Cantin, Blue relish the Meyo

By Ron Garber

Daily Sports Writer

Fresh off a grueling month-long stretch of training, the Michigan men's track and field team heads to South Bend this weekend for perhaps its favorite meet of the season, the Meyo Invitational. Events start tonight at 6 p.m. and continue Saturday morning at 11 a.m..

This is no ordinary road meet. Notre Dame's track is 300 meters long, as opposed to the standard indoor length of 200 meters. The Wolverines are licking their chops.

"They've got a great track down there," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said. "We're looking to do some good stuff, and for at least half our guys to get personal bests."

One Wolverine is particularly excited for the meet. Every time senior Jay Cantin runs in the shade of the Golden Dome, big things happen for the distance runner. His freshman season, Cantin set the track record in the 1000 meters, a record that he still holds. Last year at the Meyo, he qualified for the NCAA National Championships, and Cantin and Warhurst expect that feat to be repeated this weekend.

"I'm definitely capable of it if everything goes well," Cantin said. "It's supposed to be a fast race, and I love that track."

With Mike Wisniewski already qualified for the 3000-meter run and expected to qualify in the 5000, Warhurst said that running Cantin in the mile "will be like having an ace in the hole."

Cantin is not the only Wolverine who has fond memories of this meet. Last year, four Wolverines won individual titles, including sophomore Bob Arnold, whose high jump victory was especially heroic since he was suffering from mononucleosis at the time. Arnold may not have the chance to defend his title this year, as he is suffering from a leg injury and may not make the trip.

Even if Arnold is held out of the meet, scoring in field events should not be a problem. Warhurst thinks that junior pole vaulter Charles DeWildt is capable of picking up the slack. If DeWildt can improve his recent vault of 17-foot-1, it could translate into a lot of points for the Wolverines.

Senior thrower Patrick Johansson can also be counted on, as always, to finish well and put up points.

Michigan's sprint team might not be at full strength, either.

Sophomore Ike Okenwa has been suffering from a head cold and might not be at his best. Michigan will need seniors Steve Molnar and Steve Jenkins to continue posting good times if Okenwa does not right himself.

One Wolverine who Warhurst is not worried about slipping up is sophomore hurdler Derek Applewhite, who seems to be finding his rhythm as of late.

"We're expecting a big weekend from Derek," Warhurst said.

With some clutch performances in the field events and sprints, in addition to what are becoming the usual big finishes in the distance events, the Wolverines should be able to hang, step for step, with the top teams expected to compete - Alabama, Miami and Missouri. A big weekend will also be very encouraging to a team that is less than a month away from competing in the Big Ten Championships.

And if there is any track that the Wolverines would like to have a big weekend on, this is it.

"I've had some great experiences down there," remembered Cantin. "That track is like my home away from home."

LOUIS BROWN/Daily

Jay Cantin loves running in South Bend at the Meyo Invitational. He'll get another chance to run the 300-meter track this weekend.