After two weeks of competing in away meets, the Michigan men's cross country team will have a chance to race on familiar turf.
This Sunday, the Wolverines will host the Michigan Interregional Invitational at 11 a.m. at the University of Michigan Golf Course.
Schools from the eight districts around the nation will travel to Ann Arbor to compete in the meet. Among them will be Georgetown, North Carolina State, Southern Methodist, William & Mary, Tennessee and Kansas State.
No. 9 Michigan team is looking to overthrow No. 6 N.C. State and to stay ahead of No. 10 Georgetown.
Michigan coach Ron Warhurst won't let N.C. State's higher ranking intimidate his team.
He believes the Wolverines have the ability to surpass all the competitors.
"Our No. 1 goal is to win," Warhurst said. "We want to win Big Tens, then place high in districts and nationals."
Michigan sophomore John Mortimer will be one of the leaders of the pack. After breaking the course record at the Murray Keating Invitational in Maine last Friday, he is prepared for Sunday's competition.
Mortimer believes Warhurst's goal of overthrowing N.C. State is possible and said the cheering home crowd will boost the runners' spirits.
"A lot of Michigan fans will be there, which will be nice, as opposed to other (away) meets," he said. "It will be a nice place to showcase our talent."
Freshman runner Jay Cantin agrees that the home course will be an advantage for the Wolverines.
"We'll be running on familiar ground, and a lot of guys have raced on the course before," he said. "So it will definitely be to our advantage."
Not only will there be a home turf advantage, but also an expected large cheering section for the Michigan runners. A Wolverine crowd of over 1000 people is expected to watch the event. The invitational is being promoted by the Michigan Athletic Department and all the faculty and department personnel were invited to attend.
Many area high schools are also expected to watch the race because the event is being publicized in various local newspapers.
Warhurst's racing strategy for Sunday will differ from last Friday's. In Maine, Warhurst experimented with the Michigan runners, having them start at a slower pace to conserve energy for the end. The plan did not proceed as he hoped. At the two mile marker, the Wolverine runners trailed Stanford's running pack by 25-30 seconds. Warhurst said that Michigan had to go all out for the last three miles just to catch them.
This week, he has learned from his mistake and says the runners are concentrating on going out faster and being more aggressive during the first half of the race.
"One thing I can tell you is we're going to get the Michigan guys in front, not 100 yards behind at the mile mark."
FILE PHOTO/Daily
After chasing themselves so often in practice on their home course, the Wolverines will finally get to chase others on it.