e Mus School a8. Experience the convenience of living next door. HOUSES and The School of Music $$ , : By the way, Have you heard we are giving away 2 Spring Break packages to Cancun? $ Yru better get in here andfind out howyou can win!!! If you haven't been in the Union Bookstore lately, you haven't been to the January 6 - April 29 lifeguards Cn.renre A - in - l! I M- a :