24A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 8, 2001 Blue sends three to nationals By Shawn Kemp Daily Sports Writer Three's company when you reach the national level. Charles DeWildt, Mike Wisniewski and Ike Okenwa, three members of the Michigan men's track team, face the end of their seasons tomorrow at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The pressure that the trio will eticounter - both mentally and physically - is greater than in any other meet, as the best collegiate athletes across the country will meet in the culmination of the sea- son. Wisniewski, a senior who enters the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:05, didn't think his season would ever conclude in at the national championships - he labeled his season "the scariest (he's) ever had." '"For eight weeks in the middle, I thought I was done," Wisniewski said. "I didn't know what was going to happen, if I wasn't a runner any- more, because I couldn't race - I couldn't do anything." After struggling with a bout of sickness and over-training, Wisniewski has regained his confi- "dence and enters the NCAA meet on a high. "You definitely have to have the mindset or else your body's just not going to listen to you," he said. "But I feel confident enough that right now I'll have a decent race." Also dealing with a "roller- coaster season" is Okenwa, who qualified in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.94. Okenwa, a junior, credited his "up-and-down" performances to a lack of concentration. Coming off of a good race, he said the most important thing for him to remem- ber is to continue doing whatever made him successful. In failing to do so, Okenwa lost his focus. As he puts it, "it showed there out on the track." But Okenwa approaches the national meet with a new attitude. "It doesn't matter what you've done all season - these guys have done it, too," Okenwa said. "You're only as good as your last race, so hopefully this will be my best race of the season." One Wolverine who has been peaking at just the right time is DeWildt. After soaring to a person- al-best height of 17-9 in the pole vault one week ago, he expects to finish in the top three at the NCAA meet. DeWildt's season was a steady progression from the start. He said his coach, assistant track coach Ricky Deligny, didn't understand why he wasn't jumping higher at the beginning of the season. "I told him everything was fine, and that it was just going to take time," DeWildt said. "He was wor- ried, but it took a while to just get in the groove." Now that DeWildt is in peak con- dition, his goal of a top-three finish is conceivable, as evidenced by his high national ranking in the event. "I'm glad I'm seeded higher," he said. "I want somebody to look up to me as well as I'm looking up to somebody else." Coach Ron Warhurst explained that at a meet like the nationals, 70- 80 percent of success depends on mental approach. With that in mind, DeWildt, Wisniewski and Okenwa all have to enter the meet with a level of confidence. "We can talk to them until we're blue in the face and tell them how great they are, but if they don't believe in themselves, it's not going to help," Warhurst said. "They're in there because people know who they are now." WI LLIAMS Continued from Page 12A are completely geared towards stop- ping him. Robinson is the team's only true slasher, and his size and speed allow him to create mismatches, especially with defenses keyed in on Blanchard. Furthermore, Robinson draws defensive help, so even when his shots don't fall, space is often created for offensive rebounds. 2. A little help from the underdogs - If every member of the Michigan basketball team can find perfect spiritual harmony, the Wolverines can beat Penn State and Michigan State (the Wolverines lost by 21 and 27 in their two meetings). But even a Zen awakening couldn't boost this team past No. 2 Michigan State and No. 4 Illinois in the same weekend. Therefore, Michigan would need some help from the rest of the Big Ten to create a more manageable semifinal and final. Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin: I'm looking in your direction. 3. A totally restructured offense - The motions, screens and post- ups in Michigan's offense this year have been fruitless - the least effective I've seen in 15-plus years of watching college basketball. The talent exists on this team, but it has yet to be harnessed. I know Ellerbe would have a con- niption fit if I told him that - he prefers the "we're getting the oppor- tunities, we just aren't finishing" explaination. Pish posh. When your average margin-of-loss is 18.2 points over the course of a season, it's this writer's opinion that everyone else is taking a lot better shots than you are. Even fans can usually tell what Michigan is trying to do offensively long before legs are set in motion. When Avery Queen and Josh Moore are isolated on one side for 10 sj- onds. Michigan is trying to post Moore. When Groninger sprints from one corner to the other, hcC s" hoping to free himself up for a 3- point shot. Teams with videotape at their ,Ois- posal have had no trouble observing and stifling these plays. I asked Ellerbe if he planned on altering strategy in practice at all this week, and he said the team v working on some new wrinkles. 1 think Ellerbe needed to be incredibly creative in practice this week, because Michigan needs to catch, opponents by surprise. Also, a team that's used to losing needs its coach to institute some changes - when you've been suffo- eating in defeat all season, it's tough to believe that the same old tactics will suddenly become successful., Dan Williams can be reacheat dbwainumich.d 2001 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament 'I- Thu rs.' Ma, 8 F. Mar.9 Maa 10, Sun. 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