TUESDAY,APRIL 22,2003
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5B
Kenyan man wins Boston Marathon
The Associated Press
BOSTON — Robert Cherruiyot won the Boston Marathon by 23 seconds yesterday to give Kenya its 12th victory in 13 years. Russia's Svetlana Zakharova won the women's race to prevent a second consecutive Kenyan sweep.
Cheriyiot (pronounced chehREE-yot) finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 11 seconds to earn $80,000, an olive wreath and a bowl of beef stew. It was just his second career marathon, having won his debut in Milan in December.
In Milan, he finished with the same time as two others but was declared the winner by an edge. This time, he wasn't challenged over the final five miles to win by more than two city blocks.
"I was ready to face anything," said Cheruiyot, who felt he had a chance to win at about 15 1/2 miles. "I said, 'OK, I'll win this."
Cheruiyot is the eighth Kenyan
to win Boston since his country began its domination in 1991. Kenyans swipe the first five spots in the race, and eight of the top nine. Benjamin Kimutai was second, Martin Lel third.
Russian Fedor Ryzhov was the first non-Kenyan, in sixth, and defending champion Rodgers Rop of Kenya was seventh. Eddy Hellebuyck was the first American, finishing in 2:17:18 for 10th place.
"It's disappointing," Hellebuyck said. "I'm representing the U.S. and I'm 42 years old. Where is everybody?"
Zakharova finished in 2:25:20 to beat fellow Russian Lyubov Denisova by 91 seconds. Her biggest challenge was staying on the course when the television truck turned away before the Back Bay finish line; she was the first Russian to win since 1993.
American Marla Runyan was fifth — the best finish for a U.S.
runner since 1993. Runyan, who is legally blind, trailed a bicyclist who provided her with her times at the checkpoints and guided her to her water bottles.
She traded positions with defending champion Margaret Okayo of Kenya and the two Russians until Zakharova pulled ahead at the 13.1-mile mark. Kenya's Joyce Chepchumba was third and Okayo, who set the women's course record of 2:20:43 last year, finished fourth.
Rop was in a pack of a dozen that trailed leader Vincent Kipsos through much of the early race before Kipsos dropped out by Mile 14. Nine Kenyans ran together at the 15-mile mark before some began falling away from the pack.
South African Ernst Van Dyk earned his third consecutive victory in the men's wheelchair race, finishing in 1:28:32 without a competitor in sight. Second-
place finisher Krige Schabort struck a girl who tried to cross the course at the 11th mile; police said the girl's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, and Schabort also was knocked over.
Christina Ripp of Savoy, Ill., who finished second last year, won the women's wheelchair race in 1:54:57.
A field of 20,260 left the starting line at noon after the traditional serenade of "Young at Heart" by 95-year-old Johnny "The Elder" Kelley, who started a record 61 races, winning twice. An F-15 flyover followed the national anthem to start the Patriots Day race.
Temperatures climbed to 70 and a slight breeze blew at the start, as runners filled Hopkinton Common, some stretching, others listening to music on earphones. Vendors offered everything from lemonade and fried dough to mutual funds.
Henderson to join a New Jersey team
The Associated Press
Rickey Henderson will soon put on a new jersey in New Jersey.
Hoping to play again in the major leagues but still searching for a spot, the 44-year-old Henderson will sign this week with a team in the independent Atlantic League, his agent said yesterday.
Henderson narrowed his choice to three clubs based in New Jersey -- the Newark Bears, Camden Riversharks and Somerset Patriots.
Baseball's career leader in runs, stolen bases and walks wants to start playing as soon as possible, agent Jeff Borris said. The Atlantic League begins its
regular season May 1, the earliest among independents.
Henderson spent last season with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .223 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 72 games. He continued to draw walks, however, and had a higher on-base percentage (.369) than regular Red Sox leadoff man Johnny Damon (.356).
Widely considered the greatest leadoff man ever. Henderson has 3,040 lifetime hits since making his major league debut in 1979.
Henderson has scored 2,288 runs, and his eight steals last season increased his total to 1,403. He also holds records for walks (2,179) and leadoff home runs (80).
Henderson was the 1990
American League MVP for the Oakland Athletics, and he won World Series championships with the A's in 1989 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
Primarily a left fielder throughout his career, Henderson played all three outfield spots last season. He had a $350,000 contract with the Red Sox.
Henderson was not looking for a rich deal this year, either. Instead, he wanted another chance to play.
There had been talk early in the offseason that he might return to Oakland for a fifth stint with the Athletics, but nothing came of it.
When no spots opened up in the majors, Henderson thought
about joining the St. Paul Saints, the team where Darryl Strawberry once jump-started his career. The Saints play in the Northern League, which doesn't start until May 23.
Newark has had its share of big-name players, including Jose Canseco in 2001. League champions last season, the Bears signed former 20-game winner Jose Lima last week as they prepared to leave for spring training in Homestead, Fla.
Several former big leaguers are on the rosters of the eight teams in the Atlantic League. Camden recently signed Kevin Jordan, while Somerset added Jason Dickson and Melvin Nieves.
The Associated Press
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan introduced former Southwest Missouri State coach Cheryl Burnett as its new women's basketball coach yesterday.
Burnett replaces Sue Guervara, who resigned on March 24 as Michigan's winningest coach with a 123-82 record over seven seasons.
Burnett resigned from Southwest Missouri State almost a year ago as its most-successful coach — with a 319-136 mark — after leading the program to the Final Four twice from 1987 to 2002.
Burnett left in part because she said, "I want to run a Top 25 program, not a mid-major." She was out of coaching this past season, after withdrawing from consideration to be Minnesota's coach last May.
Burnett, who coached WNBA standout Jackie Stiles, was known at Southwest Missouri State for her demanding coaching style that often included foot stomping and shrill whistling.
"I am very excited to take over the head coaching duties at one of the top academic and athletic collegiate institutions in the country," Burnett said yesterday. "I also look forward to the opportunity to lead a Michigan program that has made a commitment to women's basketball."
The Lady Bears had just five winning seasons before Burnett arrived in 1987. She led the them to their first Gateway Conference regular-season title in 1990 and their first NCAA
tournamen t
appearance in
1991.
Southwest Missouri State made their first trip to the Final Four after winning 31 games in 1992 and another in 2001.
Megan McCallister, Michigan's associate athletic director, led the search for a new coach and said Burnett was hired for her integrity along with her teaching and coaching skills.
"When Megan told me that Cheryl was interested, I recalled Cheryl's great teams from Southwest Missouri State and I thought to myself, 'She's the one for Michigan,'" said Michigan athletic director Bill Martin. "I am very happy that Cheryl will be guiding this program."
A native of Centralia, Mo., Burnett played basketball in the 1970s at Kansas, where she was a four-year starter and was the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship.
Burnett's first team at Michigan will be led by senior Jennifer Smith, who led the team in scoring this season, senior Stephanie Gandy, junior Tabitha Pool and sophomore Niki Reams. The program will have to replace two seniors: Raina Goodlow and LeeAnn Bies.
Guevara led the Wolverines to the NCAA tournament in 1998, 2000 and 2001. But the Wolverines, who were 13-16 overall this season, tied Northwestern for the worst record in the Big Ten with a 3-13 conference mark.