OCR Text |
Show 10 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 2000 Softball Makes Its Tracksters Up Speeding Home Debut Today STERLING CLIFFORD Chronicle Sports Writer After spending the first p. games of the season on the road, the Utah soft-ba- ll team finally makes its home debut today in a doubleheader vs.Utah State. The Utcs are looking forward to finally playing on their own field. "We are so excited. Not only because we're home, but because the field has some new aspects, like the warning track, and it just looks beautiful," coach Mona Stevens said. Utah is 5 on Jnc season, confident about having a but feels winning record after facing a schedule loaded with some of the top teams in the country. The Utcs have seven wins against teams ranked in the nation's 17-1- top "Trie thing I'm happy about is that, even with our strong schedule, these kids now know they can win," Stevens said. "This has helped us prepare for the next part of our schedule. The kids are playing very well right now." record, Despite the Aggies' Stevens is anticipating a battle. "It doesn't matter what the records are when Utah State and Utah face each other, it's anybody's ballgame," Stevens said. "We have got to come out to play. They've got a solid team; not a great record, but they always show up ready to play, and we have to do the 9-- 7 same." Action gets underway at 1:30 p.m. ERiC WALDEN 25. lfJ The Utah To Your Success! Onsite Companies is looking for dynamic individuals who want to join a young, growing company full of opportunities. You can become an active member of a team of dedicated salespeople and recruiters who provide staffing solutions to hundreds of companies across the nation. These are interna!, salaried positions with full benefits including a 401 (k) company matched retirement savings plan. We also provide one paid week of hands-o- n training at a local office and one week of formal training in Baltimore, Maryland where you will learn the skills you need for success. As you grow into top sales and management positions well orovic training and support all the way. full-tim- e, Onsito is a successful leader in the staffing industry'. We promote from within and truly want to seo people succeed. Talk to us to see why thousands of people have chosen Onsite. INFORMATIONAL SESSION SVlarcfi 29th 4prra Student Services Building, Room 380 ld 48-1- 0 14, Kiser missed the provisional qualifying mark in the shot put by just six inches. Junior Chantel Goidsberry threw a hammer 180-ard set a Utah record while taking second place in the event. 4, continued from page 9 A COMPANIES track-and-fie- SMOCK softball team will make its home debut today versus Utah State. Committed If you see Chris Merkely around campus this week, congratulate him. The senior runner at Utah became a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Stanford Invi- tational Saturday. Merkely ran the 5,000 meters in 13:55.37, which was a personal best and put him at 13th in the race. Merkely beat the qualifying time of 14:07 by just over n seconds. Behind Merkeiy and just outside the qualifying time were Utes Travis Hildebrand and Teren Jameson, whe finished 22nd and 29th, respectively. Hildebrand's 14:12.18 and Jameson's 14:16.20 were not good enough to meet the qualifying time, but close enough that Utah coach Mike Jones believes they both have a chance to qualify later in the seasoa. "We're going to keep working hard at it," Jones said "We've got plenty of time." Merkely became a provisional qualifier, but provisional is a pretty big word. The top 18 provisional athletes at the end of the season will compete at nationals in May. The field portion of the Utah team went to the Northridge Invitational, where two school records vere broken. Sophomore Audrey Kiser set a Utah record and earned second place in the shot put with a throw of an Applebys and a McDonalds; there passed a Big was a chance there would be something entertaining to do. But as quickly as our hope appeared, it was squashed as the bus rolled through town, farther and father from civilization but closer and closer to our hoteL Situated in a quaint, shallow valley, downwind from the National Animal Disease Testing Center (I've had an ongoing cold for weeks now), uphill from the electricity plant (which bears a striking resemblance to a nuclear power plant), and five miles away from anything remotely exciting was our hotel. While walking into the hotel lobby (decorated in the 1970s), we were assaulted by a horrible smell that was later pinpointed as a delicate mixture of cheap cigar smoke and vomit. Making it even more appetizing was that it was wafting from the hotel's restaurant. After climbing three flights of stairs (no way was I taking a chance with the elevator), I was feeling a little lightheaded. The hotel had decided to strip the indoor pool of ail its paint. It was winter, though, which meant there were no open windows or doors, so there was no ventilation. The chemical fumes were violent enough to make my Several members of the Utah track team could compete at NCAAs. eyes water, my brain expand to full skull capacity, and singe all nose hair. You couldn't help but get a ripping headache. It's not often someone knows the exact cause of a migraine. Food is a natural painkiller, but we were miles away from town (the restaurant wasn't smelling good) and the closest building to the hotel was the Kum & Go Quicky Mart. Yes...the Kum & Go, with a Burger King attached. Burger King and the Kum & Go. There's a lot in a name. Needless tc say, I didn't eat a lot while I was in Iowa. Leaving the confines of the hotel by bus was our only salvation. We took a trip to "College Town," which is near the Iowa State campus. There we learned Ames was eerie in that sort of way.We would see all these cars and houses, restaurants and stores, but not many people. It was like LHah County on a Sunday afternoon, but this was on a Friday night. The town was quiet because Iowa State was deserted. Every true college student was far from campus, basking in the hot sun on the beaches of Cancun, all the while thanking administrators for the invention qf Spring Break. Now I've been to Iowa. Clearly the best part of the trip was when I realized I never have to go back to Iowa, volunChildren-of-the-Co- tarily, again. rn |