Kevin Sullivan knows what it feels like to be the center of attention. After all, the Michigan men's track and field team captain and NCAA champion has been in the spotlight since his freshman year at the University. But television is a different story.
The call came in to the Michigan track office yesterday: Fox Sports wanted to interview Sullivan, the Wolverines' distance phenom, as a prelude to the network's coverage of the Pac-10 vs. Big Ten Four-Way Meet this Saturday.
"They wanted to interview Kevin at 3 p.m, but he has class from 3-4, so we couldn't do it," Michigan assistant track and field coach Ron Warhurst.
Sullivan, it seems, will be the main attraction at this weekend's meet in Los Angeles. Last week, Sullivan, an NCAA champion and all-American, won the 800-meter run at the Arizona State Castillo Invitational.
The senior elected to sit out the 1,500-meter to rest up for the competition this weekend.
"Kevin is probably the main draw at the meet," Warhurst said. "He's the best athlete in the competition."
The Wolverines will need a strong effort from Sullivan and the rest of their deep distance squad this weekend.
They will team up with Ohio State to represent the Big Ten against Arizona and Southern California of the Pac-10 this weekend.
The Buckeyes don't figure to offer much help against the scorching sprinters of the Pac-10 schools, so Michigan likely will carry the load for the Big Ten.
"The competition is going to be extremely stiff in the sprints," Warhurst said. "We are going to have be able to do everything to be competitive."
Unfortunately, the sprints are exactly where the Wolverines are most likely to falter.
Facing a Trojans squad with All-Americans in each of the sprint events, the Michigan sprinters must step up their performance from previous meets if the Wolverines are going to be successful.
"This meet will be good for our sprinters," Warhurst said. "When you compete against better competition, you see whether you can keep up or not, and it helps us evaluate where we are."
Keeping up may be a problem for Michigan in the sprints, but with the help of Ohio State, the Big Ten should fare quite well in the field events.
The Wolverines expect to score points with their young field athletes; Andrew Derr hurled the javelin to a fourth-place finish last week in Arizona, and Charles DeWildt soared to a third-place result in the pole vault.
DeWildt and Derr provide a formidable threat in the field events that the Wolverines lacked in 1997.
The only area where the Buckeyes will make a large contribution is in the hurdles. Sekou Smith is coming off second and first-place finishes in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
"We have to have a balanced program to do well," said Warhurst. "We have been very thin in the throws and jumps, but we are progressing."
With a balanced effort from Michigan and a little help from the Buckeyes, the Big Ten could dethrone Arizona and the defending Pac-10 champion Trojans.
The action can be caught on tape delay on Sunday April 5th at 8 p.m, with coverage by Fox Sports West2.
04-02-98
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