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`M' runners face Big Ten's best

Columbus has rarely been a location that Michigan looks forward to visiting, but this weekend, it holds a lot of promise for the Wolverines.

The Michigan men's track and field team holds a distinct advantage heading into this weekend's Big Ten Championships -- it is well-rested. Most of the Wolverines' best runners are ready to take on top competition after sitting out last weekend's EMU Classic.

Kevin Sullivan rested his injured achilles tendon and is nearly 100 percent. The defending Big Ten mile champion will run his specialty as he eyes yet another crown to add to his long list of credentials.

Sullivan is the only Wolverine ranked first in his event heading into the meet, but Michigan coach Jack Harvey is not fazed.

"Neil (Gardner)'s second, and (Jon) Royce is second (in their respective events)," Harvey said.

Gardner and Royce are Michigan's other shots at strong finishes. Royce has been consistently clearing seven feet in the high jump, and Gardner is one of the conference's top hurdlers.

There are limits as to the number of Wolverines permitted to travel, and Harvey has pared down his roster accordingly.

"We'll take our top 28 guys (to Columbus)," Harvey said.

The decision on who travels to the meet is not based on any quota system, just on quality performances, Harvey said.

Those quality performances are plentiful on the Michigan squad. The Wolverines overall strength in a variety of events makes them strong candidates to secure a second-place finish among the eleven conference teams. Wisconsin is expected to win the meet.

Points in the conference meet are awarded on a scale where even a sixth-place finish is rewarded. Points for the first through sixth positions will allow the Wolverines to compile a large score without victories in individual events.

"We'll have entries in every event," Harvey said.

Harvey is planning on making multiple entries in the field events, where good performances are less likely to depend on the competition.

"We'll have two in the long jump, three in the high jump, three in the (pole) vault, one in the shot (put) and one in the triple jump," he said.

Each event has one outstanding runner whom Harvey looks to as important to the team's fortunes. In the distance events, Michigan's best hope is John Mortimer in the 3,000-meter run.

The middle distance events will see Todd Burnham and Dwayne Fuqua in the 600, Trinity Townsend in the 800 and Scott MacDonald aiding Sullivan's cause in the mile.

With Felman Malveaux sitting in the bleachers with a broken foot, the Wolverines see the sprint events as their weak link.

"We're weak in the 200 and we're weak in the 55, although Damon DeVasher is starting to run faster," Harvey said. "Those are probably the two weakest events for us now."

The Wolverines will get a fresh look at most of the teams from the Big Ten, not having competed against them yet this season. Michigan has faced off against Michigan State a number of times, as well as Purdue and Indiana once, but that is the extent of their experience.

"We don't see Minnesota or Iowa until the Big Tens, but it seems that way every year," Harvey said.

The two-day event is broken down with some of the field events on each day, while the running preliminaries are on Saturday with the finals on Sunday.

This is what the runners look forward to throughout the indoor season and this is where Harvey thinks they can shine.

"What we're counting on is having some really good performances," he said.