Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
The KU women's soccer team will try to win its first road game of the season this weekend at a tournament in Virginia. SEE PAGE 3B
Kansas Football
Don't miss the full-color pull-out poster of the 1998 Kansas football team.
SEE PAGE 3B
Friday
September 18, 1998
Section:
B
Page 1
Boxing
Heavyweight champion Evander Hollyfield defends his title this weekend in his hometown of Atlanta.
SEE PAGE 7B
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Commentary
Cross country runs challenging, intense road to finish line
An indescribable glaze sees over the eyes of a cross country runner before a race.
The eagle-eyed expression makes spectators shiver and happy that these people don't look so intense when they see them on the street.
Then, the starting pistol fires.
the runners take off, some falling to the
back of the pack,
others taking a quick lead but most huddling together trying to gain position among the glut of bodies.
For a while, things are sane. The intensity of the competition is displayed in the tight jaws and straight posture of the runners. But within the first
Spencer Duncan
unousand meters, breathing becomes intense. The head begins to throb, keeping beat with the rhythm of the heart which beats faster and faster.
A thousand or so meters later, spectators notice the runner's jaws have loosened. Now, mouths hang open to make as much room as possible for air to enter. Postures have become crooked, and coaches begin to hope their runner's legs will stay strong and not turn to Jell-O.
The runner's harsh staccato breathing grows louder, and far away, people swear they can hear the collective gasp of air from a hundred runners.
A few thousand meters later, the runners no longer can speak. Their heart rate is uncharted and their breathing so intense that words become impossible.
Then comes the hill. There is always a hill. The hill will take someone. It always does. After running for thousands of meters, just when the runners think the end is near, the bill appears.
Their wobbly legs tense up in anticipation, and the hill is mounted.
Runners curl their toes, as if they can grab the hill and propel themselves to the top.
As they near the end, the runners look down and see that the hill has claimed a victim.
They try to yell out but have no voice. They point to runners behind them, hoping one of them can spread the word.
But the spent runner will have to wait for a medic.
The others can't worry about it. They have a race to finish.
The hill is tough, but most conquer it. As they break the crest of the climb, they smile.
The end is near
From a distance they can see coaches waving them on, students with video cameras, taping every stride so it can be studied later and spectators, hands over eyes to block out the sun, are searching for someone on they support.
People are yelling, cheering.
The runners hear noise, but not specific words. Instead, they hear a humming sound resembling voices of people they know.
As they cross the finish, the runners are yelled at by men ordering them to not stop after crossing but to continue so a human jam can be avoided.
Within feet of the finish, however, some runners collapse, unable to make it.
One runner, who before falling looked like a marionette puppet, legs going every direction, asks to be carried to the finish.
But a teammate's mother assures the exhausted athlete that a good race has been run.
Another runner, overtaken by the day's temperature, falls before crossing and is taken to an ambulance.
But most finish and recover at different rates. Some take only minutes to breath normally again. They then go for a cool-down run.
Others water the ground with saliva, and some nourish the ground with food that wants out of their stomachs.
Then they collect the awards and go home. This is a cross country meet. Intense people running around without being chased. Running for the thrill and challenge and excitement and competition.
It's unexplainable.
Duncan in a Topeka senior in English and journalism.
Kansas football urgently seeks win
Jayhawks football
By Jodi M. Smith
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas football team needs a win deserately
After dropping its first two games of the season, the Jayhawks are ready to walk off the field victorious for a change. And Illinois State is just the team to do it against.
"Kansas has taken two top 25 type programs and played them very well over the first two weeks," Illinois State coach Todd Berry said. "That tells me that they are very close to joining that elite group.
"I can imagine how badly they want to win, and they have even more incentive now after a couple frustrating losses to very good teams."
The Redbirds (1-0), an NCAA Division I-AA team, will travel to Lawrence tomorrow to face the Jayhawks (0-2) in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
Although this will be the first time Kansas has faced the Redbirds, Illinois State is no stranger to coach Terry Allen.
While coaching at Northern Iowa, also a I-AA team, Allen faced the Redbirds all eight years.
"I'll tell you about Illinois State," Allen said. "That's an easy one for me to relate to. I've been in their shoes before on several occasions. It's not the most important game that they play, but it's probably the biggest."
For the Redbirds, playing a team they're not expected to beat allows them the chance to experiment with different things. Experimenting, however, hasn't been successful for them in the past.
Kansas hopes to make it eight.
Illinois State has lost their last seven games to I-A opponents.
To see the projected starting lineups for Saturday's game, see the graphic on page 108.
"We must win this game," place kicker Joe Garcia said. "We've come close the last two games, but we just couldn't finish those teams off. We've had two bad breaks, and our team basically fell apart."
Glenn, who has thrown 95 consecutive passes without an interception, was 19 of 29 passing last week for 236 yards and five touchdowns in their 47-3 win against St. Francis.
In order to finish off the Redbirds, Kansas must stop their quarterback, sophomore Kevin Glenn.
"Kevin Glenn is an exciting, young little quarterback," Allen said. "He doesn't get sacked very often, he can throw with four, sometimes five, wide receivers and get the ball off very quickly."
The Kansas defense is eager to face a pass-oriented offense.
"I like pass-rushing the quarterbacks," defensive end Jeremy Hanak said. "It will also help develop our secondary since we've been facing the run so much. Our secondary will now get experience against a passing team."
Experience is what the Jayhawks hope to gain through this game, but they also have another goal — eliminating mistakes.
"I think we've been our own worst enemy in the course of the first two games," Allen said. "I think we need to rectify that situation."
"I think the players are anxious to rectify that situation and will come ready to play."
Week No.3 College Football Predictions
1. Illinois St. vs.Kansas St.
2. Texas vs. Kansas St.
3. Missouri vs. Ohio St.
4. Utah St. vs.Colorado
5. Ball St. vs.Iowa St.
6. California vs.Oklahoma
7. Mississippi St. vs.Oklahoma St.
8. Texas A&M vs.S. Mississippi
9. Fresno St. vs.Texas Tech
10. N.C. St. vs.Baylor
11. Florida vs.Tennessee
12. LSU vs.Auburn
Last Week's Record Overall
6-6
12-12
8-4
14-10
8-4
16-8
Spencer Duncan Columnist
Brandon Krisztal Sports Staff
Randy Witthers Sports Staff
1. Illinois St. vs.Kansas St.
2. Texas vs. Kansas St.
3. Missouri vs. Ohio St.
4. Utah St. vs.Colorado
5. Ball St. vs.Iowa St.
6. California vs.Oklahoma
7. Mississippi St. vs.Oklahoma St.
8. Texas A&M vs.S. Mississippi
9. Fresno St. vs.Texas Tech
10. N.C. St. vs.Baylor
11. Florida vs.Tennessee
12. LSU vs.Auburn
Last Week's Record Overall
6-6
16-8
7-5
15-9
9-3
18-6
Jennifer Scheurer Student
Roy Williams Celebrity
Willie Thomas Guest
1. Illinois St. vs.Kansas St.
2. Texas vs. Kansas St.
3. Missouri vs. Ohio St.
4. Utah St. vs.Colorado
5. Ball St. vs.Iowa St.
6. California vs.Oklahoma
7. Mississippi St. vs.Oklahoma St.
8. Texas A&M vs.S. Mississippi
9. Fresno St. vs.Texas Tech
10. N.C. St. vs.Baylor
11. Florida vs.Tennessee
12. LSU vs.Auburn
Last Week's Record Overall
8-4
15-9
8-4
17-7
0-0
0-0
Jason Benavides/KANSAN
Seniors ready for volleyball home opener
Senior outside hitter Maira Donova passes the ball to her teammates at practice. The team's home opener is tonight against San Francisco. Photo by Tara Bradley/KANSAN
By Laura Bokenkroger
Kansan sportswriter
Setter Laura Rohde and outside hitters Motra Donovan and Leslie Purkeypile have led the Jayhawks to the second-best start in school history by winning seven of their first eight matches.
Tonight the seniors and the rest of the Jayhawks will attempt to demonstrate their skills in their home debut at Allen Field House. Kansas will face San Francisco at 7 p.m. tonight in the Hampton Inn Jayhawk Classic.
For the seniors on the Kansas volleyball team, this year is the one they want to remember.
It's an event they said they had been looking forward to since August.
"It's exciting because people are starting to see that we have the potential to be a winning team," Purkeyepile said. "We want our fans to see a winning team on the court, and that is something we are proud of."
Despite the disappointments of three consecutive losing seasons, including a 9-24 record last year, the Jayhawks wined the slate clean last August.
The team has a new coach whose reputation for winning incited glimmers of hope. And that hope eventually evolved into higher aspirations for this season.
The new volleyball center, scheduled to be ready for use in mid-October, made this season feel like a beginning. Besides, they had nowhere to go but up.
I will have a better feeling about Kansas volleyball because I was around this year," Rohde said. "I've been really happy with the way we've played. I'll probably have the best feeling when I look back on my senior year."
"Rohde is an emotional leader,"
Rohde, who was selected to the all-tournament teams at both of the Jayhawks' tournaments this year, said being a setter meant being a leader.
Coach Ray Bechard said it was a role Robhe was used to being placed.
"We want our fans to see a winning team on the court, and that is something we are proud of."
Beachard said his seniors each led the team in different ways.
Leslie Purkeypile senior volleyball player
In contrast to Rohde's zealous style, Bechard said that Donovan was more reserved and that Purkeyplel was somewhere in between.
"Purkey is serious one minute and happy-go-lucky the next," Bechard said. "She has the ability to ease the tension."
Bechard said. "She is vocal, and she is very competitive."
Donovan, who has collected 71 digs,
leads the team in digs per game. She
ranks sixth in all-time career kills with
908, including 61 this season.
"They feel good about what they have done," Bechard said. "The home opener may be more meaningful for them because this is their last year. I just want good things to happen for them."
The seniors just want one good thing to happen this weekend — they want to win their tournament.
"We've been around for four years, and we know what we have to do." Donovan said. "There is a different attitude on the floor this year. We know we can win."
"We really respect him," Rohde said. "We respect the information he gives us because we know he is very knowledgeable about volleyball. He presents his knowledge to us in a way so we can understand it and use it."
The seniors said that the difference from last year to this year was difficult to pinpoint but that the most significant distinction was their new coach.
The Jayhawks play at noon tomorrow against Eastern Michigan and then battle St. Louis University at 7 p.m.
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