November 2, 1998 - SportsMonday - The Michigan Daily - 3B Women 'disappointed' with second JIM ROSE SyRyan C. Moloney Daily Sports Writer Asthe Wolverines stood in the finish chuEin the waning moments after yes- terd4-s Big Ten Championships, one did ;ot have to listen for the final ulis to realize the story would not W a happy ending. Instead of smiles and high-fives, the runners consoled each other with tear- 511 hugs and words of encouragement p- asplay that typified the close-knit relationships on the Michigan cross country team and made the five-point loss to Wisconsin a bitter pill to swal- low for those who have supported the team throughout the season. As many predicted, the race turned i to a war between the Wolverines (36 nts), the conference's highest- ranked,team at No. 3 in the nation, and Wisci|sin (31), which had conquered the Big Ten meet in each of the past three seasons. Katie McGregor came within one sicond of matching her course record at the Michigan Golf Course with a winning time of 17:16, easily beating Wisconsin's Erica Palmer for the indi- vidual conference title. Wisconsin placed two more runners after Palmer until Michelle Slater, Lisa Ouellet and Elizabeth Kampfe cap- tured the sixth, seventh and eighth positions with times of 17:53, 18:01 and 18:04, respectively. The clincher for the Badgers occurred when they placed two runners ahead of Michigan's fifth, Sarah Hamilton, who placed 14th with a time of 18:25. "We're definitely disappointed. We knew that if we ran a great race and they ran a great race it would still be tough to beat them," Kampfe said. "There were a few people, including myself, who didn't have their best per- formances. We still, as a team, did well." Kampfe, who has finished second overall behind McGregor in four races this season, took her disappointment in stride. "I went out thinking I could have a great race and it just didn't go that way," Kampfe said. "I was a little bit tired ... things like that I just wasn't able to overcome today. So, I'll just have to deal with it and move on." McGregor's victory was one of the highlights of the day for the Wolverines, though the senior admits that it is bittersweet in light of the team's finish. "I'm glad I won it, but at the same time I don't get to share it with my team- mates," McGregor said. "Of course, they got me to where I am today, but it doesn't really mean that much when they aren't able to share it with me." Michigan coach Mike McGuire was especially impressed with McGregor's perseverance throughout the race. "I don't think she felt super-great today. She had some difficulty after the race," McGuire said. "She has a pretty high threshold for discomfort, and that's what running is. "She's got a good combination: She's obviously talented, but she's every bit as tough as she is talented, and that's the difference between the good ones and the great ones. She's the best run- ner I've ever coached." The five-point difference between Wisconsin and Michigan surprised no one, though nine other teams competed in the race. The next highest finisher, Minnesota, finished with 104 points. "I felt going in that it would be a five-point swing either way," McGuire said. "It was basically going to be a dual-meet and that's what I tried to relay to my athletes. They had a couple kids run better for them and it surprised me a little bit, but that's what it's all about." Though the Wolverines were dis- heartened with their overall perfor- mance, the team's leaders were quick to put things in perspective. "We've got two more chances," Ouellet said, in reference to the upcom- ing district and NCAA meets. "I think it's hard to get too upset about it, because we've got so many friends and so many family and alumni here that you're not really going to sit there and sulk," Slater said. "Now we want to win districts and then be top 10 in the nationals. We're picking up and moving on now." Snyder, McLaughlin fiish at home in style By Chds Langrill Daily Sports Writer Todd Snyder and Don McLaughlin, both seniors on the Michigan men's cross country team, have been running together since their days at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. " esterday's Big Ten Championships the Michigan Golf Course marked their Tinal time running together in front of the hometown crowd. sIltage was set for a great finish to the tandem's finale at home. With over 3;00'fans in attendance to watch the nieet, the two runners knew that their performances would be critical in deciding whether or not Michigan could epeat as Big Ten champions. The *lveines beat out Wisconsin last sea- son for the team title. ,When all was said and done yester- day, amidst the roar ofa crowd cheering especiglly loud for Michigan, Michigan Statd"'br Wisconsin, the Wolverines were indeed able to repeat as Big Ten champibns. 'And:without the efforts of the two Ann Arbor natives, it wouldn't have been possible. ,nyder, Michigan's No. 2 man, was to pull away from two Michigan State runners in the final 1,000 meters to finish with a fifth-place time of 24:34. Snyder's time was second for Michigan, behind fellow All-American CHAMPS Continued from Page IB 4guys really came through at the en4," Warhurst said. "Down the stretch we had Jay (Cantin), Don (1cLaughlin) and Mike (Wisniewski) kicking really well." Former runners were in atten- dahce to help Warhurst celebrate the championship. One former athlete at the Michigan Golf Course yesterday was All-America, Olympic medalist and Olympic team captain Brian Ier. It is awesome to still watch Ronnie make champions out of these young men," Diemer said. "I am in coaching now and a lot of the things that my runners learn are from Ronnie." Warhurst seemed to enjoy having his'gojner runners around, as much as t1Tformer players enjoyed being around Warhurst. *This is really special to have all of these guys around," said Warhurst. From here the Wolverines will try to repeat as district champions, and earn another berth in the NCAAs, where they finished fourth last year. "We have a week off and now we Will turn our attention to repeating as district champions," Bunt said. "From there we want to finish in the top four at nationals." John Mortimer, who finished in third place with a time of 24:24. McLaughlin - the critical "fifth" man on the team - followed Steve Lawrence (11th) and Jay Cantin (12th) in a final push that helped propel the Wolverines' top five runners ahead of those of Michigan State and Wisconsin. McLaughlin finished in 19th place, with a time of 25:27. McLaughlin and Snyder both stressed how important it was to them to be running in front of family and friends for the last time as Wolverines. "There are a lot of parts on the course where the crowd's really condensed," Snyder said. "There was a lot of yelling there ... it kind of soothed me." "Both my high school coaches were here, and just a lot of people. It was nice to go out with a win;" McLaughlin said. Both runners stressed that it was important to the team to perform well, as this meet celebrated the 25th anniversary of Michigan coach Ron Warhurst's first Big Ten title. "We're glad we were able to have a victory for him," McLaughlin said. Snyder and McLaughlin won a state championship together at Pioneer. They've now won two Big Ten titles together here at Michigan. What else could be left? "Nationals is most important to us," Snyder said. McGREGOR Continued from Page 10 But the great ones run with discom- fort, and she did a great job of not letting her pain interfere with her performance' McGregor surprised few by cap- turing her second straight Big Ten crown. The question that arises is:' Was this just another win, or does this accomplishnient rank among the top in her career and in Michigan history? The answer depends on whom you ask. "Well, (the victory) is very important and I am excited about it now, but it's just another race," McGregor said. McGregor was more concerned with the overall team score, rather than her individual performance. "In my mind it's only good when you have your teammates to cele- brate with," she said. "When you're by yourself it's not really that fun.' On the other hand, McGuire said McGregor's achievements were monumental.' "I think that her accomplishment today might be abigger one than her victory last year at Big Tens," McGuire said. "Katie ... had to deal with all the pressure and expecta- tions that everybody put on her - that's what separates the good run- ners from the great ones. And Katie is one of the greats." No doubt about fr: These runners are truly amazing, ross country meets are deceptive. Here's what they look like to the average spectator: The runners string across the starting line, and when the gun sounds, everyone takes off in a flash. But then, once the runners are out of sight, there's not a whole lot left to the spectators. Everybody just sort of looks at each other and says, "OK, so, we meet back here in about 15 minutes to see the finish?" And that's pretty much what happens. The fans are left to talk amongst themselves, essentially killing time until the action loops back into view. But in the meantime, the runners are just getting started. Meets such as yesterday's Big Ten race at the Michigan Golf Course are a throwback to the very earliest athletic competition. They're about one person saying, "I can do this faster than you can." It's raw, grueling, primitive competition, and it pushes the very best athletes to the brink of collapse - and then, often, a little bit further. The number of runners who hit the finish line with arms extended in tri- umph - usually just one per race - is, without fail, tiny in comparison to the number of runners who simply hit the ground after getting to the finish line. At the conclusion of both the men's and women's races yesterday, a hand- ful of runners barely made it to the final tape before crumbling, out of energy and breath, to the ground. An entire team of athletic department staff and helpers was on hand for the sole purpose of orchestrating post- race procedure. In theory, the runners were supposed to continue on past the finish line into a single-file "chute," from which the order of finish was determined. But in practice, the chute vicinity became less organizational tool and more hazard area. With gasping runners crashing into one another and falling all over the place, the race organizers were forced to become an impromptu medical assistance team. And to the spectators, all of this tends to be fairly surprising. Having qui- etly mingled with fellow fans for 15 minutes or so, the chaos that is the end of the race is at first a bit bewildering. The athletes return looking as if they've been off fighting a war, as opposed to, well, just running. But in reality, there are few things in sport that are more physically tax- ing than a cross country meet. The average person tends to look at a race as a jog through the park - or, in this case, across the golf course. To say as much does not do this sport justice. The performances of Michigan's cross country runners, men and women both, have been nothing short of spectacular. Think of it this way: Of all the women that are students at Big Ten schools, not one is a better distance runner than Katie McGregor - for two years in a row. Of all the schools, none has put together a better men's team than Ron Warhurst - even though his best runner, John Mortimer, is at less than 100 percent. When you really stop and think about it, Michigan's runners seem pretty amazing. The way they've continually been at the front, meet after meet, weekend after weekend, is astounding. Their efforts deserve recognition and com- mand respect. It might fairly be said that anyone can jog through the park. That might be true. But there aren't too many people who can do it faster than Michigan's runners. Congratulations are in order. - Jim. Rose can be reached via e-mail at jwrose@umich.edu. LOUIS BROWN/Daily Senior co-captain Don McLaughlin (right) helped Michigan round up the wagons yesterday at the Big Ten Championships, with a fifth-place finish. Slater, Ouellet, Hamilton save 'best' for Big Tens By Evan Braunstein Daily Sports Writer There is no doubt the women's cross country team felt some disap- pointment after falling just short of grabbing the Big Ten title yesterday. But if moral victories can lessen the hurt, this team has to be proud of its effort. Along with Katie McGregor's winning performance, three of the Wolverines' top five finishers ran their best races of the season. Michelle Slater placed sixth with a time of 17:53, 12 seconds better than her time two weeks ago at the Wolverine Interregional. Lisa Ouellet recorded a personal- best time, finishing in seventh place, just eight seconds behind Slater. "This was my best time by 32 sec- onds," Ouellet said. "That felt really good. We are disappointed, but we're too close to give up. We are not going to let Wisconsin go." Slater's performance fits in well with the season she is having, as she continues to improve in each race in which she competes. The senior was an All-American in her first year of competition in 1995, but an injury kept her out of the 1996 season and may have contributed to a drop in productivity last year. But this season, Slater has proven her All-American status was well- deserved, with consistent perfor- mances all season, culminating in her outstanding race yesterday after- noon. "This was my best time so far," she said, "and was really nice because this was my last time running this course, and it was a huge home meet with lots of alumni and fans around." But possibly the most surprising time of all came from Sara Hamilton, who finished 14th with a time of 18:25. Yesterday marked Hamilton's best finish of the season, and far and away her top finish at a Big Ten Championships meet. Without her performance, the meet would not have been nearly as close as the five-point margin indi- cates. "The better team won today," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "But we had about three kids run the best they have all year. "Hamilton ran great. Ouellet ran by far her best race of the season and Slater was as solid as ever." Michigan's Michelle Slater placed sixth in yesterday's Big Ten meet. I .oip . Ol. -/ ,. ,. . .,r,.,,. Te University of Michigan Office of International Programs G513 Michigan Union 530 South State Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1349 734764 4311 tel 734 7643229 fax Marketing Specialist Temporary, Flexible Opportunity In International Marketing The Gale Group, the nation's leading publisher of quality print and electronic information products, is seeking a Marketing Specialist interested in earning $15-$20/hour - with flexible scheduling PRESENTS: INFORMA TION MEE TINGS about STUDY ABROAD THIS WEEK: Tuesday, November 3,J998 ,n ~\ ~,\ \ ___________________________ I , t ' ..