Making a name for herself

Elizabeth Kampfe nds own success after following older sister Anne to Michigan

A familiar face introduced sophomore Elizabeth Kampfe to the University of Michigan - her sister.Perhaps Anne Kampfe was the best possible recruiter of the budding cross country and track star. After all, Anne was a testament to the ideals of Michigan athletics. A seven-time all-American for the Michigan swimming team, Anne also won five Big Ten individual titles from 1993-97.

Elizabeth, too, was a stellar swimmer. But she found more success on the asphalt than in the water.

Running for the first time in the fourth grade, the Decatur, Ill., native experienced quick success in the relaxed, grade school atmosphere.

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"I only did it one month of the year," she said. "It was pretty low-key."

And in high school, when the pressures to concentrate on one sport mounted, Kampfe refused to choose one over the others. She was constantly in season, competing in either cross country, swimming or track.

To the credit of Kampfe's coaches at McArthur High School, they recognized her talent - but they didn't weigh her down with lengthy runs or lung-searing speed workouts. Instead, they made sure Kampfe wasn't alienated from the rest of the team.

"The girls' team was very close and very supportive of me," Kampfe recalls. "We were all good friends outside of running."

Later in her prep career, her coaches decided that Kampfe's solo runs - solo because none of the other girls on the team could keep up - weren't helping her progress. She needed to be pushed more in practice. So Kampfe began to run with another squad - the McArthur High boys team.

Usually, Kampfe was greeted warmly by her male counterparts. But not always.

"Once in a while in practice, I would have to pull them along," she said. "I could even beat a couple of them. I don't know if they appreciated that."

Whether or not the boys approved, the increased intensity of Kampfe's workouts began to pay dividends. After finishing third at the Illinois state championship meet as a sophomore and second as a junior, Kampfe went one step better her senior year, winning the championship.

She followed up her performance at the state meet by qualifying for the Foot Locker Championships, a meet for elite high school runners.

Afterward, though, she had a major decision to make. With Big Ten rivals Michigan and Illinois vying for her services, Kampfe and her family set out to make the best choice. But Elizabeth didn't want any part of the procedure.

"I didn't want to go through the whole recruiting process," Kampfe said. "I wanted to get it over as soon as possible."

Illinois was the hometown favorite, but Elizabeth didn't think its distance program had enough quality to suit her. When was the last time Illinois won a Big Ten cross country championship? Not recently. Illinois hasn't come closer than second place since 1984.

So her sister Anne tossed in her opinion, suggesting her alma mater as the place for Elizabeth to continue her running career.

Michigan cross country coach Mike McGuire called the Illinois state champion to recruit her, and received an unusual response in return.

"I remember saying to Mike, 'Will I even be able to run (competitively) here?'" Kampfe said.

Once McGuire stopped laughing, he assured Kampfe that she would definitely have a spot on his roster, should she commit.

So the younger Kampfe packed her bags and headed for Ann Arbor, full of uncertainty and hope. Early during her first year, it looked as if Michigan was the place for her.

"It went real well, especially at the beginning," Kampfe said. "I was doing a little better than expected."

But a quadriceps injury hampered her toward the end of the season, curbing her success. It was more of the same in track, as a rare illness called Epstein Bar, similar to mononucleosis, chipped away at Kampfe's strength. Kampfe didn't even find out about her illness until the summer, carrying it with her as she struggled to run average performances.

"To do what I did with that illness was an accomplishment," Kampfe said.

This year, Katie McGregor, Julie Froud and Kampfe were assigned the difficult task of carrying a cross country squad that lacked depth beyond the top three spots. Past injuries aside, Kampfe knew that the team's success was partly up to her.

At the NCAA district meet Nov. 15, a Kampfe-led Michigan team qualified for the NCAA championships, finishing runner-up behind Wisconsin. After following McGregor, the race favorite, for nearly the entire five kilometers, Kampfe passed her down the final stretch to take the victory in stunning fashion. One week after her only individual victory of the season, she earned all-America status, the same distinction her sister had earned during her career as a swimmer.

Finally, after swimming alongside her sister, running with boys and leaving her home state to pursue her dream, Elizabeth Kampfe had become a star.

04-14-98