Friday, October 26, 2001
[UH CROSS COUNTRY]
Although the top finishers get most of the attention, cross country is a team sport. Wahine are psyched for
WAC ChampionshipBy Tim Crouse
tcrouse@starbulletin.comAnd for Hawaii to contend in the Western Athletic Conference cross country championships tomorrow at the Kaneohe Klipper Course, the "wolfpack" will have to make a strong statement.
"Cross country is kind of predatory," said first-year Hawaii associate coach Andy McInnis. "You have to knock people off by their place. The (finishing) time isn't as big as how many bodies you put behind you."
Wahine seniors Cheryl Smith and Casey McGuire-Turcotte have been putting a lot of bodies behind them all season long.
Smith has won four of the six meets she's participated in and finished first for UH every time. She even set a course record at the Willamette Invitational earlier this month, finishing in 16 minutes, 56 seconds.
McGuire-Turcotte has consistently finished second for the team this year and also had her best race at the Willamette Invitational (17:41).
But the key to Hawaii's success tomorrow is the wolfpack -- the middle group of Wahine runners.
When: Tomorrow WAC Championship
Where: Kaneohe Klipper Course
Scoring: Top five finishers from each team comprise the team score (a point for where you finish). If the score between two teams is tied after the top five, you compare the sixth finishers for each team, and so on if necessary.
"The real strength of this team is not the first two (Smith and McGuire-Turcotte) but the others who have started to make improvements and have realized they could contribute to the team as a whole," McInnis said. "The big change (from last year) in this team is runners 3 through 7. We have 10 girls on the team and the middle group has realized that this is it. And we have a lot of seniors on the team and there is pride to (want to) walk away this year having accomplished something.
"Diane Kohara is a contributor and Teryn Bentley and Jennifer Crumley, they're making this (work)," he said. "And some of the other girls who have never gone to a WAC championship are going to this WAC championship, like Kawehi-Ann Rickard. She never dreamed of doing this. She's just been improving every month."
The team improvement showed from the beginning of the season. UH won its first meet, the San Diego Invitational, and three others along the way. In three other races, including the prestigious Stanford Invitational, the Wahine didn't finish below fourth place.
Hawaii is hosting the WAC championship meet for the first time. The men's 8K run begins at 8 a.m. and the women's 5K starts at 8:45 a.m. All eight WAC teams are participating in both races except for Hawaii and Nevada, which don't have men's teams.
The Wahine's fourth place finish last year in Tulsa was their best WAC result (UH did place second at the Big West Conference meet in 1993). Prior to last year, Hawaii had not placed better than second-to-last in four years in the WAC.
"Last year we were all kind of new to each other so we didn't really have a common goal," senior Courtney Barlow said. "But now we know our potential and we know what we're capable of. We're motivated to work toward that."
Hawaii's first five finishers at last year's WAC meet in Tulsa placed in the top 45, with Smith leading the way in third place.
"Team-wise we're all hoping to better our fourth-place finish," Smith said. "We feel confident we can do that."
And no matter where Smith and McGuire-Turcotte finish tomorrow, the team placement rests with the wolfpack.
"Hopefully they'll all have the courage to really push it and realize that the team isn't Cheryl and the team isn't me," McGuire-Turcotte said. "The team is everyone.
"We are racing people (not the clock) and this race is going to be fundamental, back to grade school kind of racing," she said. "You're racing to beat the person in front of you and that's the important thing."
On an individual level, Smith is a strong contender to cross the finish line first.
She said she feels confident running in the lead pack, which is relatively new for her.
"It's kind of changed this year," she said. "(McInnis) likes us to get out fast in the beginning, and then it's just a matter of finishing."
Before this year Smith felt most comfortable starting conservatively and then making a push later in the race.
"It does make a difference," she said.
And even though she will be out in front during the race, Smith's thoughts are with her teammates.
"I still feel a strong connection to the team," she said. "It pushes me to think that they are sticking together and we're doing this as a team. We're all doing the same thing."
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii