Monday, May 10, 1999 - The Michigan Day --15 Wolverines 'tune-up' at Phil Diamond Men's track dominates invitational in preparation for Big Ten championships By Chris Langrill Daily Sports Writer The Big Ten Championships are only two short weeks away - that's what seems to be on the collective mind of the Michigan men's track and field team. When asked how they felt about individual perfor- mances and wins at yesterday's Phil Diamond Quad at Michigan's Ferry Field, coaches' and athletes' responses were short and to the point. "This was a good tune up. "We're looking for our best results now." "The guys are coming together." Stock quotes? Yes. But in the case of this year's Michigan team, they seem to hold true. The Diamond meet, Michigan's first home engagement after more than a month- long road trip, saw the Wolverines defeat squads from Ohio State, Penn State and Missouri Michigan finished with 208 points, while Penn State, the closest competitor at the scored event, ended up with 175. The results showed just how prepared the Wolverines are for the upcoming Big Tens, which will be held in West Lafayette, start- ing May 21. Junior distance runners Steve Lawrence and Jay Cantin both won events and fin- ished second in two others; Cantin took the 1,500-meter run (3:47.51) with Lawrence finishing right behind him at 3:49.17. Cantin placed second (1:51.23) in the 800 behind .1999's 800 indoor national champi- on, Missouri star Derrik Peterson (1:48.46). Lawrence then finished out the day with a win in the 3,000 (8:21.08). Did running against a national champion in the 800 give Cantin any added incentive to win? "I just wanted to be close and finish hard," Cantin said. "You never know what can happen --it just depends on how a run- ner feels on a given day." Another hint that the Wolverines are "coming together" at the right time can be gleaned from the performances of its less experienced runners. Freshmen Derek Applewhite, Ike Okenwa and Oded Padan all took home individual titles from the Diamond meet. Applewhite won the 110- meter high hurdles (14.60), Okenwa the 100 (10.60) and Padan the triple jump (14.98). Additional victories came from junior Patrik Johansson in the hammer throw (59.36) and sophomore Charles DeWildt in the pole vault (4.88). The greatest example of Michigan's year- long improvement may be the 400 relay team. The relay team, made up of Steve Jenkins, Okenwa, Kevin Bowman and Steve Molnar, turned in its best performance of the year with a winning time of 40.79. After starting the outdoor campaign off slowly, the relay teatn won at last week's Toledo Invitational and then dominated the Diamond race. "We know that we can run well now," Molnar said. "We have good chemistry, and I think that's what does it for us." The constantly-improving Wolverines will play host again, this time at the Len Paddock Invitational Friday and Saturday. Steve Moffat and the Michigan men's track team dominated competition yesterday, hosting the Phil Diamond Invitational. 'M' celebrates holiday with victory Ryan C. Moloney aiy Sports Writer The Michigan women's track team had a happy Mother's Day in more than one respect Sunday. The Wolverines defeated a tough Penn State team 201.5-168 in their first meet in front of the home faith- ful of Ferry Field in thte outdoor sea- son. Leading the way for the team was Wtie McGregor. The senior captured Xh the 1,500 and the 3,000-meter run. Her victory in the 1,500 was quite possibly the highlight of the meet. In the last 100 meters, McGregor turned on the burners -and caught Penn State's Susanne Heyer with only a few meters to go. "That was a lifetime best for the irl from Penn State, she really came big," Michigan assistant coach Mike McGuire said. "To be honest, neither Katie nor I expected it. But Katie responded to her and came on strong in the last hundred meters." The day was also highlighted by a BASEBALL Continued from Page 12 scoreless the rest of the game. But Indiana did not go quietly, as the oosiers squeaked out a 2-1 victory in nday's nightcap. The Hoosiers recorded their first and only two hits of the game against Wolverine starter Vince Pistilli in the sixth inning and grabbed a 2-0 lead which they would not relinquish. "Vitnce pitched about as well as you could today,' Cervenak said. "But we just didn't get it done with the bats' Michtigan now holds a slim two- *s"e advantage user the Hoosiers with still one more game to play. Today's game "is an important game" Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "If we win we're in good shape, and if we lose, the series against Pess State gets a lot big'. gutty performance from Elizabeth Kampfe in the 5,000 meters, The junior ran most of the race alone and, as she has all season, battled shin splints throughout the race. "My shins aren't doing too well," Kampfe said. "I need to take a lot of time off, but I can't do it until Big Tens are over' McGuire was impressed with Kampfe's ability to cope with the sit- uation. "In all honesty, we are just sand- baggin' the levy right now," McGuire said. "She's a tough kid and she has performed well for the team. "She's competed well and she's made the most of the situation." In the sprints, the Wolverines were led by Maria Brown. Brown captured second in both the 100 and 200 meters and was the only Wolverine to finish in the top four in each event. "I was a little bit disappointed but not too much because I was coming off injuries," Brown said. "I hope to finish in the top two in the Big Tens but I was out for five weeks - right now I am just happy to be back High-jumper Nicole Forrester led the way for the Wolverines in the field events. Forrester jumped 6-0, besting her nearest competitor by four inches. But Forrester was only mildly pleased with her performance. "I'll take it," Forrester said. Forrester is recently coming off of a strict training regimen consisting of weight-lifting, speed workouts and technique drills. Now it's just a matter of putting it all together. "We're fine-tuning right now and taking it a little easier," Forrester said. "People will basically be clean- ing out the bugs and getting ready for the Big Tens in a couple of weeks." Other first places for the Wolverines included Julie Presley(158-9) in the hammer throw, Brandi Bentley in the long jump (20- 10 1/2), Candice Mullings in the pole vault (10-6), Tiffany Hodge (14.61) in the 100-meter hurdles and Shalina Rankin (57.56) in the 400-meter run. 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