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Show THE UNIVillSI:rY fOURNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNiv.EllSITY • MONDAY, MAY 15, 1998 'BIRD SPORTS - n11 Women's hoops toughening up for next year By C HAD LAMB JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR The SU women's basketball team ended the season back in March, but preparations still continue as the ladies prepare for their second season in the MidContinent Conference. According to Head Coach Joe llillock, the primary focus right now is to get the ladies stronger as most of the training right now is in the weight room. "The league is a lot s tronger than we thought it was," Houle said about the strength of the teams in the Mid-Con. "Our kids are playing on their own right now a couple days a week and doing a lot of gym work." The Lady 'Birds face a tough challenge in the upcoming season after losing 6-5 center Myodee Larsen to graduation . Larsen was the team's top scorer and rebounder and was a key factor in the ladies ' fifth-place finish in the league this past season . Set to return for the 'Birds arc Jessica Littlefield, Sunn y M)rcrs, Alicia Adams, Melissa H ines, Ali Gressman, Sara Pratt and Jaycee Webster. Littlefield led the team in three-point shooti ng a t the forward spot and was one of three players to average double fig ures in scoring. Houle said that Webste r would sec more playing time at guard. She has been hampered with knee pmblcms hut is expected to be at full strength when the season begins. The ladies also plan co use some new recruits who have already s igned letters of intent to play at SU. Janelle Romney, a 6-foot-2 center/forward from Dixie College and Cedar High School earned second-tea m all-Scenic West Athletic Conference honors for the Rcbds last year after transferring from Eastern Arizona where s he spent one season on the volleyball squad. A former two-time 3A all-stater at Cedar City High, Romne y will have three years of basketball eligibility remaining when she gets to SUU. Sally Johnson, a 5-6 guard from Salt Lake City's Skyline High, is a two-time consensus SA first team aJl-stater at Skyline. She helped lead her team to a 195 record and a third-place finish in the state tournament this season, averaging 16.5 points, 5.8 steals and 4.9 assists while playing point guard for the Eagles. AJong the way she tied a Utah h igh school Romney and Johnson will join Bingham High School's Megan Lofthouse, another consensus SA allstate first-teamer who signed with the 'Birds in December, as newcome rs on next year's squad. This season the ladies will have the benefit of not being the new t eam in .the league. With the departure of the Buffalo t nd N.E. Illinois athletic programs, the Mid-Con has invited Oakland University and Indiana-Purdue University Indianapolis (I.U.P.U.I.) to join the league beginning in the fall With the new teams coming into the league and the strength of the teams already there, Hillock said that the team will need to work hard to be where they want to be when the conference season begins. "We know the kind of work it's going to take to get where we need to be," he sajd. "We need to work harder. Our league is a strong league with physical teams." Now Hillock is getting the players organized for summer workouts, and each individual will be expected to carry on with what they are doing to be prepared for pre-season workouts. "It's a short s ummer, an<l that should help us in ~ the conditioning phase," Hillock sajd. "A longer ~ break a t christmas will help coo." 6 The Mid-Con season usually begins in January 2 with several pre-conference games set for ~ November and Dece mber. f.& According to Hillock, last year the women had a Glong break during Christmas and ca me back ~ playing a little flat. They will have the same ;,_.....;.....J 9. amount of days off for Christmas this season, but Wom en's coach foe Hillock will play more games during the break and not take eight days ofi like last year. record with seven 3-pointers in a game. Hillock said he feels that SU is a legitimate ''l3oth of these girls should be able to come in and contender for the Mid-Con title in '99, as other teams help our team righ.t away," Hillock said. "Janelle has in the conference know who SU is now. "Even the ski lls to play both power forward and center for though we arc young, we should finish in the top half us, and Sally has had a lot of success at a high level of of the league," Hillock added. "Other teams respect high school competition." us." Gibson excited to run at NCAA Championships By KRTSTJN TENNIS JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER For Nata he G ibson, the desires of nmnmg track didn't start for her in junior high or high school where most athktcs get their first jump on the sport. Track and fieh.l events began tor Gibson in her own back y:ird. While growing up, Gibson, along wic11 her brothers and s ister, would play track and field Olympics together in their back yard using mason jar lids as gold medals. When she reached junior high, G ibson continued her love for track by running Sprints such as the l 00 and 200-meter ruh, and eventually competed in the hurdles-an e vent she now excels in as a junior at SUU "They didn't really have 311yone to do it and I could do it," remarked Gibson about how she got into runrung the hurdles. Gibson ran for Emery High in central Utah, competing in both the 300 hurdles and relay events. She participated in the long jump as well. "I wasn't exceptionally good, but I did take third in state my senior year," she said Gibson never really planned to pursue track after high school, but she wanted to pay for school and running was a good way to do it. "I hated (track) my freshman year, but you just grow to love it, and it grows on you." She also stated that hating track that first year in college is a normal thing for some newcomers, and she sees freshmen going through it every year. Last year Gibson decided that she wanted to be better at what she does, so she set a goal to go qualify for nationals before she graduated. "Track keeps me in shape and helps pay for school, there ,ircn 't any rea: draw backs," said Gibson. At SU, she holds records in th e 400-metcr hurdles and runs on some of the relay teams. "The relays arc a lot of fun and the pressure isn't all on one person," she added. Breaking track record~ at SU durinr the outdoor season has been amazing for G ibson, but she isn't <lone yet La<;t weekend :,, USU, Gibson qualified to ·~o to narnmals. ShL 1s one of a very elite group at SU co quality according to Head Coach Eric Houle. "To run that type of time is prob;ihly one of the greatest feats this school has ever seen," said Houle. Her best time in the 400 hurdles is 57.9:To set at an automatic standard and qualify nationally, runners need to achieve a time of 57.5. Houle said that Gibson is now currently ranked 11th in the nation, which means she will attend nationals. The top-16 athletes in the country in each track and field event automatically qualifies for nationals. ~ "I'm really excited. I really didn't think I 1 was going to hjt 57. It hasn't set in yet that I :3 am going to nationals," Gibson said. She also ~ said that the team was her chief motivation ~ as she ran her qualifying time last week. ~ "When you qualify for nationals, you qualify Bfor the Olympic tryouts as well," Houle said. ~ "Everyone finds a degree of satisfaction at - ~- - - 19. nationals. The goal is to run your best performance." Gibson will compete at the NCAA Championships June 3-6 in Buffalo, N.Y. ···-·- ....... ..... . ' ' . ....... .. . .... .. .. |