Following top two is key for McGuire's talented runners

There is little question who are the top two women's cross country runners at Michigan. Katie McGregor and Elizabeth Kampfe have been leaving other runners in their dust.

McGregor has placed first in four meets while Kampfe has finished right behind her in all but one of those, where she placed third.

If the Wolverines are going to fulfill their goals of winning Big Ten and NCAA championships, these two will lead the way.

But the other members of the team will be the deciding factors of the Wolverines' success. As good as McGregor and Kampfe are, the two can't win a national championship by themselves.

The team will need production from all of its runners, especially those on whom the spotlight rarely shines.

"We've gone over it many times," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "It's a total team effort. Everyone has to contribute."

In the upcoming weeks, the undefeated Wolverines will face stiffer competition than they have thus far this season. Depth will become a huge factor, especially in Sunday's Wolverine Interregional.

McGuire said the first through 40 spots will be important in the meet, and his team will have to perform better than it has in the past.

"Specifically, we need to get our fourth and fifth runners closer to our third," he said. "That will be the difference in winning a meet like this, and also the Big Tens.

"We also need to work on improving our gap time. I think that can increase our score by 15 or 20 points."

The Wolverines, however, may have the ideal team to get production from the Nos. 4-10 positions. When McGuire stressed the need for improvement, he did not single out any one runner that needed to step up.

One of the major strengths of this year's team is that, other than McGregor and Kampfe, there is no clear pecking order. All of the runners are talented, and they all continue to push each other.

"So far this season, the four, five, six, seven, on through the 10th spots have all been interchangable," Michelle Slater said. Our only goal is to stay close to Katie."

While that may seem like a tall order, Slater has actually been one of the few Wolverines - other than Kampfe - to consistently attain that goal.

With three sixth-place finishes and a fifth place last weekend, Slater has solidified the third spot on the team and is quickly becoming a formidable runner.

"We really have a perfect situation," said Allison Noe. "In practice, everyone pushes each other, making everyone better. In any given race, nobody is really sure what place they will finish.

"I think that is what makes us such a good team. If one or two people are not performing well, someone else is able to pick up the slack."

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Julie Froud is one of the members of the Michigan women's cross country team that is used to following Katie McGregor and Elizabeth Kampfe.

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