The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

September 2, 2008 - 98

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I The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom September 2, 2008 -98

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Senior Lex Williams finished first out of the Wolverines in the nonscoring Michigan Open.

Wolverines sprint
nto new season

By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
DEXTER - The Michigan Open
wasn't much of a first race for the
Michigan men's cross country
team.
It was more like a glorified 10-
kilometer practice.
The Wolverines dominated East-
ern Michigan, taking the top seven
spots.
"There was a lot of maize and
blue up front," Michigan coach Ron
Warhurst said.
Michigan entered the tune-up
race after a week of conditioning in
Leelanau, Mich.
"We got into a couple (intense
workouts) up there," senior Lex
Williams said. "But nothing too
crazy. It's been pretty low key
so far, just getting back into the
groove. Today was probably the
hardest workout so far, which

was what the plan was going
out."
Williams hit his stride early and
took the top spot (31:40) in the
non-scoring meet.
"I expected to go out and take
the lead from the start," Williams
said. "That was my mindset going
into the race, just to drag my team-
mates along."
For the first half of the race,
freshman Bobby Aprill kept pace
with Williams. But by the sixth ki-
lometer, Williams began to open up
a lead.
Aprill hung on for second place
(32:16) in his first collegiate
meet.
"Bobby Aprill was a pleas-
ant surprise," Warhurst said. "I
knew he was going to be good,
but he's just a racer, which is
what you need to be at this lev-
el."
Aprill joins a team that re-

turns13 letterwinnners fromlast
year. Last year's Wolverines fin-
ished 24th at the NCAA Cham-
pionships and never finished
lower than fourth in a race.
Michigan has one goal this
season - to win a Big Ten
Championship. The Wolver-
ines host the meet this season
and will be a favorite to win
its first conference title in 10
years.
"We should be pretty good,"
Warhurst said. "But to see how
it goes in a month or two will be
something different."

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Tauro coasts to first
in opening meet

pIN
FAAT
STIgEE

By JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
DEXTER - The Michigan
women's cross country team
came in first at the Michigan
Open last Friday.
Technically, the Wolver-
ines came in last place too -
they were the only team on the
course.
"If you heard someone com-
ing, you knew it was your team-
mate," redshirt junior Alison
Nesbitt said. "We were really
working together out there."
Sophomore Danielle Tauro
finished in first place for the
second year in a row (18:30).
She actuallyran eight seconds
slower than last year, when she
struggled across the finish line
in her first collegiate meet.
But last year she didh't have
to battle the sweltering 85-de-
gree heat or run on the same
day she moved back to Ann
Arbor.
"I knew what to expect this
year," Tauro said. "I definitely
wasn't as nervous. I didn't take
it as seriously as I did (last year).
I'm a year stronger, but I'm still
pretty exhausted."
Tauro pushed the tempo early
and tired out a little faster than
planned. But it was up to the
sophomore to set the pace. She
was running without many of

her veteran teammates, who sat
out the non-scoring meet.
"In hindsight, we were a lit-
tle over-aggressive in the first
mile, but I would rather have
that than being under-aggres-
sive," Michigan coach Mike
McGuire said. "They had to pay
the bank back with interest as
the race went on. But I was OK
with that."
Following Tauro across the
finish line was Nesbitt (18:34)
and freshman Lindsey Gaken-
heimer (18:45). Both plan to fac-
tor on an experienced team who
lost just one runner from last
season.
Michigan needs all the help
it can get after a 21st-place fin-
ish at the NCAA Championships
last year. It was the team's worst
finish since 1991.
But with the return of fifth-
year senior Alyson Kohlmeier,
who was a medical redshirt
last year, and senior Nicole
Edwards, who finished ninth at
Nationals her sophomore sea-
son, the Wolverines will have
the potential to return to the
top level.
"Every season has a different
storyline," McGuire said. "We
know this season, we're going
in under the rpdar. The bottom
line is that it's not where you
start the season, it's where you
end the season."


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