Tuesdav. Mav 29, 2001 - The Michigan Dailv - 1 I MLH4N I IT A' A-If &-WWA. - IIIV IV114(116QII 6/QIIY L'a P Vichigan recruit breaks 36-year- Bailey is '4igible for ld hih school record in mile Mhig basketball EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - Alan lebb was such a hot commodity, the trong of fans who surrounded him >r more than an hour didn't even otice superstar Marion Jones walk- ig by. fter his incredible race at the Pre- taine Classic track meet, Webb, ho is coming to Michigan in the ill, had better get used to the atten- on, because some prominent people ntennt-Tnn- -nAA were absolutely floored by what the 18-year-old did Sunday. Webb smashed Jim Ryun's 36- year-old high school record for the mile, finishing in 3:53.43 to take fifth place and nearly overshadow the winner, Hicham El Guerrouj. The Moroccan world record-holder ran 3:49.92, the fastest mile ever run in North America. While El Guerrouj shattered the U.S. all-comers' record of 3:50.86 by Algerian Noureddine Morceli in Atlanta in 1996, all anyone could talk about Sunday was Webb's perform- ance - and the potential he has to resurrect American distance running. "I think Alan Webb can become my No. 1 rival if he really works at it," El Guerrouj said. "He's obviously got a great future." Even the sport's true superstars were in awe of Webb's fierce run- ning, which included an amazing 58- second final lap. Maurice Greene, the world record-holder and defend- ing Olympic champion in the 100, congratulated Webb after the young- ster's race, then hugged him after Webb completed his second victory lap - one with El Guerrouj and the second by himself. "I wouldn't race him a mile," Greene said of Webb. "He don't look like no high school dude." "It's exciting to come out on the track and watch a phenom like Alan Webb run," Jones said. Webb, from South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., eclipsed Ryun's scholastic record of 3:55.3, set in 1965 at San Diego. Only four prep students have broke the four- minute barrier outdoors. The last was Marty Liquori in 1967. "I played it conservative for the first 2 1/2 laps, but at the end of the third lap I pulled up with the pack," said the senior. "I got excited then. I was like, 'I'm five meters from El Guerrouj with a lap to go."' Although El Guerrouj's time was the fastest in the world this year, he wasn't completely satisfied with his first race of the season. He wanted to make a strong impression following his disappointing silver medal per- formance at the Sydney Games. "I would have preferred to run 3:46 or 3:47, but unfortunately the pacemakers went out a little too quickly," he said. "I was greatly dis- appointed after the Olympic Games, because my own national press criti- cized me and it made me even more determined to come out and become a great champion again, because I think I deserve it." Chuck Bailey learned earlier this month that he became academically eli- gible to play basketball at Michigan for next year. Bailey, a 6-foot-7 forward from Detroit Martin Luther King High School, joins Dommanic Ingerson as the two Wolverine recruits ready for the fall. Michigan is still waiting for JaQuan Hart and Kelly Whitney to acquire the necessary test scores for eli- gibility. Bailey averaged 22.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game as a senior. BAD REP: HBO's hit series "The Sopranos" took a shot at the Michigan basketball program. In an episode air- ing May 13, Tony Soprano briefly read a newspaper article about a 19-year-old Michigan player who was expected to be a high pick in the NBA draft, but died of a cocaine overdose. Gotfredson to play exhibitions in Africa Michigan fifth-year senior and walk- on Mike Gotfredson will compete in the Ivory Coast in Africa with the Ath- letes in Action. Gotfredson is among several other Division I players making the team, including Michigan State's Aloysius Anagonye. The point guard played in 13 games for the Wolverir last year, averaging 4.3 minutes. The touram against the top five e- in Africav1i1be from June 16-25. Women's hoops hires new assistant coach Angela Jackson will likely be hired as associate head coach to Sue Gue- vara for Michigan. Jackson resigned as coach of Saginaw Valley State, Guevara's alma mater, last week. Jackson and Guevara also both served as assistant coaches together at Michigan State earlier in their careers. Hrovat takes silver in Pan American games Michigan's Andy Hrovat won a sil- ver medal at the Pan American Cham- pionships last week in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. The games pit the best wrestlers of North, Central and South America. The United States team was put together based on the winners from the University National Freestyle Championships from early April. The second-place finish allows Hrovat to compete in the 2001 World Team Trials (June 21-24) in Cincin- nati, Ohio. With a top-three finish there, Hrovat will be on the U.S. National team. A first-place finish will enable him to compete in the World Championships (Sept. 26-29) in New York, N.Y. Ilchlgan recruit Alan Webb showcased s talent at the Prefontalne Classic. 0 --- - -mll--m For just 2 hours of your time! Participate in a research study involving reading some material and responding with your opinions, thoughts and feelings about various products and issues. You will need to attend two sessions, one week apart. The first session will be on either Friday, the 8th of June or Saturday, the 9th of June and the second session will be exactly a week later on Friday, the 15th of June or Saturday, the 16th of June. Each session will last no longer than 1 hour. You will be paid $20 at the end of the session. To participate, please email tanc@umich.edu.