It's too bad the Michigan men's cross country team couldn't finish its season on a high note, on some cool Midwestern course closer to home.
Instead, the college careers of seniors Scott MacDonald, Dave Barnett and Jeff Beuche were left in the Tucson, Ariz., desert heat like three lonely cacti.
Circumstances might have been different had last Monday's NCAA Championship been held in a climate more to Michigan's liking.
Instead, the Wolverines were forced to run in 70 degree temperatures all day.
Michigan was shooting for the top eight overall and hoping to land two runners in the top 10.
But John Mortimer and Scott MacDonald both suffered from heat exhaustion, and ran their worst races of the season.
After winning all but one race in the regular season, Mortimer fell to 116th last Monday. He almost passed out during the race.
"At 2,000 meters, (Mortimer and MacDonald) were in the 20s, but John looked terrible," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said. "Halfway through the race he was still back there."
Mortimer is only a sophomore, however, and has two more years to break the top 10 at nationals.
MacDonald finished 43rd in Tucson, his last race as a Wolverine.
"I just couldn't move up at the end of the race," the senior co-captain said.
"The heat and dry weather hindered me. I didn't have my muscles firing like I wanted them to."
But Monday's race wasn't MacDonald's last major event. He sees bigger things on the horizon.
"I'll take a few years to run internationally, but I don't feel I've hit my peak yet. The 2000 Olympics are a big goal of mine."
The last four years, the NCAAs have been held in Bloomington; Lehigh, Penn.; Fayetville, Ark.; and Ames, Iowa: all towns with cooler temperatures.
"Holding it under (Monday's) conditions was a mistake," Warhurst said. "They've got to be considerate of athletes coming from cooler weather."
The top five finishers included teams like Stanford, Arkansas, Colorado and Oklahoma State, which are already used to dry conditions.
"We would have needed a week to get adjusted to those conditions," MacDonald said. "But NCAA rules only let us arrive two days in advance."
Steve Lawrence was the only Michigan runner who ran up to Warhurst's expectations Monday.
"Steve ran very well. He was the third or fourth freshman to finish," Warhurst said.
Lawrence and freshman Jay Cantin were pleasant surprises all year.
The Wolverines should have a solid squad next season with Cantin, Mortimer and Lawrence returning.
Kevin Sullivan, who redshirted this season due to injury, will join Mortimer, Lawrence and Cantin next year.
DAMIAN PETRESCU/Daily
The Michigan men's cross country team, hampered by extreme heat and desert conditions, suffered its worst performance of the season at NCAAs in Tucson, Ariz.