University Daily Kansan
Wednesdav. March 29. 1978
Mickens bolsters middle distances
Staff Photo by DONALD WALLER
Warmed up
Lester Mickens, one of the country's top middle distance runners, pauses to catch his breath during a practice in KU's Memorial Stadium. Mickens recently placed fifth in the 600-yard dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He will be in action this weekend in Mickens' first outdoor meet of the season in the Arkansas invitational at Payetteville, Ark.
Softball team's consistency produces Emporia sweep
Consistent hitting and pitching highlighted a KU sweep of a softball doubleheader yesterday against Emporia State University.
KU collected 14 hits in the victory, holding Hornets to one single. Sincirch hit scored a triple.
The Jayhawks opened their home season by handing the Hornets 10-1 and 3-1 losses behind one-and two-hit pitching per game. The Hornets Sinclair and senior Paul Hernandez.
AFTER A scorele first inning, the Jayhawks combined buns with sharply hit line drives and scored in each of the next five innings.
KU softball coach Bob Stancill said he was pleased to see the Jayhaws hit consistently not at playing in more than a week.
Yesterday's doubleheader was the first game since a 12-year series in Texas over spring.
"We hit the ball well that first game," Stancillack said. "I had seen some of Emporia's players play in the summer and I knew they were one of the toughest teams in the state."
STANCLIFT SAID the Hornets were as much as he had expected, a view the second window gave.
Both teams substituted extensively in the second game and neither team scored until the end.
Penner and singles by junior Melanez
McTwain and freshman Gay Bozmany
McWooden
By RODNEY ANDERSON
It's a long way from the red-clay country of Dutchess County to Mount Oread and the Great Lakes.
Sports Writer
But to Lester Mickens, Decatur sophomore, the journey to Lawrence and the KU men's track team was unusually long and frustrating.
Mickens had rejected scholarship offers to play football at Stanford, Penn State, Notre Dame and Kansas before he took a track scholarship in Oakland, Calif. in 1976.
HE SPENT his freshman year at Alameda, Calif., Junior College, where he established himself as one of the best middle distance runners in the country.
After a year in the junior college ranks, Mickens accepted an offer from KU assistant track coach Stan Narewski, who had tried to recruit Mickens to Auburn, where Narewski served as an assistant two years ago.
"The tradition of the track program really impressed me a lot," he said. "This is the big time, a big school, and I knew I would be cometting on a national level."
Mickens said he had no idea that he would enrol at KU but defended his choice of Mackenzie.
SINCE COMING to KU, Mickens placed fifth in the 602-yard dash at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships earlier this month. At one point in the indoor season he had the second best 600 time in the country. His time of 1.09.2 is the fastest 600 in KU
Despite his recent successes in track, Mickens did not always enjoy running.
"I started playing football long before I ever started thinking about track," he said.
"IT'S MY goal to make it to the Moskow Olympics," Mickens said. "I know I could make the football team here at KU easy; I could make the team here at KU easy; I could take a chance on get injured."
However, the 0-6, 165-pound Mickens turned down the crowds and the teams were very good.
As a split end at Gordon High School in Decatur, Mickens earned all-state honors.
Although Mickens enjoyed immense success as a football player, his success in the United States was much less.
"I really hatched the idea of running track," Mickens recalled. "I was in the eighth grade and I had a friend who thought he was a real speed-burner, so the coach lined up us to race. I beat him and that's how I got started in track."
Mickens was running the short sprints as an eighth grader but early failures slowed him.
"IT WAS discouraging as a spinner because I didn't win," he said. "I didn't like the idea of getting killed each week in the spirits."
After watching the middle distance runners beaten in several meets, Mickens asked to run in those events and immediately began to dominate them.
In high school, Mickens was ranked sixth in the country in the 440 as a junior, and ninth as a senior. He set Georgia state records in both events and won two state 800 titles and one 440 crown while leading his team to a nine of Georgia class AA titles.
Mickens credited his success in high school to his coach, Nanolean Cobb.
"I owe more to him than to myself.",
Micken said. "He was an ego builder,
always making me feel as if I was some sort of
superman.
Finally, KU baseball team will play at Quigley Field
as long as it doesn't rain or snow or a tornado doesn't sweep Quigley Field away, the University of Kansas baseball team will be in action Saturday, p. 10.m. against Benedictine College.
KU, which hasn't played in 10 days, takes a 7-41 record into the game. Three doubleheaders were snowed out last weekend. Another doubleheader was canceled last Wednesday because of wet grounds.
"All we have done since getting back from Texas is practice," baseball coach Flady Owens said.
BENEDICTINE HAS a 10-8 record after winning both games of a doubleheader
Benedictine, like KU, traveled to Oklahoma and amassed a month for funding an aid with an aide 2-8.
Temple plans to pitch sophomore Clay Christiansen in the first game and junior Jake Nieman.
Christiansen, 0-1 this season, started slowly on the Jayhawks' trip. his HERA jumped to 13.50 in his first three appearances and he looked for Christiansen to bounce back.
BOGDAN, 0-4, returned from Texas with a
3.68 ERA after appearing in two games.
The Jayhawks have been bolstered by strong打击 so far this season.
Freshman Brian Gray, hitting, 375, will start at first base and Steve Jeltz, hitting 385, will start at second base. Junior Monty Marlin, hitting 326, will start at stoppage and senior baseman Lee Ice is hitting 333.
In the outfield, Vic Harris, hitting, 464, will start in left; Butch Vickers, hitting, 378, in center and John Spotwood, hitting, 410, all three are junior college transfers.
SENIOR ANDY Glirmore, hitting 138, probably will start behind the plate. Either sophomore Scott Wright, hitting 156, or senior Aaron Hess, hitting 143, will be the designated batter.
Benedictine has faced one big-Eight conference loss, a doubleheader to Kings.
The Ravens bring in a 291 team batting average. KU is hitting, 31 as a team.
The big names for Benedictine are third baseman Kevin Bachkora, hitting, 418, and Ron Walker, who leads the team with three home runs and is hitting. 361.
So far, Benedictine has stolen 19 bases in
14 games. KU has stolen only six in its first
season.
But KU should have an advantage in the field because Benedictine has committed 38 women to the priesthood.
WHY PAY MORE FOR LESS?? Premiering—Fri. 3-31 & Sat. 4-1 FAST BREAK
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All this for only $2.00 gen. adm. $1.00 club mem.
Don't be an April Fool this weekend; the action is at the Opera House.
The Lawrence Opera House
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