After dominating the course in East Lansing last weekend, the Michigan women's cross country team travels to the William & Mary Invitational this Saturday in Williamsburg, Va.
Joining the Wolverines will be American, Ohio, Old Dominion, Norfolk State, North Carolina, Radford, Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth, Hampton and host William & Mary.
The hardest competition for the No. 13 Wolverines should be No. 14 William & Mary, 23rd-ranked North Carolina and Ohio.
"North Carolina is definitely under-ranked," said Michigan coach Mike McGuire. "Ohio University beat us last year in districts, so we know they are looking to do that again."
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| WARREN ZINN/Daily The Michigan women's cross country team heads to Williamsburg, Va., for the William & Mary Invitational this weekend. The course should be familiar to the Wolverines - it resembles the Michigan State course they ran at last weekend. |
Leading the pack will probably be junior Katie McGregor, sophomore Elizabeth Kampfe and freshman Julie Froud, who placed first, second and third, respectively, last weekend.
Also running are Eileen Fleck, Lisa Ouellet, Erin White, Katie Clifford, Tiffin Goodman, Sarah Hamilton, Lena VanHaren and Marcy Akard.
A concern for the Wolverines is the time margin between their first five finishers.
"Both William & Mary and North Carolina pack their first five better than we do," McGuire said. "They have a small time margin, and we need to get that rectified on Saturday - our girls have to run better."
"I'm building off of previous races, and I hope to be running up there with McGregor soon," Kampfe said.
"It helps to have Katie and Julie in front of me, because it gives me something to work for."
Michigan's focus isn't just the improvement of the first five runners but the team as a whole.
"The team is running together nicely," Kampfe said. "We use each other in practice to push one another."
Injured runners are gradually getting stronger through training. Michelle Slater, who was injured all last season, is now returning to practice.
"We really need Slater to start stepping up," McGuire said.
"She's training well, and we need her to get up to bat and start swinging for the fences instead of just hitting singles.
"Fleck is also improving - the future is now with her, as she's returning to the form she had a few years ago when she was running her best."
Michigan will be at an advantage in Virginia because the 5,000-meter course is similar to the one they ran last weekend at Michigan State. The Wolverines breezed through the Spartan Invitational, while McGregor set a new course record.
The secret to the Wolverines' success? The courses at Michigan State and Virginia aren't as hilly as the Michigan golf course, where the Wolverines conduct practices.
Teamwise, there is a formula that the Wolverines need to follow in order to qualify for nationals.
Michigan must beat teams like North Carolina and William & Mary - teams outside Michigan's region - in order to qualify for NCAA championship wild-card slots.
"Beating William & Mary and North Carolina would make a world of difference for us," McGuire said. "We're going to have to run much better this week.
"If we don't, we are going to get our hats handed to us."
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