The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 25

INSIDE: Comics, C5 Will Ferrell, in ARTS, C6 Classified, C9 Weather TV, C16 SP RTS Editor: Hugh Paterson, 613-596-3525 sportsthecltlzeri.camvest.com fax 613-726-5830 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SECTION FEELING CHIPPERAT 18 "1 if EastNepean little league does it right on, off field Junior, major teams go after national championships BY DON CAMPBELL If Pi 1 Diane Dolan, who finished tied for second at the Quebec senior women's amateur golf championship, chips onto the 18th green at the Outaouais Golf Club. Story, C3. Woods runs blue streak to success Hillcrest grad Mike Woods is the latest Canadian piiddle distance runner to thrive at the University qf Michigan, reports ALEX HUTCHINSON. mm mm JEAN LEVAC, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN I 'J. mum 5 NICK BRANCACCIO, THE WINDSOR STAR A nagging foot injury soured the collegiate season of Mike Woods, who will be competing in a strong field of runners on Saturday.

in It, ft -f High on his right thigh, visible only when he dons running shorts, Hillcrest High School graduate Mike Woods sports the mark of Canada's foremost distance-running fraternity: a tattoo with the blue of the University of Michigan superimposed on a red maple leaf. Woods, who will compete in the 1,500 metres during this weekend's National Track and Field Championships at Mooney's Bay, is the latest in an illustrious line of Canadian runners to pass through Ann Arbor. In fact, five of the six Canadians who have broken the four-minute-mile barrier in the past two years are Michigan graduates or students, including Canadian record-holder Kevin Sullivan of Brantford, and 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Nathan Bran-nen of Cambridge, Ont It's a pipeline that owes a lot to the influence of Sullivan, who was already a record- awn i -1" tidy symmetry of the four-minute mile, but equivalent to about three seconds faster. In Saturday afternoon's final, Woods will face one other runner sporting the blue-and-red tattoo: the top-seeded Brannen, who lowered his personal best to 3:34.88 in Athens last month. Another Michigan grad, Montreal's Alexandre L'Heureux, is seeded seventh in the race.

The only other runner with a personal best under 3:40, at 3:38.05, is Windsor's Ryan McKenzie, who was the Canadian champion in 2002. In a surprise move, Sullivan is competing in the 800 metres, where he will face current Michigan student (and fellow tattoo wearer) Andrew Eller-ton of Sudbury. With no major championships to qualify for this summer, Sullivan decided to work on his speed before heading back to Europe for more Golden League races later this month. "It's a really good field, so I'm going to have to run hard just to make the final," said Sullivan, who is seeded eighth in the 800-metre field, well behind Canadian record-holder Gary Reed of Kamloops. 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM 26169A JVS from fj- 2005 PONTIA G5 PURSU 26218A from 2005 BUICK LUCERNE I26234A from 2005 HUMMER H3 26123A from 1- 1 2005 PONTIAC MONTANA SVM 26239A from lIIjsJ breaker when he started at Michigan in 1993.

"Kevin was my big hero when I started running, so seeing his success was a factor," said Woods, who has been relaxing at home in Ottawa this week after a month-long racing tour in Europe. "I also watched Nate when I was in high school" As a blue-chip prospect, Woods had plenty of options when he was choosing a school two years ago. In the end, the deciding factors were Michigan's strong academic reputation and the charisma of the Wolverines' cross-country coach, a former Marine named RonWarhurst. "I couldn't say no to Ron," Woods said. "He may not be the most scientific coach out there, but he's by far the best motivator." Sullivan wasn't the first Wolverines miler from Canada, with that distinction going to Ottawa's Scott MacDonald, who went to Ann Arbor a year 2005 These days at East Nepean Little League, players and coaches are no more important than travel agents as two teams head off to national championships.

For the junior Eagles (ages 13-14), the destination is Leth-bridge, Alta. For the East Nepean majors (11-12), it's On top of that, only a 5-4 loss in the Ontario final kept the senior (15-16) East Nepean squad from having to find their way to Sydney Mines, N.S. "It's all because of a deep commitment from our volunteers to our coaches to our players," East Nepean association president Bruce Campbell said yesterday. "Our focus has been on player development for a long time now, and that starts by looking after every little detail every day. "When people work hard, good things happen, and the evidence is the two teams heading west, and almost a third (going east)." The juniors flew out of Ottawa yesterday, bound first for Winnipeg and then on to Calgary before a two-hour bus ride to Lethbridge.

They have a workout scheduled for today, with their first game of the tournament set for tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET against the Quebec representatives fromNotre-Dame-de-Grace. The final is scheduled for Aug. 10. With seven of 12 players from the 2004 team that made it all the way to the World Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the junior Eagles barely cruised past the competition during the provincials at Cornwall.

Things figure to get a little tougher in Lethbridge. "For the ones who didn't make it to Williamsport, this is all kind of an adventure," head coach Mark De Luca said. "For the ones who were there, they see it as a chance to finish off what they started in 2003 and 2004 (in the major division); They know what it takes to get to the next level and really want to get there again. See EAGLES on PAGE C2 up to 60 months on most new 2006 model. rTo before Sullivan, setting school records and qualifying for the Commonwealth Games as a sophomore.

The records didn't last long once Sullivan arrived, though, said MacDonald, who is now national team programs director for Athletics Canada. "After four years of getting drilled by Kevin in high school races, he came to Michigan and I got drilled by him every day in practice," MacDonald recalled with a laugh. Like Woods, MacDonald was impressed by the coaching and academics at Michigan, and he's careful to point out it wasn't the lure of scholarship money that swayed him. In fact, MacDonald turned down full scholarships at several other top U.S. schools to accept a less-than-50-per-cent scholarship to Michigan.

The choice has turned out well for Woods so far, although a nagging foot injury soured his collegiate season this spring, causing him to be eliminated in the semifinals of the NCAA championships in June. He bounced back a month later with a personal-best time for 1,500 metres of three minutes 39.37 seconds at Cuxhaven, Germany, his first time under 3:40. It's a barrier without the P0NTIAC pucu -CJL. "mSmZE2l P0NTIAC PRIX SUNFIRE 26101A from 1 1 I nil Surgenor Pontiac Buick GMC Hummer is conducting a ONE PRICE SALE of new 2006 cars, trucks and vans. Every vehicle has its CANADA WIDE CLEARANCE price and a Discount proudly posted in the showroom.

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