' faces
By David Horn
For the Daily
"It's for bragging rights,' proclaims
women's cross country coach Mike
McGuire. Tomorrow the team travels to
*sdale, MI to battle in-state rivals in
the Michigan Intercollegiate meet.
Tomorrow afternoon could be an inter-
esting stepping stone for the Wolverines
as they try to get back on pace follow-
ing a disappointing performance two
weeks ago at the Sam Bell Invitational.
"This is an opportunity to progress
on our way to regionals," McGuire said.
"Sam Bell was our worst performance
of the year."
he frustrations of the team come
a fourth-place tie with Southern
Florida at the Sam Bell Invitational.
Michigan struggled to keep pace with
national powerhouse Arkansas, as well
as North Carolina State and
Northwestern who finished second and
third respectively.
"This team needs to regain its confi-
dence," junior Lisa Ouellet said. "(Sam
Bell) was our first big meet. We took a
s :back."
McGuire looks to take the next step
Shanahan
benches
Gfiese for
ister
DENVER (AP) - Adrift without
a victory and hoping to save their
season, the champion Denve.r
Broncos switched quarterbacks yes-
terday for the second time in five
*ks.
They benched Brian Griese and
promoted Bubby Brister to starter.
"I understand that we're 0-4 and
something needs to change," Griese
said Wednesday. "Whether that
blame comes to me, that's fine. I can
handle it. I'm not going to let any of
this get me down."
Coach Mike Shanahan said Brister
"gives us the best chance to win
rn'. We're not playing for the
fre. We're trying to do the best we
can right now and obviously trying
to find a way to win a game.
"My concern is, what can we do
to give us the best chance to get out
of this slump?"
The 37-year-old Brister will start
Sunday at Oakland, with Griese No.
2 and veteran Chris Miller remain-
ing No. 3. Brister hasn't started
Y ethan eight games in a season
si 1993.
"I'm excited about having the
opportunity to be back and be the
starter and maybe help us get back
on track," Brister said. "But I will
sa) this: It's not one guy's fault.
Brian played hard but had some
unfortunate things happen. We all
have.to play better and coach better
o get back on track. Hopefully, I can
make a difference."
llback Howard Griffith said the
bi, difference between the quarter-
aeks is that Brister has won in the
In this league, it's all about wins
ndosses," he said. "Right now,
rian hasn't won any games for us,
uJ that doesn't mean we have lost
onfidence in him. He's not the sole
eason we have lost games."
Brister, who went 4-0 as a starter
race of the injured John Elway
as season, was deemed the heir
pparent when Elway retired last
'pring.
But, in a startling change of heart,
hanahan benched Brister on Aug.
0 ,after the fourth of five exhibition
arises and made the inexperienced
riese the starter.
grister, who played poorly during
reseason, protested. He said he was
e. r told his job was on the line.
Iahan said he felt Griese gave
hf Broncos their best chance and
rjster was better suited for provid-
nfa spark off the bench.
Shanahan changed his mind after
he two-time defending Super Bowl
hampions failed in win in Griese's
o4' regular-season starts. Along the
a , the Broncos lost standout line-
adker John Mobley and league
Terrell Davis to season-ending
n injuries.
Sanahan said Griese played well
O e first half of Sunday's 21-13
s o the New York Jets.
e had a chance to have four
u'hdown passes and 250-260
aris in the first half," he said. "But
Thursday, October 7, 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 15A
instate foes at invite
forward towards regional, Big Ten, and
national meets. In practices this week
for the Michigan Invitational the team's
workout mileage has been shortened as
a preparatory technique that should
allow for the Wolverines to run at full
capacity tomorrow.
McGuire expects juniors Katie Ryan
and Erin White to improve on their past
performances tomorrow. Senior Angie
Stanifer should "bounce back."
"It's everybody's job to pick up the
slack," Ouellet said. "There's no peck-
ing order on this team, and even if we're
winning towards the end of the race
those last few girls need to provide that
extra boost."
Hillsdale will be a new course to
most of the Michigan women, and the it
should provide some challenge,
although nothing the team hasn't pre-
pared for.
"It receives a ranking of seven out of
ten," Ouellet said. "We're used to train-
ing and running on a nine or ten."
Because this meet offers competition
among only Michigan schools, the run-
ners on the team face runners that they
raced with or against in high school. It
is a meet that Michigan has won each
year but one since its inception in 1987.
"We're above everybody in the field.
We go to compete and to win," Ouellet
said.
Following the Sam Bell, the
Michigan women fell from the national
rankings.
"It's news that we're not in there;"
McGuire said. "But other than that it
doesn't matter."
Ouellet is also not worried about the
drop.
"Villanova wasn't ranked at this point
in the season last year and they won at
NCAAs," Ouellet said. "We need to
regroup for this weekend, and worry
about that national scene later."
Has the chill that came through Ann
Arbor affected training?
"Not at all. We welcome the cooler
weather" Ouellet, a native of Canada
said.:"It's a lot easier to run in than 80
degree heat"
Michigan will try to further lengthen
its dominance in the state tomorrow at
4:30 in Hillsdale. It is the last meet
before they host the Wolverine
Invitational on October 17.
JOANNA PAINE/Udi
The women's cross country squad can bounce back from a disappointing performance against out-of-state rivals, by continu-
ing its dominance in the state of Michigan tomorrow.
Meet signals transition for Blue
By Ryan C. Moloney
Daily Sports Writer
There are three reasons, in no
exact order, why Michigan men's
cross country team coach Ron
Warhurst is taking the team out to the
Murray Keatinge Invitational in
Orono Maine, this Saturday.
"Number one, of course, is to
win," Warhurst said. "Two, is to build
up some confidence for the Big Ten
meet."
And the third reason?
"To enjoy some lobster tails."
Instead of the usual post-meet
fare, the Wolverines will be enjoying
the delicacy of lobster tails and a T-
shirt swap with the other nine entered
teams.
But while the prestige of the meet
far outweighs any the team has trav-
eled to thus far, the level of competi-
tion doesn't quite stack up.
The 12th-ranked Wolverines are
the heavy favorites going in.
"I don't think the competition is
very stiff at this meet," senior co-cap-
tain Jay Cantin said. "We're going to
try and pull some guys along and get
some work in because it's a fast
course."
If Cantin sounds confident, it's for
good reason. The meet comes on the
heels of the last "100-mile" training
week for the varsity five - an
unheard of feat for the Wolverines in
recent years.
"We're still training hard,"
Warhurst said. "There aren't any
highly-ranked teams at this race so it
allows us to train through the meet."
Traditionally, the Wolverines have
travelled to Maine though there are
other, closer meets available on the
weekend.
"It's educational," Warhurst said.
"You never really know who's going
to be out there.
"Two years ago, Stanford was
there and they were the number one
team in the country."
What's more, the Keatinge allows
the Wolverines to juice up there
resume' against regional competition
in hopes of securing a crucial at-large
bid to the NCAA meet.
"It's important to cover our-
selves," Warhurst said. "Sometimes
you need to run against teams you'll
beat easily.
"You hope you run into good
teams but we still have to race - the
competition is ourselves."
The meet signals the start of the
key transition for the Wolverines. The
first two months were spent in build-
ing a sound base of strength and
endurance. Now that the physical
aspect has been honed on the roads,
the work now is to establish a fero-
cious racing mentallity.
Easier said than done, according
to Warhurst.
"You make a choice around the
middle of the race - go for it or back
off," he said. "I've had kids who
could train like hell, then during the
race they get the shakes.
"It's all about training for the
show - anybody can train for three
miles, it's the last two that make the
difference. Sometimes kids fall
asleep psychologically during a race
- 'my legs hurt, I'm tired' - and so
on.
The strategy for the top five on
Saturday is to start out with the pack
for two miles, then separate with a
blistering 4:35ish pace somewhere in
the middle. The intent is to build
mental toughness and to prepare for
perennial Big Ten favorite Wisconsin
when the two teams square off on
Oct. 30.
"We should be able to hang in
there in the latter parts of the race,"
Cantin said. "As far as the Big Ten
goes, I'm just taking it one week at a
time."
Now
OwN,1
JOANNA PAINE/Daily
The No. 12 men's cross-country team will enjoy lobster tails and tough competi-
tion when it travels to MAine for the Murray Keatinge Invitational Saturday.
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