By Chris Farah
Daily Sports Writer
Explosives are extremely dangerous if they aren't handled with care. A short fuse is all it takes for a helpful tool to be transformed into a deadly mistake.
If the Michigan women's track team were a time bomb, then Saturday's Canon Classic in Indianapolis proved that the Wolverines are destined to go off at just the right time - ideally at the Big Ten and NCAA championships.
Michigan is a relatively young team which is still exploring the potential of its talent.
The Canon Classic was the Wolverines' first exposure to competition of national renown and their first chance to see how they would respond to opponents they will face in the Big Tens and NCAAs.
Competition included national powerhouses such as Stanford and Cornell, as well as Wisconsin and Illinois, the Big Ten's two most dominant teams.
"A significant number of the young ladies continued to step up and improve," Michigan coach James Henry said. "They passed with flying colors. We are only two or three steps away from where we need to be. The steps we need to take include having a relaxed weekend followed by some hard workouts, which will put us, as a team, where we want to be in two weeks."
The level of the competition meant that, even though many Wolverines recorded personal bests, few won their actual events.
Junior Tania Longue was a portrait of consistency, placing second in both the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump, as well as third in the triple jump.
Sophomore Marcy Akard finished fourth in the 5,000 but recorded an almost-unheard-of improvement of 42 seconds on her personal best with a time of 16:45.
Henry attributed much of the team's positive attitude to Akard's inspiring performance.
"Her run really lit up some eyes on our team," Henry said. "She helped provide some added motivation."
Akard's fellow distance runner, freshman Lisa Ouellet, contributed her own outstanding performance. Ouellet qualified for the NCAAs with a time of 2:09.47 in the 800.
Her seventh-place finish is indicative of the kind of athletes - against whom she was racing - competition which she feels pushed her to make the NCAAs.
"It definitely helped me," Ouellet said. "With them running, I knew I could hit the time. I was very excited. I don't think it was intimidating for anyone on the team. Our results were really amazing considering the competition. I think because we're young, we're definitely going to surprise some people."
Michigan did record at least one victory, however. Sophomore high jumper Nicole Forrester extended her unbeaten streak to four meets with a winning height of 5-foot-11 3/4. Forrester's performance and mentality seemed indicative of the entire team.
"When she is on, she is more relaxed and jubilant," Henry said. "I forced her to start at a lower height in order to build her confidence."
The meet seemed to have served as a confidence builder for the Wolverines, and Henry expects it to show when the big competitions come around.
"To me, this was a mini-NCAA championship," Henry said. "We were right in the mix, so we were pleased. If my squad is on, they can be one of the top two teams (in the Big Ten)."