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Show 1 BIRD SPO,RTS Long runs for Thunderbirds Stephanie Long breezes past X-count!Y competition By MIKE FLAVIN JOURNAL SPORTS WRITI.R Her parents always encouraged her to II run like the wind, 11 and that is exactly what SU's women's cross country tri-captain Stephanie Long did Saturday. Long and her fellow Thunderbird teammates blew the competition away and swept the Balboa Classic hosted by Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, Calif. miles as a team per day. Half of this is done by themselves and the other half with the team. "The feeling of the cold air as I run has to be one of the best feelings on earth." said Long. Her love for running could be a large factor in her success this season. Since her first meet of the year, Long has shaved almost a minute off of her time. Long's love for kids and running are two reasons Long's future could easily hold a coaching career. "Running for fun or coaching are the only ways I can see myself continuing to run after college," said Long. Long described herself as "always joking and laughing about something." This positive attitude and her endless dedication have definitley paid off in running and in life. Never without a smile, Stephanie Long loves her surroundings and if things go well she could breeze through her final year, which looks to be her best yet. SU X-country runner Stephanie Long The win couldn't have come at a better time with the first-ever American West Conference championship meet just around the corner Oct. 29. The men's team won for the second straight week and the women's team won its first competition of the season Saturday. The women's team took the competition by storm with some great times including the 19:10 fourth-place finish of senior captain Stephanie Long (five kilometers). This was Long's best finish of the season which also could not have come at a better time. "Our improvement from the first meet down here is just unbelievable to me," said Coach Eric Houle."Everybody has been working hard and they're really coming together at a good time. I'm just really happy about our progress. Long is a transfer student from Utah Valley State College, and is in her final year of eligibility. She got her start in high school when her track coach convinced her that cross country would help her train for track season. "After I first tried it I fell in love," said Long. She's been running hard ever since. When college rolled around UVSC, was the only school to show interest. T hat is until her second season was in the books, and after Long had recorded two all-region awards for her two years on the team. From there, she moved to SUU on scholarship and has made the most of her experience. Long's teammates voted her one of the tricaptains of the women's cross country squad. Practice entails running a total of 10 ~z g Phil Wood, a wildlife management major from Bountiful, gets set to spike it in the ground of the lower quad Tuesday during a four-on -four volleyball tournament. The event was organized by the SU intramurals department and coincided with "Timex Fitness Week." Golfers volunteer services to help repair Cedar Ridge With a three-week break before they host their own invitational, members of the SU golf team are giving a little back to the Cedar City community. This week members of the Thunderbird golf team will be assisting crews in several repairs at the city-owned Cedar Ridge Golf Course. SU Head Coach John Evans estimates the team will donate 120 man hours to projects that will upgrade four of the ladies tee boxes and the no. 5 and 6 greens. There will also be some maintenance work around the new restrooms on the fifth hole. Repairs on the tees and greens began Wednesday Oct. 19. "The city and the golf course have always been very good to us and we've always tried to help out where we can. This will help the city save some money on labor and we will benefit by having a better facility to play on," I said Evans. "It's also a good chance for our team to come together and show that we are grateful for the opportunity to play the course." The Thunderbirds will host the SUV/Oasis Collegiate Classic Nov. 1415 in Mesquite, Nev. SU's golfers were in Las Cruces, N .M. last Friday, competing in the Herb Wimberly/Coca-Cola classic. Coach John Evans said the high winds and cold temperatures on Friday, which allowed only one round of par-72 or better, forced tournament organizers to move the tees up to where the senior citizens play from for Saturday's round. It helped make things interesting as eight players shot 72, including SU's Mike Evans, who finished in 11th place. Evans became the third Thunderbird to be the team's low finisher in four '94 events. |