Wednesday, May 14, 1997 - The Michigan Daiy - 13 Women's track short on energy, Longe on victories By Chris Farah Daily Sports Editor For the past couple of weeks, the Michigan women's track team has had plenty of things it could've complained about - the weather has been cold and rainy, the training has been exhausting ... the list goes on and on. But for all the things that aren't click- ing for the Wolverines, for all the things that could have gone wrong, Saturday's Phil Diamond Invitational at Ferry Field proved surprisingly successful. Michigan pulled in five individual victories and five runner-up finishes in a field that included Big Ten rival Ohio State, Mid-America Conference power* Eastern Michigan, as well as many other teams. One of the five individual wins came from sophomore Nicole Forrester, who placed first in the high jump with a mark of 5-foot-11. Saturday's victory is just the latest in a long streak of wins for Forrester, who hasn't lost this season. After jumping 6-2 3/4 at the Penn Relays two weeks ago, a height of 5-1 1 isn't enough to leave Forrester complete- ly satisfied. Considering the intensity of her recent workouts, however, the dropoff is understandable. "I'm not too disappointed," Forrester said. "I haven't been tapering off my workouts yet and my back is still sore. I've been stretching constantly because I've been too tight, and I've loosened up a bit. At first I was annoyed that I didn't make (a taller height), butI realize I can't expect too much right now." The few distance runners who com- peted in the Diamond meet also met suc- cess. Sophomore Angie Stanifer placed first in the 800-meter run while fellow sophomore Katie McGregor took first in the 1,500 with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:24.60. McGregor said the recent tough workouts actually help her performances in meets. "No matter how hard we work in practice, I don't consider whether it's going to hurt or help my racing," McGregor said. "I think it would help more than anything - the harder you workout in practice, the faster you go in a race." On the flip side, junior Tania Longe is just beginning to step up her competi- esas Y: tion since a recent hamstring injury, but Saturday she stepped up in a big way. Longe dominated in almost every one of her competitions, taking first in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles while finishing second in the triple jump. To top it off, Longe's winning performance of 20-foot-4 1/4 in the long jump was good enough to qualify her provisionally for the NCAAs. Michigan coach James Henry said he was pleased by the performances of Longe and her teammates. On the other hand, freshmen sprinters Maria Brown and Kenise Bocage, whose times in the 200 and 100 were slower than they expected, have to put their disappoint- ment into perspective, Henry said. "My responsibility as a coach is to inform them of what we just went through in terms of training," Henry said. "The person who it did not adverse- ly affect was Tania Longe. I did not expect her to do as well as she did. "Both Maria and Kenise were really down. We trained really hard this week and it's showing. They don't have the zip they want, but we'll start tapering the workouts after Thursday." Junior Tania Longe led the way for the Michigan women's track team at Sat Phil Diamond Invitational. Longe won the 100-meter hurdles and long jump. Blue rakes in success at Ferry By Chris Farah Daily Sports Editor Last Saturday's Phil Diamond Invitational gave the Michigan men's track team valuable competitive experi- ence - in more ways than usual. Of course, the meet at Ferry Field meant a chance for many Wolverines to sharpen their performances before the Big Ten championship in two weeks. Others, taking the meet off or running out of their usual event to concentrate on training, gained a somewhat different kind of experience. Senior Neil Gardner, for example, whose track resume includes two national championships in the 400-meter hurdles, added a new skill to his long list of accomplishments - raking the long jump pit. "It's hard work raking the pit, but it's fun," Gardner said. "A little diversity never hurt. I took off this meet just so I could train harder during the week." Those Wolverines involved in more traditional track pursuits also tired them- selves out, but not in vain. Junior Brian Thiesen took advantage of Gardner's absence in the 400 hurdles to take the spotlight himself, winning with a career-best time of 51.33 seconds - good enough to provisionally qualify for the NCAA championship. Senior Kevin Sullivan managed a close second-place finish in the 1,500 meters, but said he was well on his way to reaching his former level of domi- nance. Sullivan, a three-time NCAA track champion, has been plagued by injuries for the past year. His time of 3:42 in the 1,500 on Saturday was a season best and NCAA provisional qualifier, evidence that Sullivan is approaching his old champi- onship form. "I don't think I'm at that level right now" Sullivan said. "I'm getting there. It's hard to say -- it's a matter of time more than anything. I've got three weeks (until NCAAs), and I don't know whether it will be enough, but it'll be close. Definitely within six weeks I should be back to where I was." Whatever intensity the Diamond meet lacked due to the absence of stars like Gardner was more than counterbalanced by others like senior Damon Devasher. Devasher placed second in the high jump and 100-meter dash while compet- ing out of event in the 200, garnering a respectable seventh place. "I expected to do better," Devasher said. "But this week I worked so hard in practice that I think a lot of us are tired. We broke ourselves down completely this week. I expected to run faster, but I can't complain too much." Devasher said he is anxious to repeat his solid all-around performance of Saturday at the upcoming Big Tens. "I've got a busy day at Big Tens," Devasher said. "Hopefully, I can place in the top five in all my events and help bring the team a Big Ten championship. "We have the possibility of winning, but everybody's got to go out there and do their job. I'm a senior, and they look up to me to win points, so I take that as my duty to go out there and do it." MARGARET MYERS/Daily The members of the Michigan men's track team had varied experiences at the Phil Diamond Invitational - from running relays to raking the long jump pit. i " Dobbs wins Big Ten golf title By Jacob Wheeler Big Ten championship ring,' Dobbs the Big Ten tournament this weekend. Daily Sports Writer said. "That's what's going to sit me later Michigan finished third, despite lead- Michigan golfer Kyle Dobbs made a on down the road." ing the tournament after 36 holes. The great final impression Sunday at the Big As a sophomore, Wolverines shot a score of 1193, while Ten championships at Ohio State. Dobbs made his . Ohio State won the prize, capturing its Dobbs, a senior, waited until the wan- first run at a 'Big third-straight team title with a 1187. ing weeks of his career at Michigan Ten championship .. "We have a really strong team," Dobbs before winning a coveted Big Ten indi- when he posted a said. "Ohio State is .one of the hardest vidual championship - a feat that no 67 midway through golf courses in the country. But our guys Wolverine has accomplished since 1980. the tournament. But didn't play bad. They hung in there." Dobbs shot an even par 72 Sunday, the lead slowly Following its third-place finish, defeating Indiana's Randy Leen by two dwindled and he Michigan will travel to the NCAA }strokes. Dobbs fired rounds of 73, 71, 71 came up short, fin- Central Regional tournament that begins and 72 to finish one under par. ishing third. 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