Mortimer rests; men still take second at regionals

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Before the start of the NCAA regional on Saturday, it looked as though the focus of everyone's attention for the Wolverines would be, as usual, John Mortimer.

The senior, who finished first in two of his past three races, was one of the favorites coming into the race.

But as the race time neared, Mortimer stood behind the ropes in street clothes and sunglasses - reduced to the role of spectator.

Luckily for the Wolverines, Mortimer's absence sparked the team to an 82-point performance en route to a second-place finish and, more importantly, secured a trip to the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan.

The Wolverines, virtually guaranteed of a finals berth, could afford to let Mortimer rest a leg injury.

DANA LINNANE/Daily Senior co-captain Todd Snyder picked up the slack for Michigan in John Mortimer's absence, placing second in Saturday's meet.

"Without John being there, we ran fantastic," senior Don McLaughlin said. "He's resting up and we would have won for sure if he had run."

The team was led by senior co-captain Todd Snyder, who rebounded from a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten meet with a time of 30:33 on the 10K course. He was second only to Julius Mwangi of Butler with a time of 30:20.

Snyder ran with the lead pack through the first 8K, then broke away in the last 2,000 meters.

"Everyone was kind of pegging off of (Mwangi) and he ran a more laid-back race," Snyder said. "I felt great today and I'm trained for the 10K.

"After the Big Ten race I felt like my season was going into a low point, but this race builds my confidence right back up."

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Wolverines was Mark Pilja - a freshman who has bounced in and out of the starting lineup all season and made the most of his opportunity to start.

"This is the man who saved our life today," Warhurst said, patting Pilja on the back. "He learned how to relax, he's got the confidence back that he had in high school and he looked very good."

In between Snyder and Pilja were Jay Cantin (31:29, 12th), Steve Lawrence ( 31:33, 13th) and McLaughlin (32:01, 26th).

"We came from way back, which was the plan," Warhurst said. "We kept coming and coming and from 2,000 meters in we held our position.

"The goal was to be in the top five because if we were the fifth team in the district we would have gotten to go (to the finals). But now it's not even a question - we're automatic and it's pretty amazing we ran without Mortimer. We're a pretty strong team."

Mortimer had no doubts about how the team would perform in his absence.

"I have tremendous faith in my teammates," Mortimer said. "I know they are capable of it. Ideally, I'd like to be in there to help them out but this shows how good a team we have - without their No. 1 runner all season that they can still come through in the big ones."

11-16-98