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Show .-= 1~!-=-_ === _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~--~~~,BIRDSPORTS )1$1 THE tJmVBRSFI'Y TGURNAL • SOUTHEJm UTAH'. UNIVERSITY• WBDNESDA¥, MAY 6, 199.8 1 ,_ Tracksters enjoyi,ng sweep of Mid-Con championship 190-4, and Watson, who was named Mid-Con Keith Richards pulled up with a sore muscle and was Entering the outdoor season, the SU track and field Newcomer of the Year, finished second with at throw forced to leave the race, it gave Brown a chance to team had but one goal in mind-bring home another of 181-11. Layne Richards performance in the take over and win the race. Mid-Con championship. After all, the 'Birds had championship and his performances throughout the The men picked up points where they weren't already brought home two championships in men's season earned him the Mid-Con Male Athlete of the expecting, with Mike Riddle and T.J. DeCarlo making cross country and women's indoor track this season. Year honor. "The kid has got it all. You couldn't ask it to the finals of the 400-meter hurdles, adding three However, a sweep of both the men's and women's for more," said Assistant Coach Bish Dolegiewicz. to the men's total. essential points titles this weekend is what both the men and women "We had to use him strategically. We knew if he went Sunday's performances included a first-place finish really wanted, and this time around they all out in the decathlon we wouldn't be able to use in the javelin for Layne Richards with a throw of accomplished it. hiin in the individual events." Layne "We weren't sure if we'd be able to go in Richards came up big for the men and take both," said Head Coach Eric Houle. considering he had a sore hamstring that The men who stayed a pace ahead of host kept him from placing in the high jump, UMKC for the win, used the leadership of however he still managed to pick up a Layne Richards, Kris Watson and Jody Benson second-place finish in the pole vault and a gaining l 79 team points. sixth-place finish in the long jump. The point totals in Monday's story were The women used a strong day of reported wrong, as it was the women who competition Sunday to move from third to scored 208 total points after taking a 24.5 first in the team standings, gaining 97 points lead over UMKC on the final day of and beating UMKC's team point total by competition, with the men earning 179 eight for the women's championship. points. ~~Q Natalie Gibson led the way for the ladies as The meet started with a strong performance """"'"""'-~ she won the 400-meter hurdles and set a from Benson who finished first in the 10,000~~~ Mid-Con Championship meet record with a meter. According to Houle, Benson ran so ~ :...,..-w time of 1:00.20. Gibson was named the well he was able to get in front of the pack Fema'le Athlete of the Year for her and coast for the final stretch of the run, performance this season. Chalys Lamb saving energy for the 5,000-meter. Youngstown State's Matt Folk finished 21 added a first-place finish as well with a '' ;; throw of 132-3 in the javelin. Dolcgiewicz seconds behind Benson. Phil Woolston took spoke of the tremendous efforts the women fourth adding four more points to the men's put forth in the distance events, dominating total. .j almost every event and taking the top tluee Layne Richards first-place perfonnance in ;;~;;~~~~ ~~~~[&·1~ Ui~~-~~YI spots in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs. "It the decathlon and Watson's throw in the :7h-=""ll,,i6,;;~·· -, was a very balanced gathering of points by hammer enabled the men to surge ahead with a five-po int lead after one day. "That set the !i~~i~~I the team. T he team worked together and there was not a weak area," Dolegiewicz tone of the meet," Houle said. The success said. Houle, who won coach of the year for the men continued Saturday as Adam Keith Richards leads the pack in the BOO-meter, with Adam Brown in honors, said he feels that the athletes have Brown win the 800-meter with a time of established a force in 'track and field for this l :5 1.86. Brown had help from Keith Richards fourth position. Brown eventually won the race with a time of 1:51.86, while Richards pulled up with a sore muscle. Richards helped Brown by season and for seasons to come in Mid-Con who forced the other runners in the heat to competition. tiring the group early on, allowing Brown to save energy for the final leg. run a fast pace. According to Houle, after ·~~~~~J,;;)il~}C';~l li~ ~jillli!i~, ~ili~ ~ =---...a Tennis looking to carry momentum Hardballers to face By KRISTIN TENNIS JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR Wrapping up its first ever season as a member of the Mid-Con Conference, the SU women's tennis team had a interesting and rough year. Bad weather and injuries caused problems for the ladies, however it didn't stop the 'Birds from playing their best according to Head Coach Lenny Lee. "Coming off our first ever Mid-Con season, we are excited at how we finished the season," Lee added. "We will carry this positive positive momentum into next fall." The ladies started the 1997-98 season last fall with matches against league foes Chicago State, Western Illinois and Northeastern Illinois. The spring followed with tough matches against four California in February and ended in April with a threematch contest with the rest of the schools in the Mid-Con. The season ended for the ladies in Buffalo, N.Y. where the 'Birds finished a modest fifth in championship play. Leading the team this year was Senior Robin Daynes from Newark, Calif., a person that Lee feels has exhibited tremendous leadership qualities throughout the year. "She held the team together," said Lee. Newcomer Carolina Ferrandez came to SU and with her skills became the teams number one position player. The sophomore from Alicante, Spain, has improved steadily throughout the year according to Lee. Add to that a first team All Mi-Con honor-an award only six players in the league receive. "SUU is very fortunate to have ICarolina) representing this school," Lee said. "Besides her on-the-court presence, she's a quality person off the court as well." ·Lee said he is looking forward to further improvement from her next year and become one of the best players in the Mid-Con. Because of her play and leadership she has shown this season, Ferrandez has already been named team captain for the 1998-99 season. "She wil.l do a fine job as captain based on her playing ability, and her quiet but unassuming leadership ability as well. She will lead by example," Lee said. The team is looking forward to its second season of conference play next year. Lee said that the teams prospects of moving up in the conference standings next year appear to be very good. "With the returning players and one of the best recruiting classes joining the team next year, the competition for the starting line up will be intense," Lee added. Lee sees next year as another season for the program to grow and progress, both as a team and as individuals. The team loses Daynes, but the rest will be returning. Sun Devils today The SU baseball team closes its regular season this week with a doubleheader tonight against Arizona State and a four-game series with CS Northridge May 8-lO. The 'Birds are coming off of a doubleheader with the Utes. losing 11-7 in game one and dropping the nightcap 14-2. D.J. Penick went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI, but the Utes scored four runs in the first inning and five runs in the third to take the four-run win in game one. Utah had another big first inning in the nightcap, but it was a four-run third and a five-run fourth that helped the Utes take the 14-2 win. The 'Birds' lone bright spot was T .J. King, who was 2 for 3, including a double that allowed him to score on of SU's two runs. Tonight the 'Birds face an Arizona State team that is 33-16 with its most recent win over New Mexico, 12-9. SU is 22-23 currently and will be looking to break a two-game losing streak against the Sun Devils. Although Arizona State is expected to win, the 'Birds have held their own against big name teams this season, picking up wins over UNLV, BYU and Utah. Jake Petersen broke the school single season record for home runs picking up his 14th clinger this season. Petersen has 21 career home runs which is second all-time at SU. Nationally, Phil Downing is ranked 39th in the nation in batting average at .422, and Carlson is ranked 11th in stolen bases. Pitcher Kyle Kimoto is tied for fourth with 10 saves this season. |