10
Thursday, June 13, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Erin Finn finishes 12th place in her final race as a Wolverine
Thursday
night
marked
the
culmination of collegiate distance
running as well as the final 10,000
meters of sixth-year senior Erin
Finn’s
illustrious
career
as
a
Wolverine.
Twenty-four of the nation’s best
assembled at Mike A. Myers Stadium
in Austin, Texas to represent their
schools in the NCAA Outdoor
Championships.
The women’s 10,000-meter final
began with a congested cluster
of runners stretching four lanes
wide. Finn quickly earned an inside
position within the top five and held
a steady pace for the first 10-15 laps.
An injury-riddled season afforded
Finn less than two months and just
three events of competitive running
to prepare, forcing her to adopt a
new, unfamiliar approach.
“The start was great,” Finn said.
“My plan was to not do any of the
work (of leading). Ideally, I like to
control the race, but my body was not
strong enough, not fit enough at this
point.”
During the first half of the race,
Finn’s strategy was predicated on
staying within striking distance of
Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer, who
jumped out to an early lead. After
falling out of the top five, Finn pushed
her way back with 8 laps remaining.
But the heat, humidity, and
exhaustion began to take its toll on
the runners with just four laps to go,
providing the ultimate separation
that would define the race.
“My
body
really
started
to
struggle,” Finn said. “I got passed
and I got gapped.”
With runners falling in and out
of contention, the only competitor
seemingly unaffected was New
Mexico’s Weini Kelati, who used
the last mile to build a nearly
insurmountable lead.
However, the final lap catalyzed
an
inspiring
comeback
from
Carmela Cardama Baez of Oregon.
Trailing by nearly five seconds,
Cardama Baez climbed all the way
back, approaching within a meter
of Kelati. Alerted by the roar of the
crowd, Kelati propelled one final
push, giving her all the separation
she needed. With only 50 meters to
go following an exhaustive effort,
Cardama Baez had neither the time
nor the energy to complete the
comeback.
Kelati finished with a time of
33:10.84, a record at Mike A. Myers
Stadium.
Finn
delivered
a
similarly
admirable finale. As a sixth-year
senior clawing her way back from hip
surgery, she was nearly 20 seconds
ahead of the next finisher.
She ended up in 12th place with a
time of 33:40.88, capturing a second-
team All-America honor.
“It’s definitely not the way I
dreamed of going out, especially after
some of my earlier successes,” the
ten-time USTFCCCA All-American
said. “But given this journey I’ve
had the last year and a half, a couple
weeks before Big Ten’s I didn’t know
if I’d be running at all this season. I
was really thankful that I could have
one last go around.”
The finish line represented the
conclusion of this year’s track and
field season as well as the career of
one of the most decorated athletes in
school history.
“I had that flashback,” Finn said.
“It wasn’t of anything I had done.
Just thinking about my teammates,
my coach, my assistant coaches,
my athletic trainer, just all the
people who have touched my life,
recognizing these people will forever
be in my life. Although my days as
an athlete are over, my days as a
Wolverine are not.”
ALEX WALKON
For The Daily
Jabri Abdur-Rahim becomes one of Juwan Howard’s first offers
Jabri Abdur-Rahim talked to
Juwan Howard for the first time
on Thursday. And, in a stark
departure from his predecessor,
the conversation came with a
scholarship offer.
John Beilein held a firm policy
when it came to these things.
Until a recruit stepped foot on
campus, took a full academic
tour, and Beilein had seen him
play in-person, he didn’t extend
an offer. In the last two days,
Howard has extended his first
two offers as Michigan’s coach,
first to five-star guard Joshua
Christopher and then to Abdur-
Rahim — and neither have held
firm to that policy.
“I understand coach Beilein’s
way of doing things,” Abdur-
Rahim told The Daily. “That’s
the approach that a lot of schools
take. Which is something I
understand. I also understand
the other way, too. So it’s just two
different perspectives. I respect
both of them.”
Since
Beilein
left,
Saddi
Washington
has
been in touch with
Abbdur-Rahim,
maintaining
a
relationship
and
bridging
the gap between
coaches. Though
not yet officially
announced,
Washington
is
expected
to
be
retained on Howard’s staff, with
Phil Martelli and Howard Eisley
rounding out the coaching staff.
“They’re
trying
to
grow
something special at Michigan,”
Abdur-Rahim said. “(Howard)
hopes that I could be a part of
that.”
Abdur-Rahim, a four-star wing
ranked 41st in the country per
247Sports’ composite, previously
had
an
official
visit to Ann Arbor
scheduled
for
May 27, but that
was swept away
amidst the chaos
of
a
coaching
search. As of now,
he has no plans set
in stone for a visit,
but
that
could
change.
“Once
all
that
stuff
with
(Beilein) happened, that kind
of took over the timeframe that
I had set for my junior year
officials,”
Abdur-Rahim
said.
“Now, I’m gonna just regroup and
take my officials as a senior and
see where that goes.”
When asked whether Howard’s
status as a member of the Fab
Five impacted his perception
of Michigan, Jabri chose to
focus instead on
Howard’s
NBA
experience.
“It’s
interesting,
because
he’s
obviously done it
before,”
Abdur-
Rahim said. “So
that
perspective
is
pretty
cool,
a
person
that’s
played
at
the
highest level. Like
I said, I’m just trying to do my
homework on everybody. Not just
Michigan.”
Right now, Abdur-Rahim said,
his recruitment is wide open
and will likely hinge on what
he sees in the upcoming season.
He, as everyone else, has little
indication of what Howard’s
basketball philosophy is and
plans to be watching closely come
the fall to find out.
“I
feel
like
I’m gonna have
a better sense of
my view once I
see them,” Abdur-
Rahim said. “...
So I can watch
gameplay,
can
watch
everyone
else play. Compare
and contrast the
schools
I
like
and the schools
I don’t like. So my view is the
same for everybody right now.
I’ll definitely start gaining some
stronger opinions on a lot of
things once the season starts.”
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
I’m just trying
to do my
homework on
everybody.
They’re trying
to grow
someting
special ...
DARBY STIPE/Daily
Senior Erin Finn finished 12th in her final race for Michigan at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas Thursday.