Sections

Women's track will use Eastern Michigan meet to prepare for upcoming Big Tens

The last time the Michigan women's track and field team traveled to Eastern Michigan University, it ran off with 173 points, a first-place finish and numerous record-breaking performances. This week, the team returns to Ypsilanti with a different focus.

With the Big Ten Championships only a week away, the Wolverines seem less eager to dominate, and more interested in preparing for the conference meet Feb. 24-25.

Consequently, several of the squad's top athletes have been scratched from this week's roster, having already reached their desired performance level. Many of these athletes, including senior All-Americans Monika Black and Courtney Babcock and sophomores Tania Longe and Michelle Slater, have already qualified provisionally for the indoor nationals next month.

For these athletes, the goal is to rest and prepare mentally for the Big Ten meet around the corner.

"The proven athletes have earned the privilege of resting," coach James Henry said. "But there are still things we need to accomplish."

One group that must step up at this meet is the throwers, namely senior Jayna Greiner and freshmen Nicole Keith and Stephanie Wigness.

"All three have the potential and ability to qualify for nationals," Henry said. "I think this is the perfect type of meet for them to accomplish this."

But qualifying will be difficult with so many teams on hand. In addition to collegiate runners, the meet will include numerous track clubs and unattached athletes running without any affiliation. All told, more than 30 squads will be packed into Eastern's track and field house.

Still, Henry insists, the atmosphere will be laid back and relaxed, at least for his team.

But not every outstanding runner can afford to approach this weekend's meet complacently.

For senior sprinter Tearza Johnson, this weekend means the chance to re-establish her Big Ten dominance in the 200-meter. Johnson, who has spent most of this season nursing a hamstring injury, left the rest of the conference in her wake last year en route to a Big Ten indoor title, with a blistering time of 24.14 seconds.

"She's out to improve on her performance and get her confidence up," Henry said. "We will definitely need her contribution in the sprints so that we don't get shut out by Illinois."

Johnson's attitude was slightly less impassioned.

"I just hope to run a good race," she said.

Other runners seeking to peak before conference competition include freshman miler Katie McGregor and sophomore Pauline Arnill. McGregor, who recently qualified for the U.S. Junior National Cross Country Team, will have to return to previous form after running the 4,000 in Cincinnati last weekend. Arnill, on the other hand, is looking to follow up her impressive 9:42.22 time in the 3,000 last week in Champaign.

Both runners will be joined in the mile run by seniors Katy Hollbacher, Jen Barber and Jackie Concaugh, as well as junior Mara Guillemette.

Although the 600 is mysteriously absent from this week's time schedule, the event will be run at the conference championships. In preparation, freshman Angie Stanifer will run the 800.

While NCAA provisional qualifier Black will skip out on the high jump this week, freshman Nicole Forrester and senior Beth Gould will look to improve their performances in preparation for the Big Tens.

Not all events will center on individual athletes, however. The mile relay team of Sheryl Omar, Brandy Taylor, Lamika Harper and Johnson hopes to improve the Wolverine's best time of 3:48, with each runner shouldering 400 of the 1,600 meters.

But each team member, from the distance crew to the sprinters and jumpers, will need to carry her load if Michigan plans on grabbing the Big Ten crown.

If the team performs as well as it did on its last trip to Eastern, the Wolverines will be well poised to bring that crown to Ann Arbor.