Kouchner-kavich: A last name proud to finish last

By Chris Farah
Daily Sports Writer

Michigan has served as the fertile training ground for some of the finest athletes in the history of men's collegiate cross country.

In the past, there were greats such as Chris Brewster and Brian Diemer.

In the present, there are stars like John Mortimer and Kevin Sullivan, All-Americans and Big Ten champions.

In the future, there will be ... David Kouchnerkavich?

Kouchnerkavich, a freshman in Michigan's School of Engineering, isn't highly touted. Kouchnerkavich holds no college records, has won no college races. He's not even on the Michigan team.

In fact, compared to even the most minor contributors on the Michigan men's cross country team, Kouchnerkavich just isn't very good. And he'll be the first to admit it.

But none of that stopped Kouchnerkavich from competing at Saturday's Michigan Open at the Michigan Golf Course, where he ran against Michigan's cream of the crop in an unscored meet open to all competitors.

Did knowing he would get smoked by the other runners stop him from running the 8,000-meter race? Did the idea of getting embarrassed in front of spectators - in public - make him hesitate?

No. You see, Kouchnerkavich just didn't care. He just wanted to have fun.

"I've been keeping track of the (Michigan) cross country team over the summer, just seeing who's running," Kouchnerkavich said. "I've been running some races over the summer, running with a friend back home.

"A friend of mine told me anyone can run the races at the college level, so I just thought I might as well try it out."

Kouchnerkavich didn't have high expectations before the race, and his expectations were confirmed. He came in last, after taking an unplanned detour.

"I screwed up somewhere when I was running the race," Kouchnerkavich said. "Somewhere I missed a turnoff on the last loop, and I actually ran almost an extra mile. To this day, to this minute, I have no idea where that turnoff was.

"Actually, by the time I was done there was no one there at the finish line. I just kind of crossed it, and a couple of my friends were there, but that was about it."

Kouchnerkavich's time? According to him, somewhere over 35 minutes. The time of Michigan's John Mortimer, winner of the race? 26:26 minutes.

Kouchnerkavich finished at least five minutes behind the runner ahead of him, but nobody will ever know the exact time.

"I asked a guy if I could run before the race, and he said, 'Just talk to the coach, I'm sure he'll let you run it,'" Kouchnerkavich said. "Then I got a sticker and wrote my name on it. I guess at the end you were supposed to turn it in (for an official result).

"But since there was no one there at the end, I just crumpled mine up."

Does Kouchnerkavich have any hopes of joining the team?

"I seriously doubt it," he laughed.

Two of Kouchnerkavich's friends also attempted to run the race - Michigan student Kevin Jackson and Brian Swanson, who resides in Grand Rapids. Neither finished.

"They dropped out at the beginning," Kouchnerkavich said. "Kevin hadn't run all week, so I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up. Also, they had run all the way from the C.C. Little bus stop and got to the golf course just five minutes before the start.

"They were toast."

Ultimately, though, Kouchnerkavich was satisfied with his performance.

"It was a really hot day," Kouchnerkavich said. "But I had fun. It was fun to see some of really good runners, too - to see what the University has in their program. They've got a really talented team.

"For the first 30 seconds I could say at least I could see them. After that, they kind of took off."

He had fun. And for Kouchnerkavich, that's all that really mattered.

09-08-97