BY JASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
Published September 1, 2008
DEXTER — The Michigan women’s cross country team came in first at the Michigan Open last Friday.
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Technically, the Wolverines came in last place too — they were the only team on the course.
“If you heard someone coming, you knew it was your teammate,” redshirt junior Alison Nesbitt said. “We were really working together out there.”
Sophomore Danielle Tauro finished in first place for the second year in a row (18:30) .
She actually ran eight seconds slower than last year, when she struggled across the finish line in her first collegiate meet.
But last year she didn’t have to battle the sweltering 85-degree heat or run on the same day she moved back to Ann Arbor.
“I knew what to expect this year,” Tauro said. “I definitely wasn't as nervous. I didn't take it as seriously as I did (last year). I’m a year stronger, but I'm still pretty exhausted.”
Tauro pushed the tempo early and tired out a little faster than planned. But it was up to the sophomore to set the pace. She was running without many of her veteran teammates, who sat out the non-scoring meet.
“In hindsight, we were a little over-aggressive in the first mile, but I would rather have that than being under-aggressive,” Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. “They had to pay the bank back with interest as the race went on. But I was OK with that.”
Following Tauro across the finish line was Nesbitt (18:34) and freshman Lindsey Gakenheimer (18:45). Both plan to factor on an experienced team who lost just one runner from last season.
Michigan needs all the help it can get after a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Championships last year. It was the team’s worst finish since 1991.
But with the return of fifth-year senior Alyson Kohlmeier, who was a medical redshirt last year, and senior Nicole Edwards, who finished ninth at Nationals her sophomore season, the Wolverines will have the potential to return to the top level.
“Every season has a different storyline,” McGuire said. “We know this season, we’re going in under the radar. The bottom line is that it’s not where you start the season, it’s where you end the season.”
