It is natural, when a season ends, to attempt to gauge its success. Success is difficult to determine in intercollegiate sports, where becoming a true champion is a nearly unattainable task.
A championship was not in the cards for the 1999 women's cross country team, and their successes came not on the leader boards of their meets, but in their ability to maintain national prominence through desperate and determined means.
The 1998 season ended with a national champion - current assistant coach Katie McGregor - and an 11th-place team finish at nationals.
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| LOUIS BROWN/Daily Michigan turned in a gutty performance this season despite suffering a number of injuries. |
But for a team hindered by injuries to key runners all season long, even making it to nationals would require a tremendous effort from each runner that remained in the lineup.
"We definitely could have been better," McGuire said. "We were missing three key people - (Katy) Radkewich, (Lyndsi) Gay, and (Erin) White. In review of the season, I consider it pretty good, given what we have. But considering the standard of excellence (at Michigan), it was not such a good season."
The past successes McGuire was referring to were as follows: four Big Ten individual champions, three NCAA regional individual champions, one individual national champion, three Big Ten team championships, three NCAA regional team championships, and one second-place team finish at the national meet, in 1994.
There have been 18 All-Americans representing the maize and blue, and one member of the Big Ten's All-Decade team - Mindy Rowand in 1991.
This year Michigan saw early success. A first-place finish in early September against Michigan State was a promising beginning.
But the team fell on hard times, as September turned into October. Disappointing finishes against top national opponents, such as Arkansas and Nebraska, at the Sam Bell Invitational and the Wolverine Invitational, caused the team to reconsider its goals for the season.
"We've been hurting from all the injuries," said junior Lisa Oullet after the Sam Bell. "But we'll keep working, and we'll be able to run with anyone, including Wisconsin."
When the Wolverines returned to State College for the Big Ten Championships, they nearly did.
A second-place finish to the Badgers gave the team a tangible accomplishment in what had been a rapidly worsening season. Oullet finished seventh, earning her All-Big Ten honors. Junior Katie Clifford finished twelfth, two spots ahead of senior Elizabeth Kampfe. Each performance made them All-Big Ten performers.
"We answered the challenge," said McGuire after the race. "We came in with a goal, and we attained it."
The Wolverines had been teetering in and out of the national rankings all season, but by upsetting then No. 16 ranked Michigan State and No. 17 Minnesota, Michigan climbed to the No. 15 spot.
Two weeks later the team ran at the Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind. Oullet, who had been Michigan's top performer in each race of the season, performed well below par while battling the flu.
But her stumble was not a problem for what was turning out to be a fairly deep team. Clifford, Kampfe, senior Marcy Akard, and sophomore Katie Ryan all ran what McGuire said was their "best races of the season."
So good, in fact, that Michigan placed third behind Wisconsin and Michigan State, and found themselves in a position to accept an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
"I think everything will fall into place, just because we've been working so hard," Clifford said after the regional, in which she placed fifth overall. "We need to keep the momentum going one more week. We'll be training our butts off."
Receiving the bid was "not a shocking surprise," Kampfe said on the Monday it was awarded. "But it's a nice surprise. Now it's like there's another season."
One week later in Bloomington that second season came to an end.
A 15th-place finish among the nation's best left the Wolverines effectively where they began the season - on the outside of the top 10, looking in. It was not where McGuire likes to see his program.
"We should have been a top 10 team," McGuire said. "That's the standard we set here. Big Tens was probably the highlight of the season, and we did a pretty good job in dealing with a lot of things. We need to recharge our batteries, and use the track season to get these guys running better. Next year we'll have some good experience, some team leaders. We can re-establish this program."
For seniors Kampfe and Akard, this season was their last at Michigan. Kampfe leaves as an NCAA All-American, NCAA Regional Champion, Three-time All-Big Ten Second-Team member and All-Big Ten First-Team member. Akard ran to All-Big Ten Second-Team honors in 1996, and has been a emotional presence on the team for four years.
"Kampfe gave us a great effort this year," McGuire said. "You have to applaud her effort. She contributed certain intangibles to this team that you don't always see. Marcy came on so strong at the end (of the season) and helped us out a lot."
The Wolverines fought all season to stay out of the doctor's office and in the national rankings. The loss of Kampfe and Akard was painful, but next year is promising. Clifford and Oullet will race in their final year, and bring years of experience and excellence to their roles as team leaders.
Current freshman Jeanne Spink, who stepped up with impressive performances in the final meets of the season, and Gay, who was among the Wolverine's fallen this season, will represent the distant future of this team as they move into consistent top-five roles next year.
What is the proper instrument for the measurement of success? The answer to that question is hard to know for sure. Success is not gauged by numbers - it's not really gauged at all. Success for Michigan women's cross-country is a story that is neither simple, nor complete.
11-29-99
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