Wednesday, June 10, 1992 -The Michigan Daily Summer Weeky -11 ___________ Q: Who are the only two pitchers ever to lead their respective leagues in SPORTS IEarned Run Average in their final season in the majors? (996L) xejnoNj XpueS pue (L/.6T) ey1puey pndS :v 'M' cheerleaders to try for national title Solid work ethic, acrobatics leads young squad to championships by Greg Richardson Daily Sports Writer One of the best teams at Michigan does not use a ball, astick, or aracketin any of the games it is involved in. It participates ateachofMichigan'shome football and basketball games, but does not receive any credit for Wolverine victories. When performing at Michi- gan games its main goal is not to win a competition, but to motivate the crowd as much as possible. The team I am referring to is, of course, the Michigan cheerleading team. The Wolverine cheerleaders are a group of athletes that can performacro- batic tumbling and extraordinary stunts which have made them one of the best teams in the nation. In the middle of August, the Michigan cheerleaders will travel to Boston, where they will at- tempt to qualify for nationals. This task should not be a problem, because the Wolverines have qualified for nation- als the last two years. Michigan's cheerleading team is fairly young, and they have many im- portant members returning. Josh Newman, theteamcaptain, is confident that Michigan can place in the top 10 at nationals, which will take place Janu- ary 2 in Dallas. "There's nothing the other teams have done that we can't do," Newman said. Newman is not joking. I saw first hand what these young men and women do in practice, when this certain writer was involved in some of the try-out sessions. I learned that training to be a cheerleader at Michigan is intense and difficult. Also, the training does not stop once one is on the team. Coach Annette Schmidt is fully aware of the rigors that are a part of cheerleading. "I've had divers who have said cheerleading is similar to their sport, in terms of how to fall and other things," Schmidt said. "I once had a football player who said he experienced more hitting as a cheerleader than on the football field." Schmidt added that when you ana- lyze cheerleading, you find it has much in common with gymnastics. This may scare some people from trying out. It Michigan cheerleaders form one of the letters to spell "Michigan" at a football game last sei squad will compete for the national cheerleading title in August. didnot bother me, becauselIlooked at it as a potentially fun experience, and it was. One does not have to have gymnas- tic training to become a Wolverine cheerleader. It helps, but it is not criti- cal. Schmidt revealed that in her five years of coaching at Michigan her men usually have not had any kind of a gymnastic backgroundatall.Onemight think that all of the current women have had tumbling experience, but there are two varsity women who have not. i i { Lone blue runner makes NCAA final s ', s - by Wendy Law Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men's and women's track teams sent five Wolverines to Austin, TX last Tuesday to compete in the NCAA Track andField Championships. The tournamentwas held Wednesday through Saturday. Amy BahnisterandKristineWesterby competed Wednes- day in the semi-finals for the800-meter event.Bannister took fifth place in the heat, running a time of 2:06.21. She ad- vanced to the finals held on Friday, achieving eighth-place overall with a time of 2:06.24. Bannister also earned a 1992 All-American title for her placementin the finals. She was the only Wolverine to advance to the finals for both teams.{ Westerby ran a time of 2:08.79 in the semi-finals. Brad Darr and Stan Johanning also competed Wednesday inthesemi-finalsoftheirevents.Darrjumpedinthepole vault event, attaining aheightof 17 3/4. He needed to clear 18-4in order to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona.Darr will have another chance to make the team at the Last Chance Qualifiers meet held later in the summer. Johanning competed in the javelin event, throwing adistance of 202-4. Courtney Babcock was the last Wolverine to compete in the semi-finals. She ran Thursday in the 5000-meter event, achieving a time of 17:13.08. The men's team earned zero points in the tournament since no one advanced to the finals. The women's squad earned one point in the NCAAs with Bannister's perfor- mance in the finals. Overall, Arkansas took the championship for the men's division. LSU took the women's championship, earning its sixth straight title. LSU also earned the Indoor track and Cross-country titles this year, qualifying it for a 1991-92 Triple Crown title. The school earnedits last Triple Crown in 1985. LSU is only the second school to eam two Triple Crowns. It is possible to make the cheerleading squad without gymnastic experience; it is relatively easier for men, since fewer men than women try out. A more important aspect of cheerleading than gymnastic ability is intense practice. Of course there is also a substantial amount of practice in- volved with doing stunts as well. At the first session all the beginners worked on what are called preps and chairs. A prep is the starting point for all the stunts. It is the key for all of the male-female stunts that are renowned in cheerleading. The idea is that the man stands in a crouch behnd the woman while placing his hands firmly, but not too firmly, on her hips. The woman crouches down, while the man simultaneously goes with her. As she rises, the man, primarily using his legs for power, thrusts her up in the air. It requires a reasonable amount of prac- tice to perfect, but it is fun. Michigan cheerleaders make this andothermoredifficultmaneuverslook easy. But, then again, that's their goal. Schmidt said there are no stars on the team. She said this is essential for the squadtoperformatitsbest,because each member needs every other mem- ber to do well. Newman confirmed his coach's stance on the role of his teammates. "Each member has an equal role," Newman said. "Whoever does the best, everybody should be doing that well." Individual cheerleaders at Michi- gan are not supposed to stand out, but the Wolverine who has been thoughtof as the most outstanding the last two years running is Michelle Maynor. The vote was made by her teammates. Other cheerleadershaveexcelledin their sport at Michigan as well. Stephanie Huff was nominated among hundreds of people at the collegiate training camp in Boston last summer for most outstanding cheerleader. Newman also won a plaque for an out- standing cheeleader nomination. "(The cap) is four days where the goal is improvement, and not so much to beat the other team," Newman said. "The four days serve to gel the squad. We improved a lot." Schmidt was also pleased with what theNCAAstaff,anelite groupofNCAA cheeleaders and coaches, thought of her squad. "If the staff thinks you did a good job, that's something," Schmidt said. The NCAA staff was so impressed by Huff and Newman and therestof the Michigan team that they asked the en- tire squad to join the staff. With that position, the Wolverines were given theresponsibility toteach young people cheerleading. Schmidt is glad that the NCAA noticed her team the last two summers in Boston. Although cheerleading seems to be anall-aroundpositiveactivity, thesport was the focus ofecriticism last fall when Sports Illustrated ran a story on the big 'I've had divers who have said cheerleading Is similar to their sport, in terms of how to fall and other things. I once had a football player who said he experienced more hitting as a cheerleader than on the football field.' -Annette Schmidt Michigan cheereading coach businesssideofcheerleading.Schmidt dismissed the article's claims and re- marked that it missed the point by not capturing the essence of cheereading. "Any sporthas abusiness side toit. There are training camps for every sport," Schmidt said. "Clothing com- panies gear toward sports and athlet- ics." If all goes as planned, Schmidt's Wolverines willexcelagaininBoston > and challenge for the national title in Dallas.Michigan'syouthandimprove- ment bodes well for success in the future. The sport of cheerleading has been criticized for its business side, but this group of Wolverines seeks to show the nation that they mean noth- ing but business. Michigan runner Courtney Babcock and four other Wolverines participated in the NCAA Champion- ships last weekend.