Seven members of the Michigan men's track and field team were scheduled to compete at high altitude in the mile-high air of Colorado this weekend. But thanks to the American Airlines sickout, they couldn't get off the ground.
"Everybody was pretty bummed about not getting to go," freshman Ike Okenwa said.
With their flight cancelled, the athletes joined the rest of their teammates Saturday at the non-scoring Wolverine Open.
"This was really a low-key meet," assistant coach Ron Warhurst said. "We're just sharpening up for the Big Ten Championships."
With the Big Tens only a week away, several Wolverines notched encouraging performances that left the coaching staff optimistic for the upcoming championship meet.
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| LOUIS BROWN/Daily The Wolverine Open wasn't supposed to feature many members of the Michigan men's track team, but the American Airlines sick-out forced seven members of the team to make unscheduled appearances at the Track Building on Saturday. |
Although he didn't make the provisional standard for the NCAA Championships, Ike was pleased with his performance and can't wait to compete in the Big Tens.
"Just being at Big Tens as a freshman will be great," Okenwa said. "I'm really excited. This is what we've been training for all year. There's no looking back now."
The Big Ten Championships, which take place this Saturday, also mark the last chance Okenwa will have to make the provisional standard that has eluded him all season.
"I can't back off in practice. If I just bust it out Monday and improve my starts, I can make that standard," he said.
Okenwa isn't the only Wolverine who enters the week with momentum on his side. Freshman thrower Patrick Johansson had a breakthrough performance in the stranger indoor only 35 lb.weight throw. He threw two feet further than he did a week ago and left Michigan coach Jack Harvey very pleased.
"This is the kind of day we were waiting for from Patrick," Harvey said. "If he has two more feet left in him, and I think he does, he can really challenge for the win at Big Tens."
Another freshman, Jeremy Schneider, proved that he is ready to compete with the best of the Big Ten. Schneider ran the 400 and won after winning the 500 and 600 in the previous two weeks.
"Everything is dropping into place right now," Schneider said.
Also notable was the performance of freshman Oded Padan, who continued his season-long domination of the triple jump. Padan, ranked eighth in the nation in the event, stayed undefeated by winning with a jump of 51 feet, 1 inch.
Although the performances of Michigan's talented freshmen have been nice, Harvey is not sure what to expect from them at Big Tens.
"You can't really count on freshmen at the Big Tens. They'll make their mistakes. It's just a matter of minimizing those mistakes."
At this point in the season, the coaching staff is looking for an upperclassman who can come forward with strong performances in crunch time.
That one could be junior Jay Cantin. After suffering through an early-season slump, Cantin has heated up in the past two weeks, winning the 800 in 1:52, the fastest any Wolverine has run the event all year.
02-15-99
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