12 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 19, 1999 Women try for second Big Ten crown' By Arun Gopal For the Daily ' The Michigan women's track and field team has been preparing for this moment during the entire indoor season. All the hours of practice, all of the effort, and all of the miles have been building up to this weekend when No. 6 Michigan travels to Columbus for the Big Ten women's indoor track and field Championships, which start Saturday at 9 a.m. As defending champion, Michigan will be the hunted, and the other ten teams in the conference will be the hunters. This year several of the hunters are solid contenders for the Big Ten crown. "As always, Wisconsin will come strong," Michigan coach James Henry said. "They are bal- anced and are especially strong in the middle and long distances. "Purdue is an up-and-comer. They also have a very balanced team across the board. We feel that these will be the two toughest teams to handle at the Big Ten championships." Henry said he feels that his team will not feel extra pressure as defending champion, although they had a poor showing at the Cannon Classic. "There is some added incentive as champion," Henry said. "But we've already had a dress rehearsal against most of our top conference chal- lengers at the Cannon Classic. We stunk up the place, and the other teams were better. "If we don't change the script from the dress rehearsal, we'll get our butt kicked. Our biggest motivation will come from trying to prove that the dress rehearsal was a fluke, not so much from defending the title." Purdue comes into the conference championships with a perfect 3-0 record. The Boilermakers are led by senior long jumper Carrie Long - who has yet to lose this season - and by senior sprinter Ericka King. King holds the second-fastest Big Ten time in the 400 meters this year. "There might be some individuals who feel tense (about the meet), but collectively, I don't think we'll feel the pressure," said Michigan distance coach Mike McGuire. "We go in knowing that we did it together last year, and if we keep that in mind, we'll be fine." No. 5 Wisconsin is led by a set of twins, seniors Jenni and Janet Westphal. The Westphals have 12 All-American honors between them. Jenni was the Big Ten outdoor track athlete of the year in 1998 and is a six-time confer- ence champion. Janet is a five-time all-American herself, and the twins teamed up on Wisconsin's 1996 national champion distance medley relay team. The coaches agree that experience will be an important factor for the competition. "Experience always helps for leadership," Henry said. "The more experienced athletes get out there and help the younger members with their nerves." There's "no question about it. The kids that have been through the wars on the conference and nation- al levels help to spearhead the attack," sai@ McGuire. "However, the only way you win is with all twen- ty-eight people contributing," McGuire said. "So the supporting cast will be as important as the more experienced runners." The coaches gave their opinions on what will be the keys to a good showing for Michigan. Henry said the first race was important. "We want to have a good start from Olive Ikeh and Tiffany Hodge leading off in the pentathlon. We want solid early performances from them," Henry said. McGuire emphasized the need for a balanced attack from all of the Wolverines who will be in Columbus. "Balance from all twenty-eight competitors will be important," McGuire said. "We have to compete to the best of our abilities. We have to win with everyone - four or five people can't do it alone." 'M' track needs young and old for victory. LOUIS BROWN/Daily Tiffany Hodge and the Michigan women's track team will travel to the Big Ten Championships this weekend, as will the men's track team. By Ron Garber and David Mosso Daily Sports Writers The moment of truth has finally arrived for the Michigan men's track team. This weekend, the Wolverines want to put an exclamation mark on a season filled with pleasant surprises. All season, this young, freshman- laden squad has silenced critics and performed beyond expectations. But when they travel to Madison for the Big Ten championship meet, they face their most daunting challenge yet. Surprisingly, the freshmen provid- ed the bulk of Michigan's scoring this year. But due to the competitive field, the Wolverines' elder statesmen might have to lead the way. "Going into the Big Ten meet you can't really count on freshman," Michigan coach Jack Harvey said. "They will make their mistakes. The key is minimizing those mistakes." Two upperclassmen, juniors Jay Cantin and and Todd Snyder, have distinguished themselves in recent weeks. Last week at the Wolverine Open, Cantin captured the 800 meters by running the fastest time of any Wolverine all season. He also won the mile at the Michigan Intercollegiate, posting a team-leading time of 4:08. Snyder posted back-to-back wins in the 5,000 at the Michigan Invitational and Meyo Classic. With their combination of talent and expe- rience, Cantin and Snyder seem to be candidates for strong showings. While the Wolverines would like solid upperclassman performances, it's no secret that the Wolverines need Covering Assisted ]Death the Press, the Law and Public Policy iponsored by the WK Kelogg Foundation The Michigan Journalism Fellows with the University of Michigan Law School ivites you to Join Nationally recognized journalists and experts who will discuss media coverage of euthanasia and assisted suicide and its role in shaping public policy. Monday, February 22,1999 1 p.m. -5 p.m. 100 Hutchins Hall University of Michigan Law School Ann Arbor, Michigan No Registration Required For more information, call 734-998-7666 Participants include: Mike Wallace, CBS News; Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune; Betty Rollin, NBC News; Yale Kamisar; UM Law School; Faye Girsh, Hemlock Society USA; Arthur Caplan, University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics; national experts from the American Medical Association, the Catholic Church and others. their freshmen to continue to exceed expectations. The most impressive of these fresh- man has been silky-smooth sprinter Ike Okenwa. Okenwa brings a streak of four consecutive meets with a vic- tory. Earlier this week, Okenwa suffered a major scare when he reinjured his achilles' tendon in practice. While the same injury may have kept any other athlete from competing, Okenwa will be ready to go this weekend. "Even if I broke my foot, I'd be running in that meet," Okenwa said. "There's no way in hell I'm missing that meet." Okenwa is not the only freshman with something to prove. Triple jump specialist Oded Padan, currently ranked seventh in the country, has overwhelmed inferior competition all BRONCOS Continued from Page 31 recent slide. Slow starts are Michigan's biggest problem, because the Wolverines don't possess the scoring firepower to blast their way out of sizable deficits. "We want to get off to a better start in these games," Berenson said. "You might give up the first goal, because that can happen. But we've been giv- ing up the first two goals, and we want to get away from that." Although Michigan has found season. But Padan will have his hands full at Big Tens where three of the best triple-jumpers in the nation will compete. A less-heralded freshman may actually have the best chance to win his event. Patrick Johansson is expected to challenge in the weight throw. "If Patrick has two more feet i him, and I think he does, he could wiP the title in his event," Harvey said. Other Wolverines expecting a big weekend are freshmen Jeremy Schneider and Mike Wisniewski and sophomore Charles DeWildt, and junior Dan Snyder. This will be the last Big Ten indoor championship in the illustrious twen- ty-five year career of head coach Jack Harvey. Yesterday, Harvey announce@ that he would retire on Jan. 1, 2000. itself trailing early in recent games, it has shown heart in its comebacks - despite thetdisappointing end results of most of them. a That's little consolation to the Wolverines, the preseason CCHA favorite, who know that there are columns in the standings for wins losses, ties and points - but not effort. "They have to believe in them- selves," Berenson said. "Sometimes when you have too much confidence, that's when you lose it. "Now it's time to believe in our- selves, and believe in each other." 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