Women harriers boast depth

The results for Sunday's Michigan Interregional were far from typical for the Michigan women's cross country team.

Katie McGregor finished in fifth place. Fifth. That is four spots worse than any of her previous finishes this season. The Wolverines' top runner had been nothing short of perfect this season, but after this crucial meet, she proclaimed that she "didn't have it."

But wait, there's more.

Elizabeth Kampfe finished eighth. The Wolverines' second-best runner, who had been performing almost as well as McGregor, placed five spots worse than any previous finish this season.

Even great athletes have off days, and really good teams are able to bounce back after losing on a day when its top athletes can't perform their best.

Except the Wolverines didn't lose. They placed first, ahead of five ranked teams and 16 points ahead of second-place Georgetown.

If this were basketball, everyone would be marveling at the extent of the Wolverines' bench.

In Sunday's meet, the Wolverines were the only team to place three runners in the top 10, a monumental task considering the depth of the field. And their next two runners placed in the top 30, making it nearly impossible for the rest of the competition to match the Wolverines.

Washington had the best chance, with its top four runners placing third, fourth, 12th and 18th, respectively. But the Huskies' next runner placed a distant 65th, dropping them to a fourth-place finish.

"We won the meet at the fourth and fifth slot," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "That's where we knew it was going to be won. We finished 20 places better than last year at those spots, giving us a 40-point improvement. And I'd say the strength of this year's field was better."

It was actually a 32-point improvement, but McGuire's point is well taken. Last year, the Wolverines' top three actually finished better than this year's, taking second, fourth and sixth place. Yet the next two finishers placed 44th and 47th, dropping the team out of title contention.

This year was entirely different. Michelle Slater, Lisa Ouellet and Julie Froud all ran as well as, if not better than, they have all year, propelling the Wolverines to the title. Slater's performance was especially encouraging, showing glimpses of entering the league of McGregor and Kampfe.

"She has always been a talented runner," McGuire said. "The difference this year is that she has the experience of competing all last season. She is constantly improving."

But what makes Michigan so good this season is its ability to perform well as a team despite sub-par performances by a few individuals.

"We have so many talented athletes, and we are constantly pushing each other," she said. "It helps everyone to improve."

Before this weekend, McGuire was not quite sure whether his team had the depth it needed in order to win the Interregional. He stressed the need to close the gap between the third- and fourth-place slots, and worried aloud that a very deep team as deep as Georgetown would give the Wolverines trouble.

10-20-98