High finish no surprise to Nicholson

   CHAMPAIGN  Maybe everyone else was surprised. But not Candace Nicholson. Not Michelle Byrne.

   Running her first cross-country race in more than 10 months, Nicholson exhibited midseason form late last month while charging to sixth place in the University of Illinois Invitational. Among her Illini teammates, only Danielle Fonzino  running her third race of the season  finished higher.

   "I knew I was going to run somewhere in that area," said Nicholson, who completed the 5-kilometer race in 18 minutes, 13 seconds. "I was just trying to focus on doing well."

   Because Nicholson''s track season extended well into the summer, UI coach Byrne withheld Nicholson from the team''s first two meets while easing her prized sophomore back into distance running. But Byrne, too, wasn''t a bit surprised where Nicholson finished her first race back.

   "Each week you could see her getting better and stronger," said Byrne, whose team will return to action Saturday in the Illini Classic. "All the training indications were that she was ready to run where she did.

   "Still, it''s tough going in not having a race under your belt. But Candace is extremely talented, and what''s really exceptional about her is she has an unbelievably competitive nature."

   A year ago, newcomer Nicholson emerged as Illinois'' top runner, finishing first on the team in four of the five races she entered. It might have been 5 for 5 except that Nicholson was sick during the week leading up to NCAA District IV meet and and faded near the race''s end.

   It was Nicholson''s final race of her freshman year for the Illini. When the Cleveland native was ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester, her track season consisted of competing unattached in a few meets.

   "Some people were surprised at how I took it," said Nicholson, who arrived at the UI as the No. 3 prep runner in the nation in the 800 meters. "I wasn''t upset. I know I have to do well in the classroom if I wanted to do well on the track.

   "I did get to compete somewhat. The only thing I wasn''t too pleased with was how my times were, but with the lack of races, I think that''s probably why."

   Nicholson''s outlook took a sharp upswing over the summer, when she won the 800 at the U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships. The victory earned her a spot on the U.S. team that went to Havana, Cuba, for the Pan American Junior Championships. Nicholson placed fifth in the 800 there.

   "It was fun to get the chance to go to Cuba and represent the United States," she said. "It was kind of a poor country, and I met a lot of poor people. We stayed within the (athletes) village. As long as we walked in twos and threes, we were allowed to go around the village, but we couldn''t go that far. There were guards and stuff. We''re not used to seeing that."

   Byrne is eager to see how Nicholson fare in her second cross-country race Saturday. The UI coach praised the sophomore for the way she executed the race plan last time out.

   "My concern was that she would go out too hard too early," Byrne said.

   Instead, Nicholson stayed behind the lead pack until the final 1,000 meters. Then she began picking off runners all the way to the finish line, coming in just three seconds behind Fonzino. Byrne had Nicholson timed in 3:27 over the final 1,000.

   "That''s amazingly quick," the UI coach said.

Illini men target goals

   With top runner Jason Zieren still sidelined by a foot injury, UI men''s coach Gary Wieneke is emphasizing "the things we do have control over" in the Illini Classic.

   "We have three goals," he said. "We want to keep bringing the team spread down; we''d like to get five or more runners in the 25s (minutes); and we''d like to see a general improvement in our 8K times."

   Scott McClennan has been the UI''s top finisher in each of the team''s first three meets, and Wieneke has given the sophomore the go-ahead to cut loose from his teammates and run with the leaders. But he continues to emphasize pack-running with the others. In the Sept. 27 Illinois Invitational, the Illini''s No. 2 through No. 4 runners finished within 30 seconds of each other.

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