November shows improvement for Michigan runners

A second place finish at the Big Ten Championships re-established Michigan as one of the top programs in the conference.

November is to cross country what October is to Major League Baseball - a month of post-season heroics and magic.

The Wolverines' November began by surprising the rest of the conference with upsets over nationally ranked Minnesota and Michigan State which overshadowed the victory of No. 5 Wisconsin.

"Our team can achieve anything," Michigan's top runner, Lisa Ouellet, said. "We ran with courage."

Entering this race, Michigan was the fourth-best team in the conference statistically.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily The Wolverines overcame an unexpected fourth-place regular season finish with a strong Big Ten championship.

Last season the Wolverines placed second at the Big Ten meet, but this year they have fallen from the national rankings while helplessly watching Minnesota and Michigan State climb in them.

But with a first-team all-Big Ten showing by Ouellet and second-team all-Big Ten showings by junior Katie Clifford and senior Elizabeth Kampfe, the Wolverines edged out Minnesota by three points for second place.

Wisconsin had long since set itself ahead of its conference competition. By running at such prestigious meets as the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., Wisconsin seemed more interested in their competition at the national level than their Big Ten foes.

Close races against Stanford and Arkansas, the two top ranked teams, speaks for the quality of the Wisconsin team this season.

Even in August, Wisconsin seemed to be out of reach for coach Mike McGuire and his Michigan team.

"Realistically, Wisconsin is not beatable," McGuire said last week.

Playing second fiddle to the Badgers is one thing, but Michigan did not expect to be going into the Big Ten meet fourth in the conference.

Minnesota and Michigan State had strong seasons to earn the No. 17 and 18 national rankings, respectively. Minnesota's Rasa Michniovaite, a returning member of the 1998 all-Big Ten team, had been running well all season.

Junior Corinne Nimtz, who ran a personal best time of 17:57 in late September, was also expected to raise the standards for the Gophers' competition.

Meanwhile, Michigan has struggled. Complaints and frustrations were commonplace among both the athletes and McGwire.

Following a disappointing showing at the Wolverine Invitational two weeks ago, McGuire didn't want to make excuses or create false expectations.

"We have to improve," McGuire said then. "We really didn't improve. We haven't really improved in the last month. Some people have, but some people have gone backwards. We've got to dig down."

Then the Big Ten meet, the rest of the conference saw a team effectively will itself to success after sensing a failed season looming.

There was a general feeling of relief among the Michigan team that had not existed in the past few months.

Like the New York Mets' surprising turn-around during baseball's postseason, the Wolverines will try to continue their Renaissance well into November.

To do so will mean a top two finish in two weeks at the Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind., thereby qualifying Michigan for the national meet in Bloomington.

11-03-99