Monday June 21, 2004 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com SPORTS 11 Early Eurotrip for 'M' duo 'M' second in ________i - Director's Cup An unexpected European trip isn't what Michigan track teammates Nate Brannen and Nick Willis want ... but it's what they need. The duo raced across North America for the past two months, trying to qualify for the upcoming Olympics in Athens, Greece. After stops in Ohio, Michigan, Victoria, B.C. and two in Oregon, Brannen and Willis have not yet hit the 800-meter and 1,500- meter qualifying times necessary to represent Canada and New Zealand, respectively. Instead of training in Ann Arbor for the Olympics like they hoped, Brannen will compete in three additional events in Europe while Willis is likely to compete in two. Crossing the Atlantic, however, should benefit the pair because the faster pace of the' international runners could push Brannen and Willis over-the elusive Olympic stan- dards. The next few weeks in Europe are cru- cial because the deadline to qualify for the Olympics approaches - Brannen has until July 11th and Willis by July 21st. Thus far, the road to Athens has been bumpy for the duo, especially for Brannen. Five weeks ago, the Michigan junior injured himself during training. "During an off-day run, I hurt my ankle," Brannen said. "Before (the injury) I was in pretty good shape. Nothing would have stopped me from (qualifying for the Olympics)." Brannen changed his Olympic goals because of the injury. "I'm just going for the 800 meters (now)," Brannen said. "I was going to go for (the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters), but since I've been kind of limited with my workouts. I couldn't put in the mileage I wanted to." Brw wen must hit the 'A' and 'B' standards in the 800-meters separately and will have to finish in the top four at the Canadian Nation- al Finals to qualify. Despite adding the ankle injury to his list of obstacles, Brannen remains optimistic. "Since the injury, every week I'm getting much fitter and much more confidant," Michigan track members Nick Willis (left) and Nate Brannen (right) will continue their quest to qualify for the Olympics in Athens, Greece. They have not qualified as of yet. By Seth Gordon Daily Sports Editor In its highest finish in the 11-year history of the award, Michigan finished second to Stanford in the United States Sports Academy Director's Cup for the 2003-2004 season. Stanford finished with a total of 1,337.3 points in the competition, ahead of Michigan's, 1,226.3 and the 1,178.8 tallied by third-place finisher UCLA. The competition is meant to measure the overall success of athletic pro- grams, and this year tops Michigan's previous-best finish, third- place back in 1999-2000. At the monthly Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, Athletic Director Bill Martin praised the effort of this year's Michigan squads. Martin was at the meeting, which also included NCAA president Miles Brand and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney, to take part in a discussion on Intercollegiate Athletics. Afterwards, Martin echoed the pride that he has taken away from this year's. accomplishment. "I think it's a reflection of the job our coaches and student-ath- letes have done," Martin said. "I'm just very proud of theme all." The Wolverines were ahead in the standing after both the fall and winter seasons but were unable to hold off perennial champion Stanford. The Cardinal have won the award the past 10 years. To put the second-place finish in context, Martin explained to the board why Stanford has dominated the competition, also saying that in some circles it has become known as the "Stanford Cup." The standings are based on the best finishes for 10 men's sports-' and 10 women's sports. Martin explained that Stanford's success is in part due to the fact that they have 35 men's and women's sports from which to draw points. In contrast, Michigan has only 25 varsi- ty sports - 13 for women and 12 for men - from which to earn points for the competition. This year, the Wolverines were lead by their women's teams, with 12 of the 13 earning points for the competition, although only 10 of them could be used. When the discussion at the Regent's meeting turned to Title IX, the federal law that requires equal opportunities for men and women at institutions that receive federal funds, Mar- tin lauded the success of the women's teams- as proof of the progress that has been made at Michigan because of Title IX. On the men's side, eight of 12 of Michigan's men's teams earned points for the Director's Cup. Swimming and diving, gymnastics and indoor track and field all finished in fifth place to lead the' Wolverine men's teams. Martin explained that, as Athletic Director, his goals are not suc- cess on the field, but success in the classroom. "We never focus on (the Director's Cup) as a competition," Mar- tin said. "We never sit around and talk-about it. But we're very proud of where we end up. It is never our focus. Our focus is aca- demics first." Brannen said. "I definitely think my chances (of qualifying) are pretty good. I just need to get some light races and hit the times." So far, Brannen hasn't hit the Olympic times, but he's getting closer. Before the injury, Brannen improved almost 1.5 seconds in his 800-meter time in back-to-back weekends in early May - missing the Olympic 'B' standard by just 0.04 seconds with a 1:46.79 mark at the Len Paddock Invitational inAnn Arbor. After tak- ing a month off to nurse the ankle injury, Brannen ran a slower, yet expected, mark of 1:47.63 in the 800-meters at the Victoria International Track Classic last weekend. On Saturday, Brannen ran the 1,500- meters at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Despite a personal best time of 3:39.05, he missed the Olympic 'A' standard by 2.85 seconds.- "I'm pretty happy with how the race fin- ished out considering what I've been through," Brannen said. "Over the past month or so, (the ankle) has been pretty nag- ging, and I haven't been (training) like I planned on." Willis's Olympic training plans have changed, too. The Michigan sophomore hoped to quali- fy for both the 800- and 1,500-meter races in North America and believed he was on his way to qualifying for the 1,500-meters dur- ing the Prefontaine Classic until a clock dis- crepancy threw off his timing. Willis competed in the mile at the Pre- fontaine Classic, finishing second with fs time of 3:53.51 - about three seconds slow- er than former Wolverine Alan Webb. Track officials marked off the 1,500-meter mark for Willis during the mile, allowing him to qualify for the Olympics if he hit the 'A' standard during that stretch of the race. But Willis was mislead by the infield clock. He thought the clock was the rolling time for the event, but it actually displayed See OLYMPICS, Page 12 "Don't let your H A I R get ahead of you 304 1/2 S. STATE ST. 2ND FLOOR 008 9329 WWWDASCOLABARBERSCOM Autumn Woods Condominiums 8101 Autumn Woods Trail r:Prmim iews 9 ft c Cul Starting at $158,900 ~ 734-482-9000 for more information Model Hours: MT, and F 10:00-6:00 Saturday and Sunday 12:00-5:00 ____