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Show B8 MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008 Sports: Year in Review • THE COLLEGE TIMES Worth paying more than the price of admission Five athletes worth taking the time out ofyour busy (or not so busy) schedule to watch in 2008-09 Robyn Fairbanks Basketball i Fairbanks is causing a few problems for the women's basketball team. But it's the kind of problems any coach would be happy to have. Potential opponents are trying to ,avoid Utah Valley because Fairbanks has been so dominant. She was the nation's fourth leading scorer this season, with 23.8 points per game and was just shy of averaging a double double, with 9.7 rebounds a game. She's a major force and she's back for one more year. Ryan Toolson Basketball Ben Kjar Wrestling ,, One of the nation's best scorers plays right here at Utah Valley. , Toolson averaged 23.4 points per game his junior year, all while being the No. 1 target of the opposition. It might not be possible for teams to commit more attention to the sharp shooter. •' |His 95.1 free-throw per; centage isn't too bad, either. He showed he can shoot, but next year he may show he can play at the next level. Remind you of anyone? No other wrestler has had as big of an impact as Kjar. What's more impressive is that he did it in his freshman year. Kjar won a school record 39 wins in his first season wrestling for the wolverines. Kjar knows what he's doing on the mat and he has three years left. He could be the first NCAA national champion for Utah Valley. ist;three seasons alley, plough aiready ho ds the record for career goals with 20. She continues to be an offensive threat even as the competition gets better. Ciough, who won conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, scored seven goals last season, and she's capable of more in her senior year. Jenni Clough Soccer . "4 It seems like star after star continues to rise for the .-women's volleyball .team. Jessica Endres, this ! year, followed Lacee Koelliker, frorw the 2006 team, and Camie Manwill is likely to take her place among the best. As an outside hitter, she led the team in kills per game with 3.91 per game. She's ^ot the power to control games in her se- Camie Manwill Volleyball With all the growth, hurdles remain for athletics . Ben Webster Sports editor It's been six long years since the athletics department and the school got the OK to start the transition. That leaves one year left in the transitional, provisional stage for the program. After next year, it's likely the athletics at this school will be fully sanctioned NCAA Division I sports. The day that happens has been long awaited. "It's like Christmas for us around here, but the closer it gets, the slower it gets," Director of Athletics Mike Jacobsen said. But even today, and even when that day comes, obstacles remain -- significant ones. Topping them all is funding. Without enough money, facilities that are in demand have to wait. Without extra money, the scholarship funds are limited. And without more money, assistant coaches and staff are hard to come by. "There are decisions for some people to make about athletics, and it's not up to me. But without those things, it's hard for us to be where we really want to be," Jacobsen said. Another place Utah Valley would really like to be, is in a conference. There are few possibilities right now, Jacobsen said. "There's no news at all. I talk to people every week and everybody is happy where they're at," Jacobsen said. "We don't bring a whole lot to the table, so to speak. We're not turning too many heads, as far as presidents go. Somebody has to make a move before we will get somewhere." Part of the problem goes to money. The Big Sky Conference wants its conference members to play football, while the Western Athletic Conference would like to see Utah Valley's athletic budget near $ 13 million. "Every conference re- quires something different, and I don't think we provide hardly anything of what the conferences really want right now, so it's going to be a long shot for us," Jacobsen said. But his hope remains. "Something is going to happen; I'm confident of that," Jacobsen said. When the problem of getting into a conference is resolved (which is something President William Sederburg is going to try to find out about from other school presidents this summer), other problems might lessen. The lack of community support remains daunting but perhaps not as much as the lack of student support. Student government's attempt to implement the M.A.W.L. (Mighty Athletic Wolverine League), the student athletic support group, had mediocre results, but it was in its first year. Different ideas are being discussed among the athletic MEN'S BBALL from B5 Thunderbirds with yet another three-pointer to give Utah Valley a much needed win in December. Toolson finished with a then-career-high 35 points in the 91-88 win. Toolson finished the season averaging a team high 23.4 points per game, eighth in the nation in Division I. Toolson's list of impressive games included a career high and school record, tying 38 points in an overtime win against Chicago State, and 10 games where he scored 29 points or more. Brady led the team in rebounds in 19 of the 29 games and averaged 8.4 per game. Josh Olsen led the team in assists with 3.1 per game. Still transitioning from department staff regarding what will get students out to the games. That's where many people figure a conference will help. The current status doesn't help develop rivalries, nor does it bring many quality teams to Orem, two aspects that being in a conference will help with. Another possible area it might help is in the media coverage. Right now BYU gamers most of the sports page headlines in the county, because it has been the only NCAA program. It's something Jacobsen said he would like to see changed, which is a possibility with conference affiliation. Being in a conference would also make scheduling easier on coaches. Teams wishing to avoid the Wolverines would have no choice. Right now, if a team doesn't want to play, coaches have to find someone else, which is becoming increasingly more difficult every year. These problems are at the forefront of being the first school in the country to transition from junior college to NCAA Division I. But so far, every obstacle that has presented itself has been overcome and Jacobsen expects this trend will continue in these cases. "We're going to be a major player in college athlet- ics in this area. We're not going to take a backseat to anyone," Jacobsen said. "Not tomorrow, but in five, 10 years from now, we're going to be a major player. It's not going to be long." If the last six years are any indication of things to come, Jacobsen has a great chance of being right. Five Obstacles 1• The single biggest factor in all of college spor Z . V _ / O n . I C r C l l C C Getting in a conference will help a lot •' .•• • .•'••.(<...;; :;OL«,r i i v o- .( :.. cojju>/.i'i:, v 3 . o l l p p O r t Most students don't go, or the community "• " • - • ' • • - - • - .:-,.• .-;.-. v . ,'.-• .-;i 4 . S c h e d u l i n g Difficult for most small schools ' . • • - . . .!• . { l. • . ' «? • v > O V C r < l 2 C The media coverage isn't growing OLSEN from B5 those junior college days, Utah Valley has work to do. "We obviously have our hands full and our work cut out for us in the recruiting area," Hunsaker said. "For us to compete against Big West, Sunbelt, WAC level teams, we have a lot of work to do to recruit to that level." times, and it's frustrating. But when's he's assertive and going after it, the team is much better," Hunsaker said. Olsen was the backup point guard his first year and played in the starting spot this season. During the season, Olsen showed what he is capable of. He scored a careerhigh 16 points to go with seven assists against New Jersey Institute of Technology. And against Arkansas State, he tied Utah Jazz guard Ronnie Price's school record for assists with 10. "The more I play, the more I get used to the way coach wants me to do things," Olsen said. "I'm getting more comfortable with the system, and I know what I am expected to do more." With two of the team's top three scorers graduating, Olsen will be expected to be more of a scoring guard. He is averaging 7.8 points per game this season and leads the team in assists per game (3.1) and steals (1.55). Olsen won't live the NCAA tournament ever again, but he's happy he did it once. |