Wednesday, June 11, 1997 - The Michigan Daily - 15
There is
I'Tin
Longe
By Chris Farah
Daily Sports Editor
On May 24, on the Illinois track
eld, there lay an unusual sight.
kichigan multi-event star Tania
Longe was huddled, the frame of her
body-a physique appropriate for great
classical Greco-Roman sculpture -
shaking as tears ran down her face.
She was not crying because she was
dissatisfied with
her performance
at the Big Ten
championships
that day
teed, winning
e heptathlon
and placing in the.
top six in four
other events
couldn't possibly
inspire sorrow.
istead, Longe was upset because
Michigan coach James Henry refused to
let her in another event, the mile relay.
Longe was disappointed, not because
0 was tired of doing so much, but
because she wanted to do even more.
In all, Longe accounted for 29 of
Michigan's I l1 points and set a Big Ten
record in the long jump, notching a dis-
tance of 6.6 meters in the heptathlon.
At the NCAA championships a week
and a half later, the situation couldn't
have been more different.
Longe failed to even qualify for the
finals in the long jump and placed a
diocre 13th in the heptathlon with a
re of 5,231 - more than 600 points
less than her score at Big Tens.
Longe has never had a successful run
at NCAAs. She finished 15th in the
triple jump in the indoor championships
earlier this year, ninth in the heptathlon
in the 1996 outdoors and 10th in the
1995 outdoors.
And the reason for Longe's problem-
atic trend at NCAAs is as clear as the
s that ran down her face at Big Tens.
As much as it pained her to not be
able to give everything she had for her
teamat Big Tens, that level of passion-
the drive to not let her teammates down
- pushed her to the incredible level of
success she achieved that weekend.
On the other hand, competing on the
national level requires a more individual
focus, perhaps even selfish one.
When it comes down to it, at NCAAs
each Wolverine is out there for herself,
npeting for personal glory. Don't
ink that Longe doesn't want to win on
an individual level-to say so wouldbe
a discredit to such an intense competitor.
But Longe pulls the most out of her-
self as an individual when she is fighting
for the rest of her team.
"Tania is a team person' Henry said.
"At the nationals, there's no one there.
She's out there on an island by herself,
and the team isn't depending on her"
*Jntil Longe starts to enjoy being on
that island, expect a lot more success at
the Big Ten level, but the same lacklus-
ter achievement at the national level.
Gardner's 'M' career
more than last race
By Chris Farah
Daily Sports Editor
Two NCAA championships, one
appearance in the Olympic 400-meter
hurdles semifinals, three Big Ten out-
door championships, one Michigan
track and field record ...
Aside from turnips and a dash of salt,
the recipe for Neil Gardner's accom-
plishments as a member of the Michigan
track team lacks almost nothing.
Gardner, a senior, didn't exactly close
out his Michigan career in ideal fashion,
finishing only sixth in the 400 hurdles at
last week's NCAA championships - an
event he won last year. But Gardner said
he didn't want his legacy to consist sim-
ply of athletics, anyway.
"My goal here was not just to run
track," Gardner said. "I also wanted to
make my academic contributions and
extra-curricular as well. I want to be
known as a rounded student athlete, as
opposed to just a good runner."
Gardner also did more for the
Michigan men's track team than just add
new chapters to the record book. When
he came to Michigan from Jamaica as a
freshman, the team suffered from poor
unity and camaraderie. As a senior co-
captain, Gardner worked to change that.
"The unity of the team escalated sev-
eral-fold," Gardner said. "Now we have
guys waking up at 9 a.m. to watch a
5,000-meter run. They're making sacri-
fices to make sure they're there for each
other, which is a step in the right direc-
tion.
"It's been a tremendous help to have
the team there as a family of friends to
support me."
Although Gardner left his mark on
many things besides statistics sheets --
he maintained a 3.3 GPA while majoring
in biochemistry - his extraordinary
success on the track will leave the great-
est impression on Michigan fans.
Gardner said that although he may not
have peaked at the right time, his senior
year was his best as an athlete.
"I don't want to let that isolated bad
race hold me back, because I've had only
two bad races this year, as opposed to
maybe nine last year," Gardner said.
"People probably have in mind that I lost
the race because the other guys were
faster, and I don't think that's entirely
true. I lost because I had a bad race.'
Some star athletes deal with their suc-
cess by becoming arrogant and brash.
Gardner's levelheaded approach to his
own outstanding career characterizes his
stay at Michigan just as well as any laun-
dry list of his accomplishments.
"When I look back at Michigan, I
don't see any negatives as far as how I've
progressed through the years; Gardner
said. "Even the defeats and the lacklus-
ter performances - if it wasn't for
those, I wouldn't be able to appreciate
the good sides as well. I consider my
career to be a total success."
Michigan junior Tania Longe furthered a streak of poor NCAA cha
mances last week, placing 13th In the heptathlon.
NCAA
Continued from Page 13
said that bad weather conditions - par-
ticularly the rain - hurt her jumping.
"It's not an excuse, but I totally lost
focus when it rained," Forrester said.
"Last year at Olympic trials, it started
raining and I slipped. I have a problem
whenever it rains because of that.'
The Michigan women's other star
athlete didn't have as much good for-
tune, however.
After setting a Michigan record in
the heptathlon and a Big Ten champi-
onship record in the long jump a week
and a half earlier, Tania Longe finished
13th in the heptathlon while failing to
even make the finals of the long jump
at NCAAs.
Longe said her impressive perfor-
mance at Big Tens and her intense train-
ing afterwards may have led to her poor
showing at the national meet.
"I definitely didn't have the same
snap that I had at Big Tens," Longe said.
"I can't say that I wasn't competitive,
because I was, but it just wasn't there. I
guess I was tired from Big Tens - I
hadn't recuperated enough?'
Michigan women's coach James
Henry said he regretted working Longe
in practice the week after Big Tens.
"Longe's such a competitor that as
soon as she finished Big Tens, she said,
'Well, I need to do this and work on
this,"' Henry said. "She got right back
into training, and that took its toll on
her. In retrospect, it may have been
(best) not to train"
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