The Wolverine

December 2016

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/751827

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 64 of 75

DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 65 BY AUSTIN FOX M ichigan women's cross country coach Mike Mc- Guire has had an amazing run during his 25 years as the head man in Ann Arbor, and his already outstanding legacy was strengthened Oct. 30, with U-M win- ning the Big Ten championship for the 10th time during his tenure. McGuire earned more hardware just two days later, being named Big Ten Coach of the Year, which also happened to be the 10th time he won the award. He later added Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors after U-M won its second straight crown, but Mc- Guire deflects the credit for his incred- ible accomplishments to his runners. "I feel like I've been smart enough to get good student-athletes here," he said. One of the main reasons the Maize and Blue were able to capture a con- ference championship this season was due to the contributions of senior Erin Finn. She has set numerous records while at Michigan, including captur- ing her third conference title in Min- neapolis Oct. 30. As a result, she was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year two days later. "I don't think I've ever had any- one embrace both opportunities the way Finn has, and that's in 33 years of coaching men and women," McGuire said. "She's here to do two things — get a great education and run really fast. She just wants to achieve her aca- demic and athletic goals, and she's the type of kid where anything less than an A is unacceptable in her book." Finn hasn't been the only standout for Michigan this season, though. Red- shirt junior Gina Sereno and junior Av- ery Evenson also earned all-conference honors. "Gina has really developed within the program," McGuire said. "She came here in Erin's class, but we redshirted her from a developmen- tal standpoint. … Gina's gotten bet- ter each year, and we have the luxury of having her all of next year as well. She'll be the one to assume the front- running mantle that Erin has had for us the last four years. "We were really fortunate with Av- ery; we recruited her four years ago out of high school as a local kid. She opted to go to the Olympic Training Center to train as a tri-athlete for three years. She actually reached out to us to concentrate on coming back to run- ning. So Avery came in mid-year last year, but was under the radar because she had some plantar fasciitis issues. "We worked through that, and with her triathlon background, she's similar to Erin in that she has a huge edge. Avery was second-team All-Big Ten her first year, and remember, this is the first time she's run cross country in four years. It definitely speaks to her ability and her competitiveness." Though this is his 25th season as the head coach at U-M, McGuire doesn't show any signs of slowing down, ad- mitting he's still having a blast. "It's fun when you're winning a lot," he said with a laugh. "I still really en- joy practice and trying to work with someone like Erin, who was a national- level athlete out of high school and seeing her get better. And then there's someone like Gina, who, if you go by the star system, was probably a two- or three-star, while Erin was probably a five-star. But Gina has really devel- oped and is better as a college athlete than she was in high school. "So those are all rewarding, but what's even more rewarding is work- ing with them on a daily basis to help them reach that level." The Wolverines have reached the championship level in the first two rounds of the postseason and will be looking to add one more title at the NCAA Championships Nov. 19. REDSHIRTS SHOULDN'T SLOW DOWN WRESTLING SQUAD The lineup for the No. 11 Michigan wrestling team may be full of new faces, but that doesn't mean the team lacks the experience or ability to build off of last year's ninth-place finish at   OLYMPIC SPORTS Championship Season Women's Cross Country Opens The Postseason With Big Ten And Regional Titles Senior Erin Finn led from start to finish while winning her first regional crown with a personal-best 6,000-meter time of 19:27.5 Nov. 11. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - December 2016