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Show Page 10 The Thuiuterbird Tuesday October 22, 1985 &F ?& fpwi8 Rodeo team seeks top BY STAN KONTOGIANNIS 'is Southern Utah Stam Colleges rodeo team came back to Cedar City with five successtul placmgs m the first rodeo of the season held at the Utah Technical School Provo, and Coach Chris Calc feels confident that SUSC will be able to participate m this years rodeo nationals to be held in June at Boseman, Montana. Competing against universities and colleges such as the University of Utah, Idaho State and other colleges in the Rocky Mountain Region, the SUSC girls rodeo team took second place out of the roughly 15 schools which participated. Betty Christensen placed first in the long goal, in the breakaway roping, and then proceeded to the short goal which consists of the 10 top riders, w'here she finished second overall. Teammate Darla Hunt, placed sixth in the long goal and then proceeded to the short goal where she took fourth place overall. Gale said, Overall, the girls team did a superb job and has a good chance of making it into the nationals, the first SUSC team to do so. In the mens division, Dirk Ballard placed second in the bareback riding event. Finishing second in the long goal, he then proceeded to the short goal where he again placed second. Averaging these placings, Ballard took first place in his event. Teammate, Ladd Dick, who is a bull rider, placed sixth in the long goal and then third in the short goal averaging third overall. Troy Wann placed fifth in the long goal and again fifth in , The SUSC volleyball team snapped an losing streak Friday by beating Western State, but only after losing to Mesa Thursday. Their conference record is noiv eight-garr.- e 3-- Lady Birds snap losing streak BY KEN COX The Lady snapped an eight-gam- e losing streak by downing Western State College 0 at home on Friday. Southern Utah State College split a weekend home stand to go in conference and overall. Mesa downed SUSC 1 on Thursday. After trailing in the first game Friday, the Charise Rollins came off the bench to serve for eight straight points. The then 15-- 6 downed WSC 15-and Jill Reynolds led SUSC with nine kills; Sally Salmans added five, while Meridee Syme and Pat Roundy had four each. After th e loss to Mesa, Coach Joy Peterson said the didnt play with motivation as if they wanted to win. Following Fridays match, Peterson was pleased with the improved play. She said the had a team meeting before the game and some goals were set. 3 5 6-- 0 15-1- We came out and achieved them, Peterson said. Everybody played and they played like they wanted to win today, Peterson said. Intensity has been one erf our problems, but we improved that today. We blocked better today, and we executed our game better. We played more fundamentally sound. We acted like we were having fun. SUSC fell in a match to Mesa 15-- and 15-1- 15-- 6 that was marred by errors. The made 12 service errors in four games. According to Peterson, the mistakes against Mesa prompted the team meeting. Fort Lewis and Adams State colleges will be in town this weekend for SUSCs final home games will face Fort Lew'is on of this season. The Friday, and Adams State on Saturday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the War Memorial Fieldhouse. then short goal, taking fifth place in the eent. The club still awaits members who cannot participate because of transfer regulations, said Gale. So far we have six bovs and three girls competing. The clubs growing success can he attributed to Mark Wiiglil, the adviser, added Gale. Two members of the SUSC rodeo team competed in last years nationals. Betty (Jo) Christensen participated in the breakaway roping while Gary Bullock that same year competed in the event. Donny Gay, world champion for five consecutive years in the g event, explained this bull-ridin- g bull-ridin- Its not if hurt, its you get when and how, says rider Donny Gay. sport saying, Its not if you get hurt, its when and how. Gale adding to Gays remark said, I can remember seeing riders participating with broken ribs and bones. Twenty-fiv- e percent of the rough stock riders will be riding with an injury. Despite the risks involved in this sport, Gale said, Its the thrill of riding a 2,000 pound bull in eight seconds that makes this sport worthwhile. Many hours of practice is put into this sport. Roping requires hours of arduous training daily without the horse and then twice as much on a horse. To keep in shape during the summer, many rodeo riders compete in amateur rodeos. Many of the SUSC contestants will seek a professional career in rodeo someday. said Gale. SUSC set to enter Western Football Conference next fall BY TODD ROBINSON After years of active participation Athletic Conference (RMAC), the Thunderbird football squad will find itself playing in the Western Football Conference (WFC) next fall. The move to the new league is a positive one, said Head Coach Don 18 in the Rocky Mountain Conrad. According to Southern Utah State College Athletic Director Steve Lunt, a committee began evaluating the colleges athletic alignment and making steps toward moving to a new' division when a group- - of Colorado institutions presented a plan to formulate an all- - Colorado league five to six years ago. The school has been evaluating its status every year since the WFC was formed four years ago. It w'as an ideal to change opportunity for the conferences, he said. The WFC is an expanding conference, said Lunt, and that makes it ideal for SUSC. Growth seems to be the major drive have behind the change. The been participating in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics which is limiting in opportunity, and now w'ill be participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a Division II team. Since the WFC is a football conference, all other athletic teams, both mens and womens, will now be participating as NCAA Division II independents. The advantage of moving to the WFC, said Conrad, will be mostly in greater exposure for the team as well as better recruiting possibilities. The NCAA is better organized, making it possible for teams to receive n play, greater recognition in athletic officials say. Currently, in the could win their NAIA, the n division and still not go to work that dosent NCAA The play. post-seaso- post-seaso- way. SUSCS major objective is to equalize its program with that of other programs in the league, Conrad said. This will mean offering higher scholarships to players to upgrade recruitment. It will also mean an increase in the football coaching staff. The Birds have three paid coaches while other conference teams have a coaching staff of upwards of six. In its new conference SUSC will be facing some tough teams including California Lutheran, California Polytechnic College of San Luis Obispo, California State Northridge, California State Sacramento, Portland State and Santa Clara. The conference will consist of seven teams next season with hopes conference in of expanding to a the near future. |