Men take fourth place overall

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Buried deep in the heart of America's Great Plains, most of Kansas is so flat that one can see clearly for miles.

Looks sure can be deceiving.

Any runner who expected the terrain at the 1998 NCAA cross country Championships to be easy and forgiving was harshly corrected by a course that contained no more than 200 yards of continuous flat land.

But Michigan men's coach Ron Warhurst wasn't surprised. After taking the Wolverines to the Jayhawk Invitational last season, which was held on the same Rim Rock Farm course as yesterday's race, Warhurst and Michigan were well prepared for the grueling test ahead of them.

GRAHAM K JOHNSON/University Daily Kansan Todd Snyder earned All-American honors by finishing in 10th place in the NCAA Championship race yesterday in Lawrence, Kan.

So Warhurst held his team back at the start of yesterday's 10,000-meter race, confident that the difficult course would drop much of the lead pack out of contention and allow his team to place higher than its No. 7 ranking would have predicted.

"They were all in the 100s at the mile mark," Warhurst said. "That was the way we wanted to run and we came through."

Warhurst's strategy, along with a 1:01 five-man pack time, helped them finish fourth overall with 183 points. Arkansas won the title with 97.

"We ran very, very well," an elated Warhurst said. "It was our best race of the season."

Senior Todd Snyder broke away from a large group, finishing 10th overall in a time of 30:34 to earn All-America status in likely the biggest race of his career at Michigan.

"For two miles, I was way back in the pack - it scared me a little bit," Snyder said. "I almost gave up, thinking I wouldn't do much better than 40th. I just kept moving up."

After battling nagging leg injuries throughout the season, John Mortimer concluded his Michigan cross country tenure on a slightly disappointing note. The senior, running at less than 100 percent, never got into a groove yesterday, posting a time of 31:09 for 31st place. It was a tough result for Mortimer, who opted to use his final season of eligibility in hopes of making a run at the individual title.

"He's disappointed, because that's the way he is - he's a competitor," Warhurst said, adding that Mortimer is his own biggest critic.

Michigan's No. 3, 4 and 5 runners sealed the trophy, finishing just 18 seconds apart. Junior Steve Lawrence showed why he should be a valuable asset to next year's team, finishing 53rd in a time of 31:28. Jay Cantin, also a junior, was right behind Lawrence, in 58th place.

That left the race in the safe hands of senior co-captain Don McLaughlin. Chased by a pack of five competitors, McLaughlin used his long stride down the stretch to pull away and wrap up the scoring for Michigan.

Freshman Mark Pilja capped a solid first season with his time of 32:42, and Chris Bunt chipped in by posting a time of 33:40.

While the Wolverines have the difficult task of replacing three of its top five runners, they'll take some time to savor their performance before indoor track begins.

"We're totally excited," Snyder said. "This is more than we asked for."

11-24-98