Pack time costs 'M' harriers in Montana

Until Saturday, the No. 6 Michigan men's cross country team hadn't tested itself, even though the season was approaching its halfway point.

The Wolverines' first test of the year came at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula, Mont., where they looked to defend their 1997 team title. Chilly 45-degree temperatures and more than 4,000 feet of elevation provided an unusual, adverse atmosphere for racing.

Without the graduated Kevin Sullivan and a solid pack, Michigan fell in defeat to No. 7 Arizona, settling instead for second place with 85 points. The Wildcats, whose top runner finished fifth, scored 59 to win the meet.

Michigan coach Ron Warhurst has scheduled challenging races for his squad, sacrificing near-certain victories at lesser meets in return for more challenging competition.

John Mortimer has adapted nicely to the No. 1 role, but his third-place finish was not enough for Michigan at the Mountain West Classic. The Wolverines finished second to Arizona.

"We thought we performed pretty well," freshman Mark Pilja said. "Arizona ran a great race. But I think we'll peak at the right time. We've been doing three hard workouts a week, including a long run on Sundays."

One good sign for the Wolverines is that John Mortimer is starting to assume the No. 1 role that he has been groomed for. Mortimer finished in the middle of the pack at the Michigan Open, Michigan's intrasquad scrimmage, but had been overtraining at the time. Saturday's performance resembled the consistent Mortimer that pushed Sullivan to the limit in '97.

Mortimer's third-place finish in a time of 24:40 for 8,000 meters was only :16 off the pace of the winner, Bernard Lagat of Washington State.

Todd Snyder and Steve Lawrence were able to finish close together, giving the Wolverines a chance to pull out the victory. Snyder was able to grab seventh place (24:48) and Lawrence was not far behind in a time of 25:06 for 10th place.

But three runners don't make up the score in cross country, and on Saturday, Michigan's fourth and fifth runners were unable to get ahead of the main pack.

Senior Don McLaughlin was only 28 seconds behind Lawrence, but that gap was

WARREN ZINN/Daily

09-28-98