The~ Mic~hian Dfliv- Soorts~MondaIv-- Febrarv, 15. 1900 -7R" W restlersg fPl' M/IW SYY ciai a t - .Wresters hurt by ijuiies, faigue By Michael Shafrir y Sports Writer With only two dual meets left on the schedule, it is time for the Michigan wrestling team to look ahead to both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. But afew Michigan wrestlers are probably looking for &ne rest and relaxation. Michigan has been bitten recently by the injury bug. Compounding the problem is a roster that featured five freshmen against Purdue. There isn't a lot of experience on the team with the grueling preparations for the two championship meets in the near future. Corey Grant suffered a deep calf bruise at the end of Thursday's practice Ad is expected to miss the last week- Vd of the season. But Michigan coach Dale Bahr said it could have been much worse. "We thought that his leg was bro- ken," Bahr said. "He's not moving around too well right now, but at least his season's not over." Frank Lodeserto has been bothered by a nagging ankle sprain suffered Jan. 24 against Wisconsin. "We'll probably keep him out until Ao Tens," Bahr said. "It's real hard to over from an ankle sprain if you keep wrestling. The only thing you can do is rest it.' The two freshman mainstays in Michigan's lineup, Andy Hrovat and Charles Martelli, are looking to stay strong through the end of the season. "It's a long season for the fresh- man ;' Bahr said. "It's real tough for them to maintain their intensity for the !iole season." . Bahr said that Martelli has been going through some difficulttimes on the mat. "He's at his low point, as far as this season goes;' Bahr said. Hrovat, on the other hand, seems to have found what it takes to make it through a long season. In the match against Purdue, Hrovat moved into 10th-place all-time for wins by a fresh- 'I gotta give credit to the condition- ing and coaching I've been getting," Hrovat said. Michigan assistant coach "Joe McFarland has been getting on me lately to improve my mental side and that's helped a lot" Bahr credits the attitude Hrovat brings to the mat for helping him this season. "He's not afraid to go after points, *ich you don't usually see in a fresh- man," Bahr said. "He's out there laughing and smiling which is great to see." Injuries and fatigue aside, the Wolverines feel they will be ready to grapple with the best in the next month. "It might seem unrealistic with the inexperience we've got," Bahr said. "But we want to win at some Big Ten titles and then go see what happens at .2AA's" I V 1 n With his win Sunday against Purdue, freshman Andy Hrovat moved into 10th place all-time for wins by a freshman. The top 10: (current wrestlers in Grounded runners make the best of it By RaFo Ombe For the Daly Seven members ofthe Michigan men's track and field team were scheduled to compete at high altitude in the mile-high air of Colorado this weekend. But thanks to the American Airlines sickout, they couldn't get off the ground. "Everybody was pretty bummed about not getting to go,' freshman Ike Okenwa said. With their flight cancelled, the athletes joined the rest of their teammates Saturday at the non-scoring Wolverine Open. 'This was really a low-key meet,' assistant coach Ron Warhurst said. "We're just sharpening up for the Big Ten Championships." With the Big Tens only a week away, several Wolverines notched encouraging performances that left the coaching staff optimistic for the upcoming champi- onship meet. The most encouraging performance came from freshman sprinter Ike Okenwa, who was held out of Michigan's previous meet with a leg injury. Fans and coaches alike breathed a collective sigh of relief after seeing Okenwa win the 60- meter and 200-meter dashes. Although he didn't make the provi- sional standard for the NCAA Championships, Ike was pleased with his performance and can't wait to compete in the Big Tens. "Just being at Big Tens as a freshman will be great" Okenwa said. "I'm really excited. This is what we've been training for all year. There's no looking back now" The Big Ten Championships, which take place this Saturday, also mark the last chance Okenwa will have to make the provisional standard that has eluded him all season. "I can't back off in practice. If I just bust it out. Monday and improve my starts, I can make that standard," he said. Okenwa isn't the only Wolverine who enters the week with momentum on his side. Freshman thrower Patrick Johansson had a breakthrough perfor- mance 'in the stranger indoor only 35 lb.weight throw. He threw two feet fur- ther than he did a week ago and left Michigan coach Jack Harvey very pleased. "This is the kind of day we were wait- ing for from Patrick," Harvey said. "If he has two more feet left in him, and I think he does, he can really challenge for the win at Big Tens.' Another freshman, Jeremy Schneider, proved that he is ready to compete with the best of the Big Ten. Schneider ran the 400 and won after winning the 500 and 600 in the previous two weeks. "Everything is dropping into place right now," Schneider said. Also notable was the performance of freshman Oded Padan, who continued his season-long domination of the triple jump. Padan, ranked eighth in the nation in the event, stayed undefeated by win- ning with a jump of 51 feet, 1 inch. Although the performances of Michigan's talented freshmen have been nice, Harvey is not sure what to expect from them at Big Tens. "You can't really count on freshmen at the Big Tens. They'll make their mis- takes. Its just a matter of minimizing those mistakes." At this point in the season, the coach- ing staff is looking for an upperclassman who can come forward with strong per- formances in crunch time. That one could be junior Jay Cantin. After suffering through an early-season slump, Cantin has heated up in the past two weeks, winning the 800 in 1:52, the fastest any Wolverine has run the event all year. LOUIS BROWN/Daily The Wolverine Open wasn't supposed to feature many members of the Michigan men's track team, but the American Airlines sick-out forced seven members of the team to make unscheduled appearances at the Track Building on Saturday. I , Confidence growing, and its showing for women' track ~ mmmMm" I U.S. IMMIGRATION By Arun Gopal For the Daily The No. 9 Michigan women's track and field team went into Saturday's Wolverine Open at the Indoor Track Building looking for a confidence boost. The Wolverines certainly got it. The Wolverines had their "best meet of the year so far," Michigan coach James Henry said. Though the meet was unscored, it was clear that the Wolverines were enjoying more success than they had experienced the previous week at both the Meyo Invitational in Notre Dame and at the Cannon Classic in Indianapolis. Junior Brandi Bentley turned in the top individual performance of the day for the Wolverines. Bentley won the long jump with an NCAA-qualifying leap of 20 feet, 10 1/2 inches, which ranked as the nation's third-best jump this year. The jump broke school and venue records. "It felt great;' Bentley said. "My hard work paid off. I feel like I have put in the work all year, and I'm see- ing the results." The record jump comes just 'one week before the Big Ten Championships in Columbus. "Taking Big Tens is my goal. With a solid week of practice, I feel like I've got a good shot," Bentley said. Another Wolverine who had a pro- ductive day was distance runner Katie McGregor. McGregor won the mile with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:48.94. "I did alright," McGregor said. "This was my first time running this event in a while. I was glad to get in under 4:50, but it wasn't a great run. I hope to get better before Big Tens next week." Among Michigan's other winners were Adrienne Hunter in the 800 meters, Maria Brown in the 60 meters, Marcy Akard in -the 3000 meters, Nikki Keith in the shot put and the distance medley relay team, which clocked in at a time of 3:47.8. Hunter was pleased with her victo- ry in the 800, yielding an NCAA pro- visional time of 2:09.03. "I'm happy with my run," Hunter said. "This is the fastest I've ever run, indoors or outdoors. I've still got room to improve before Big Tens, where I'll be running the 600 instead of the 800." Henry was satisfied with his team's performance, coming off a below- average showing last weekend. "This was definitely better than last week," Henry said. "It's good to fin- ish up with our best meet of the year. "We need to use this result for momentum and confidence. If we take confidence from this meet and show some determination, we'll put up a hell of a fight at Big Tens." The law firm of Dobkin & Sherman. PC., specializes in obtaining both temporary and permanent U.S. visas. We have over 20 years of experience assisting University of Michigan foreign students and faculty. Contact: Ted S. Sherman, Esq. at: Law Offices of DOBKIN & SHERMAN. P.C. 32901 Middlebelt Road, Suite 500 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 U.S.A. Tel. (248)855-8600 Fax (248)855-9788 E-mail: xgreencard@aol.com P , REC SPORTS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S HAPPENING INTRAMURALS Intramural Volleyball Officials Needed!! bold) 1. John Fisher 2. Joey Gilbert 3 (tie). Mark Churella 3. Doug Wyland 5. Joe McFarland 6. Sean Sormet 7(tie). Jeff Catrabone 7. Alrron Richardson 9. Otto Olson 10 (tie). Lanny Green 10. Larry Haugh 10. 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