BY CHRIS MESZAROS
Published October 22, 2006
For most athletes, it's a dream to make an impressive debut.
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In the Eastern Michigan Classic, three Michigan freshmen made that dream a reality.
Three Wolverine freshmen ran unattached in their collegiate debut. Jennie Biewald, who took fourth place overall with a time of 18:21, led the trio. Rachel Severin and Alysha Valencia also finished in the top 10 with times of 18:24 and 18:37, respectively.
"We came out and ran hard today and came away with seven or eight lifetime bests today" McGuire said.
While most of the Wolverines sat out the Eastern Michigan Classic, a non-scoring event, several of their younger teammates logged impressive marks in what most would call an exhibition meet.
Anna Willard, a new transfer student, also ran for Michigan and finished in second place.
"Anna, who has outdoor eligibility, had a good benchmark for her fall progress," McGuire said.
Sophomore Natasha Luppov led the four eligible Wolverines, who ran the event by finishing in sixth place (18:28). Sophomore Lisa Canty (18:46) and sophomore Lisa Montgomery (18:48) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
Canty and Montgomery improved from their marks at the Wolverine Open, where each finished in the top 15.
"Overall, it was great day to run," McGuire said. "It was kind of nice for the kids to come out here and see the fruits of their labor as far as the progress they've made."
Montgomery trimmed 1:22 from her posting at the Wolverine Open and Canty cut her time by 37 seconds.
"It was a perfect day to run," McGuire said. "Great fall Michigan conditions led to them to running quite a bit faster."
The Wolverines are looking to bounce back next week at the Big Ten Championships from a disappointing outing last week at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Out of a field of 37 teams, Michigan tied for second place with Wisconsin and finished 59 points behind North Carolina State, who they beat earlier in the season.
"We feel we can shore things up," McGuire said. "But we feel there is a challenge at hand with three other teams contending."
No. 3 Michigan will face stiff competition from Big 10 rivals Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The Wolverines look to win their fifth straight conference title next Sunday.
