Redshirt freshman Froud first to finish line in season opener

By Chris Farah
Daily Sports Writer

One of the secrets to gaining the upper hand in any kind of competition is to understand the ways and strategy of your opponent.

That came easy to the Michigan women's cross country team Saturday - the Wolverines just had to look in the mirror.

Most of the competition at Saturday's Michigan Open at the Michigan Golf Course consisted of the Wolverines themselves - along with some Michigan State and independent runners sprinkled into the mix.

In the end, though, even the little outside competition the Wolverines did have at their first race of the year didn't make much of an impact - Michigan swept the top three places and took seven top-10 finishes in the unscored meet.

Redshirt freshman Julie Froud claimed first for Michigan with a time of 18:25 for the 5,000-meter course.

"Julie's time was outstanding for the first meet and the conditions," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "I thought she looked really good."

Froud was followed by two of her teammates ... well, sort of.

Junior Katie McGregor took second for the Wolverines at 18:34, but third-place belonged to Elizabeth Kampfe, a Michigan runner who was officially listed as unattached - representing only herself - for just this meet.

Kampfe's third-place finish is even more impressive considering the circumstances she was running under. According to McGuire, Kampfe recently suffered from an illness comparable to mononucleosis. It's not as intense as mono but has the potential to become more of a chronic condition.

"She looked really good," McGuire said. "We're really monitoring her training and a lot of other things right now. We're monitoring her pulse rate several times at night and in the morning.

"She didn't wind down, she was really strong throughout the entire race. Those are good signs that we'll have her with us throughout the fall."

Spartans took the fourth and sixth positions, but aside from that, the top 10 was entirely Michigan. Michigan's Eileen Fleck finished between the two Spartans for Michigan, while Katie Clifford, Lisa Ouellet, Erin White and Sarah Hamilton rounded out the top 10.

Despite the lack of competition, the Michigan Open was hardly a walk in the park for the Wolverines. Although weather had looked promising the week before the race, with temperatures hovering rather consistently in the low 60s, Saturday held more traditional August weather.

The heat and sunshine combined with the rolling, hilly terrain of the Michigan golf course added up to some difficult conditions - especially considering it was the Wolverines' first meet of the season.

"It's Michigan, so we were due for it," McGuire said. "I told the kids the other day that it wasn't going to stay nice and cool. It's tough enough opening up out here on this course. Everyone says, 'The breeze is great,' when you're a spectator, but it doesn't really do you much good when you compete.

"The bottom line was the kids competed pretty tough. They overcame those conditions pretty well."

McGuire was also pleased with the first outing of his top freshmen, Clifford and White. Not only did the two Wolverines have to suffer through the same conditions as their teammates, but they also faced the anxiety that naturally accompanies an athlete's first collegiate race.

"The freshmen, it might have been a little bit of a quick early pace for them," McGuire said. "They fell off a little bit, but then they hung in there pretty well."

Although Michigan hardly had any difficulty outdoing the few opponents it had, one of the top Wolverines was busy, not running, but riding around in a golf cart as she observed the race.

Redshirt sophomore Marcy Akard, Michigan's only representative in last year's NCAA championships, is out with a stress fracture she suffered at the end of the outdoor track season.

"Her hard workouts right now are in the pool," McGuire said. "Hopefully, she'll be impacting our team the next meet here, which is Oct. 19. She's behind training-wise, but she's also one of our best racers. We'll integrate her back into the picture - I think she'll be fine."

Even though a couple of Michigan State's top runners didn't compete in the open, McGuire got a good look at the Wolverines' in-state rivals.

Not only is Michigan State a Big Ten opponent, but it will also contend with Michigan in the NCAA district competition.

The district meet determines which teams will receive an NCAA championship bid.

"Their first kid (Leah Nilsson) was 11th last year in the Big Ten, so she's a good runner," McGuire said. "We need to close our gap to our fifth runner, but we go to State in two weeks, and we'll be two weeks fitter.

"The course is a lot more forgiving up there, the conditions will hopefully be a little better and the times will be faster."

WARREN ZINN/Daily
Michigan's Julie Froud found her stride at the Michigan Open on Saturday, winning the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18:25. The season-opening meet consisted mostly of Wolverines, along with a few runners from Michigan State.

09-08-97