'M' shoots for NCAA berth

Two weeks ago, the Michigan women's cross-country team went to Penn State for the Big Ten Championships with a huge question hanging over its head - could the Michigan runners shake themselves out of a slump and hang with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan State, teams that were all ranked ahead of them?

Michigan answered that question with an emphatic "yes", upsetting both the Spartans and the Golden Gophers en route to a second-place finish behind Wisconsin.

This weekend, Michigan will look to build on its momentum at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on the campus of Indiana State. The field includes teams from Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Elizabeth Kampfe and the Michigan women's cross country team hopes to run into the NCAA finals this weekend.

Once again, the Badgers are the heavy favorites. Ranked fifth in the latest national poll, Wisconsin is expected to run away with the regional title. A large portion of the credit for the Badgers' dominance should go to their trio of outstanding sophomores - Erica Palmer, Erin Aufderheide and Bethany Brewster, who finished 1-2-3 at the Big Ten Championships.

"Wisconsin's going to win," McGuire said. "The fight for second will probably come down to us, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and possibly Akron, which won the MAC Championship."

The top two teams from the Regional meet advance to the NCAA Championships in Bloomington. In order for the Wolverines to be one of those two teams, they will have to run better than they did in State College.

"We're certainly capable of running better," McGuire said. "At this point, we're still trying to piece everything together.

The Wolverines have some familiarity with the Terre Haute course - last year's Great Lakes Regional was also run in Terre Haute. The course will be a solid challenge to the runners' ability.

"This is a good cross-country test," McGuire said. "The layout is a lot like Bloomington."

With an entire season's work on the line and a berth in the national championships at stake, Michigan has shown some added focus and determination in its' training during the last two weeks.

"The girls have been running pretty good," McGuire said. "We've been missing some people due to conflicts with classes. It's a little disconcerting, but they are students first, so it goes with the territory."

In any sport, a team will look for an advantage that it can gain over its' opponent. In Michigan's case, the Wolverines may have a psychological edge over Michigan State, possibly Michigan's toughest challenger for second place on Saturday.

The Spartans were expected to finish ahead of Michigan at the Big Ten Championships, but struggled and finished fourth.

"I think they assumed that they would beat us," McGuire said. "This time out, things will be a little different, because they'll be looking out for us."

11-11-99