Few wins, but plenty of success for 'M' women's track team

The invitational the Michigan women's track team ran in this past weekend wasn't the U.S. Olympic Trials. But the meet sure looked like it.

The Wolverines responded to the challenge at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., with only one individual victory, but that does not tell the full story of Michigan's success.

Top-tier runners from all across the nation gathered for the event. The field included many Division I and II universities, as well as elite unattached runners, raising the bar of expectations for the Wolverines.

"It was a whole other level of competition out there this weekend," sophomore Olive Ikeh said. "We did really well, considering some of us competed against Olympians."

The only win for Michigan on a very successful weekend was courtesy of the 1,600-meter relay. The freshman-based team of Regine Caruthers, Tamika Craig, Adrienne Hunter and Brandy Taylor captured the victory in a time of 3:42.59. Of the quartet, only Taylor is an upperclassman.

High jumper Nicole Forrester went on double-duty for Michigan this weekend, qualifying herself automatically for NCAAs. Competing in a different meet on Friday, Forrester broke her own school record by half an inch, clearing the 6-foot-3 1/4 bar.

Returning to Walnut with the rest of the Wolverines, Forrester then took third place with a jump of 6-2. Her height was actually the same as the winner's, but Forrester lost the tiebreaker based on the fewest misses.

Katie McGregor produced an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 16:03 in the 5,000 meters, finishing ninth in the race. The junior has started to expand her repertoire recently, moving away from the 800 toward the longer races.

Perhaps most impressive about McGregor's performance is the class of runners she competed against. The 5,000 was won by Kathy Butler (15:27), who won 16 individual Big Ten titles during her tenure at Wisconsin and the NCAA cross country championship in 1995 - a testament to McGregor's opponents.

More success in the distance events came the Wolverines' way when Elizabeth Kampfe qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championships with a second-place time of 34:42 in the 10,000. The race was Kampfe's personal best by two seconds.

Both McGregor and Kampfe's efforts in their respective events were the best collegiate times in the nation so far this season.

Multi-event specialist Tania Longe showcased her wares in the heptathalon with an eighth-place finish. The senior's total of 5,428 points was the seventh-best mark in the nation this season. Longe rounded out her weekend by finishing fourth in the 100 hurdles, posting a time of 14.19 seconds.

The elite competition did little to scare off sprinter Maria Brown, who placed in three events. Brown's runner-up finish in the open 100 was the highlight of her weekend. The sophomore's time of 11.76 was just hundredths off the winner's pace. In addition, she was sixth in the 200 and fifth as part of the 400 relay along with Craig, Caruthers and Kenise Bocage.

"We're running on heavy legs," Bocage said. "It's hard to run two days in a row like we did."

Because the meet took all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Henry rewarded his team with a day off from practice yesterday. While the Wolverines haven't started to taper yet, it is a sign that the big meets are not far in the distance.

Michigan travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays this Friday and Saturday. The Wolverines are scheduled to compete in both the Toledo Invitational May 1 and the Jesse Owens Classic May 2, but may split their squad that weekend.

04-21-98