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Show DSC football looks to improve After a disappointing 8 season last year, the Dixie State College football team has high expectations for 2008-0- very well, Schmidt said. We have to improve on our tackling and execute better. The lack of depth is this 3-- 9. This year will be the first season DSC football will be eligible for playoff contention. Because of the high caliber play DSC sports has produced over the last two years, the NCAA is lifting the probation period two years early. Head Coach Ron Haun said he is optimistic about the upcoming season. We go into every season with enthusiasm and confidence that we can achieve what we set out to do, Haun said. We feel we have a lot of veteran players who have worked very hard this offseason, and they are looking forward to the season. Veteran starters Ryan Delrosal, Braeden Gates and Andrew Stephens anchor the offensive line and will bring a strong backbone to the teams offense. The run game has been solidified with the addition of running backs Tauni Vakapuna, Aaron Davies and Sione Dive he sees is wrapping up the ball carrier. We have had one serin,, mage and havent tackled BY ERIK DORN Dixie Sun Staff Writer teams biggest issue TY i ! Nr fhe Jlegiat ...ociat' ..final St ,e ousior owing pis to going json p for the into the season. Unless the athlei team remains healthy, the) lie bee will have to rely on new eteattl players or very young jiusion players with little expere not e ience. The opening game of the season will be at home against Central Washington University on Saturday at Dixies offensive and defensive lines work on blocking and rushing tactics at practice. The whole team for the upcoming season, which starts Saturday. Tapuosi. They join returning starters Adam Wells and Brandon Grover in the backfield. The starting quarterback position has not been set in concrete. Dexter Hill and Nate Lewis will be battling for that position in the days to come. Wide receiver Skyler Ence will be returning along with tight end Judd Thompson to be among the targets for Hill and Lewis. Offensive Coordinator Scott Brumfield said the players are coming together as a team. With returning starters and additions made in the offseason, chemistry is an important part to being productive. The chemistry of the team seems to be really strong, Brumfield said'. Most of the players have been in the system for three years now and have always been close. I think that is one of the strongest things we have going for our team. There are plenty of returning starters on the defensive side as well. Among those returning is preparing will be linebacker Teddy Owens, defensive end Chad Frank, nose guard Wayne Alofipo, and defensive back Aric Hutchinson. The defense is tough, and the front seven will be a formidable foe to any offense. Defensive Coordinator Ken Schmidt described the defense as explosive and quick. The only weakness for ay nainpio jtional pectiv .tools t p.m. This is a game against! se to a very good football team rust go with a winning history, Monal Brumfield said. This will ransitior really be a gauge of where oat take our program is and where no. it needs to be. DSC s Haun said he does not abaci see one team he doesnt isanexj want play. The schedules ofth going to be very tough, aid Miclusii everyone on the team will ikprov have to play tough as wei carted, c We are excited about thletic the challenges of the lrunanr schedule, and we are loo13,2008 king forward to the upcoprovisioi season, Haun said. trawai We feel we are much to a pres improved and have som- attribute! ething to play for. We hope the mem we continue to make letic dep improvements in our ming U.S. brings home 36 golds from Beijing sta BY CASIE MCNAUGHTON Dixie Sun Online Editor The United States set the bar high this year, coming home with 36 Olympic gold medals in g many events. This years Games of the XXIX Olympiad were held in Beijing from Aug. 8 until Saturday. Thousands of athletes gathered from around the world to compete in 302 events in 28 different sports, according to the Web site http:.en.beijing2008.cn. For some athletes this was their first Olympics, but for others it was a second, third, fourth or even fifth game; this was the case for U.S. athlete Dara Torres. Torres competed in the record-breakin- womens 400-met- er freestyle relay, freestyle, and medley relay in swimming. This years games were her fifth Olympics, having competed in the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 2000 games. Not only is 50-met- er 400-met- er Torres a five-tim- e Olympian, but she is also 40 years old and gave birth to her first child 15 months ago, according to www.wikipedia.org. This year Torres took home silver medals in all her events. The biggest name of the Games was Michael Phelps. Phelps set out to win eight gold medals, which he did. This beat Mark Spitzs record, a former Olympic medalist who won seven golds in Munich in 1972. y For DSC athlete Tennil Reed, a junior biology major from Kingman, Ariz., this years games were definitely motivating. I can sum it up in two words: Michael Phelps, Reed said. He dominated everyone. I almost shed a tear seeing his mom react in the stands. He made me want to train harder. The U.S. gymnasts also gained a lot of attention as the U.S. competed against China, though China beat the Americans by four gold medals. Key points in the competition included Alicia Sacramone falling twice during the team final, which pushed the U.S. into second place. However, the individual events and turned out differently for Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Liukin came away this year with five medals, cross-countr- one of which was the gold. She is the daughter of Soviet gymnast Valeri Liukin, who won two gold medals himself in 1988. Johnson outperformed Liukin on the balance beam, taking the gold due to her difficulty factor. In the mens competi- tion, Jonathan Horton led the U.S. team into a bronze medal position with impressive performances. Horton also took the silver for his high bar performance. The U.S. tied with Brazil in the end for volleyball, each winning one gold and one silver medal. Beach volleyball was a different story, though. Americans Misty and Kerri Walsh defended their title as one of the best womens beach volleyball teams of all time, winning their 108th straight match for the May-Trean- kept up with each other as the Americans took the first set and the Brazilians took the second. The Americans easily took the lead in the third set to win the match. The volleyball matches impressed sophomore Lisa Hilton, a nursing major from Bountiful and another cross country team member. Hilton said: I thought it was awesome this year. The U.S. volley- ball teams really stepped it up and had a real turnaround. It set a new standard for sports and set the bar high, surprising a lot of people. Baseball was a slightly different story. The U.S. placed third, winning the bronze. South Korea took the gold in this event, and Cuba placed second. The U.S. softball team beat out Australia but was bested by Japan for the si- s 103rd-care- May-Trean- team lver. for for gram. two gold medals in ba ketball, got a bronze cycling, and won the most medals in track and field with 23. Trai tr peon alread they v for ! thi Pacifi Ortiz diffic fim i progr He tarde forth edUCE under the cr Tnotl :ngf ;right fg e Ath or bext er tournament win, and for Walsh it was her tournament win. The U.S. men's team of Todd Rogers and Philip Dalhausser also took the gold after battling it out with the Brazilian team. For the first two sets the teams 100th-care- anoth er ce 'aye P'ay g f'ann 'Ca, medal game The i th The U.S. tied tear a Argentina in soccer kkt the silver, took home or gold. The win was The Collej imT011 ameS drlves on RudY Fernandez of Spain during a. the gold won the gold for the first time since the 2000 Olympic Game |