Silver anniversary season shows Warhurst's legacy to cross country

Michigan men's cross country coach Ron Warhurst may end up looking to the sky after this year is over and seeing the stars aligned in the shape of a running shoe - a running shoe with a block 'M' prominently fixed in its corner.

Well, maybe not, but all early signs point to this being a terrific year for the Wolverines. First of all, the 1998 season will be Warhurst's 25th as the Maize and Blue distance mentor. In addition, he finds himself with a group of defending Big Ten championship runners.

"Yeah, it's been a lot of fun," Warhurst said.

Surrounding the desk in his office are numerous plaques and other accolades, but when asked about what has made his first 25 years so special, it's not something such as the 1997 Big Ten Championship which he mentions first.

"Maintaining personal relationships" is what Warhurst insists is his favorite part of the job.

Brian Diemer, who ran for Michigan and then went on to medal in the '84 Olympics, is a testament to this attitude. Pointing to a picture of Diemer's children, Warhurst tells how, when Diemer would come back to train with Warhust in later years, his three daughters would make each session unique, playing on and around the track while their father ran.

He has stories like that one for all of the athletes he has coached over the years. But he quickly shakes his head "no" when asked if any one runner, such as the recently graduated, 14-time All-American Kevin Sullivan, was his favorite.

"They're all special in their own way - they're all unique," he says.

Just because he doesn't brag about his "star" runners or team championships doesn't mean there has been a shortage of them. Overall, Warhurst teams have won six Big Ten titles and finished in the NCAA top-10 eight times. He has coached 15 All-American runners here; in addition to Diemer and Sullivan, he helped develop 1983 Boston Marathon champion Greg Meyer. His record shows he's one of the best coaches in the business and one of the most accomplished in Michigan history. Fifteen of his 24 completed seasons have seen at least a second place finish in the Big Tens.

So what has made Warhurst and his runners so successful for such a long period of time?

There are several things that go into his winning ways, Warhurst says.

"I teach the basics here, and I hope that they (his runners) maintain that philosophy when they leave," he says.

Part of that philosophy entails getting his players to believe in the team concept. Through what he calls "group therapy," his runners learn that the most important aspect to individual successes is that they can add up, to team success.

While he would love for his sport to receive more coverage and attention, he admits that being in the large, fall shadow of football doesn't put the same pressure on him to win that coaches of more high-profile sports may have to deal with in Ann Arbor. That doesn't mean there is no pressure, though.

He is the leader of the defending Big Ten champions. While Sullivan may be gone, senior captains John Mortimer, Todd Snyder and Don McLaughlin return to lead this talent-laden squad toward another title run.

Last year, winning the conference title is one of the team's major goals, in addition to winning NCAA districts and finishing in the top seven at the NCAA championships.

And fate would have it that, in this silver-anniversary season, the Big Ten Championships are on Michigan's home course.

"We'd love to win it on our home course - there's nothing like winning to establish tradition," he said.

09-29-98