CHAMPAIGN - On the surface, the Michigan women's track team's impressive second-place finish in the Big Ten championships seems to conform to a very simple standard.
The standard of Tania Longe.
Without Longe's 29 points, the Wolverines wouldn't have come as close as they did to knocking off highly favored Wisconsin.
But the real difference in Michigan's performance - the factor that got the Wolverines within 10 points of defeating the Badgers - wasn't Longe. It was the Michigan distance runners.
The Wolverines also placed second at the Big Tens during the indoor season. The difference between the two finishes? Wisconsin demolished Michigan in the indoor venue, beating the Wolverines 119-82 - a whopping 37-point margin.
The Badgers' indoor dominance stemmed from its distance crew. Wisconsin runners took the top three finishes in the 800- and 3,000-meter runs and the top two finishes in the 5,000 and 1,500. That's 84 points in four events.
In last weekend's outdoor Big Tens, the Badgers took the top two spots in only the 5,000. As expected, Wisconsin's Kathy Butler finished first in the 3,000, 1,500 and 5,000, but the Badgers weren't able to put up the flawless front they had demonstrated at the indoor meet.
A lot of credit should be given to other teams - runners from Michigan State and Penn State were key in breaking up the Wisconsin packs.
But Michigan's distance crew also did a great deal to slow down the Badgers, effectively costing Wisconsin points while gaining them for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines' distance efforts began in the 10,000, with Michigan's Katy Hollbacher, Julie Froud and Elizabeth Kampfe all scoring points.
But Michigan's largest individual distance contribution came from sophomore Katie McGregor. McGregor competed in an exhausting schedule this weekend, running in the 5,000, 3,000 and 1,500 - placing third in the 3,000 and 1,500, and fourth in the 5,000.
Even when it became clear that Michigan wouldn't beat Wisconsin, McGregor's competitive nature kept her striving to do as much damage as possible to the Badgers' efforts.
"With the disappointment we were already facing and how it was going to be so close, I just wanted to go out there and mess with Wisconsin's strategy (in the 5,000)," McGregor said. "I just wanted to get in their face and not let them do what they wanted to do. They took the championships away from us, so the least I could do was mess up their game."
McGregor also led her teammates through her emotional toughness. When she wasn't competing, she was one of the most vocal Wolverines on the sidelines - motivating the other Michigan athletes into impressive performances against a potentially intimidating Wisconsin opponent.
"Katie already is a stalwart on the team, and we'll be relying on her a lot in the future," Michigan distance coach Mike McGuire said. "Wisconsin is a real rivalry, and the kids get really fired up for it - Katie's a fiery kid to begin with, so she really gets into it."
Although the distance crew's efforts may not have resulted in first-place finishes, McGregor and the rest of the distance runners helped crack Wisconsin's distance foundation enough for a more than respectable Michigan finish.
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Katie McGregor and the other Michigan distance runners played a large role in slowing down the Wisconsin juggernaut at last weekend's Big Ten championships.
After dominating the heptathlon, Longe finished a disappointing fourth in the long jump with a jump of 6.11 meters - 0.49 meters less than her jump in the heptathlon.
"I was really, really, really, tired," Longe said. "That's why I just couldn't pop one out."
Michigan's only other Big Ten individual champion was Nicole Forrester who took first in the high jump, clearing a height of 5-foot-11 1/2. Although Indiana's Nathalie Belfort and Illinois' Stacy Grant also jumped 5-11 1/2, Forrester took first place because she was able to clear the height in less attempts.
"I knew I had to do that on my first attempt," Forrester said. "At the indoor Big Tens I goofed up my first jump and ended up knocking (the bar) down. It came back to haunt me."
Michigan's distance runners also had a strong meet. Along with her fourth-place finish in the 5,000, McGregor took third in the 3,000 and 1,500. In the 10,000 Hollbacher took fourth and Froud placed fifth.
Michigan's sprinters had an up-and-down meet. In the 100-meter dash, Maria Brown finished fourth followed closely by teammate Kenise Bocage at fifth.
In the 4x100-meter relay and the 200-meter dash, the Wolverines could do no better than seventh.
Despite coming close, the Wolverines were disappointed with the final outcome.
"I think that we had the personnel to win, but we didn't." Henry said. "The team is dejected and they're really upset that they didn't pull it off."