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Friday, April 25, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Track team to compete in four meets
Two runners head east to Philadelphia; others remain near Kansas
Kansan staff report
This weekend will be busy for the Kansas track and field team, but it should accumulate some serious frequent flier miles.
After turning in several strong performances in last week's Kansas Relays, the team will split forces and compete in four cities in four meets, including two of the biggest meets in the world.
Distance runners Jerry Pullins and Ricardo Amezcua will travel to Philadelphia to compete in the prestigious Penn Relays, a three-day event considered by many to be the largest and best track and field meet in the world. Since the event's first year in 1895, more athletes have competed in the Penn Relays than any other single meet.
Pullins and Amezuca will compete in the 10.000-meter run.
Other Jayhawks will compete today and tomorrow in the 88th-annual Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
Among those competing for Kansas will be the 4x400 relay team of Michael Evers, Grady Blackmon, Pierre Lisk and Gene Coleman, who won the university division of the Kansas Relays.
Also competing in the men's sprinting events will be 1996 Olympian and Male Athlete of the Year Michael Johnson.
"My favorite track meet in the U.S. is the
Drake Relays," said Johnson, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Athletes' Hall of Fame last year. "I've run there eight of the last 10 years, and the people go all out for this meet. It's like being in a track meet in Europe."
Kansas decathlete Evers, who earned an NCAA automatic qualifying mark with 7,702 points in the decathlon last Friday, also will compete in a strong field that includes Kip Janvrin, who won the event in the 1976 Olympics and holds the record in the Drake Relays with 8,198 points.
Candy Mason, who earned a provisional qualifying mark of 5,292 last week, will compete in the women's heptathlon.
The Kansas women's throwing group of Kim Feldcamp, Lisa Beran, April Kockrow and Marlea Woodman will compete in a field that includes three-time Olympian Connie Price Smith. She has been ranked No.1 in the United States in the last seven years.
Kansas pole vaulters Jon Colby Miller, Chip Malmstrom and Garret Attig will compete along with triple-jumper Paul Tan at the Oklahoma Invitational tomorrow in Tulsa.
Kansas also will send 28 athletes tomorrow to the UMKC Invitational in Kansas City, Mo.
"My favorite track meet in the U.S. is the Drake Relays."
Michael Johnson
1996 Olympian
The following times and scores are the best posted by Kansas athletes this outdoor season:
EVENT TIME NAME DATE
100 Meters 10.50 Pierre Lisk
4/16
Kansas Top Outdoor Track Performers
MEN
110-Meter Hurdles 14.16 Nathan Prenner 3/29
200 Meters 21.87 Gene Coleman
4/12
800 Meters 1:55.45 Matt Norton
4/18
9:28.58 Lewis Theobald 4/19
5,000 Meters 15:05.80 Jerry
Pullins 3/29
1,500 Meters 3:57.93 Craig Hettche 4/18
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
400 Meters 47.21 Gene Coleman
4/19
Pullins 3/29
400-Meter Hurdles 53.31 David Henderson 4/18
1,660-Meter Relay 3:10.21
Evers, Coleman, Lisk, Blackmon
4/19
Long Jump 24-9 3/4 Marcus
Scheid 4/18
Triple Jump 48-6 Paul Tan 4/18
High Jump 6-11 3/4 Jason
Archibald 4/18
Pole Vault 17-0 3/4 Jon Colby Miller 4/18
Discus 169-1 Brad Schepers 4/12
Hammer 165-10 Darin Schmitz
3/20
Javelin 181-6 Mike Evers 3/29
Shot Put 44-10 1/2 Mike Evers
3/13
Decathlon 7,702 Mike Evers***
WOMEN
100 Meters 11.92 Madinah Hazim 4/16
100-Meter Hurdles 14,67 Candy Mason 3/13
3,000 Meters 10:45.26 4/3
200 Meters 24.86 Madinah Hazim 4/3
400 Meters 54.61 Carleen Roberts 4/16
12:28.96 Erin Anderson 4/16
3,000 Meters 10:45.26 4/3
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
800 Meters 2:17.37 Tracey Thompson 3/29
1,500 Meters 4:51.00 Emily Miles 3/20
400-Meter Hurdles 1:06,26 Car-
lo Roberts 4/12
400-Meter Relay 45.73 Roberts, Hazim, Williams, Montgomery 3/29
Long Jump 19-1 1/2 Candy Mason 3/29
High Jump 5-6 1/2 Candy Mason,
Amber Mound 3/20, 3/13
Discus 108-5 Lisa Beran 4/3
Hammer 162-5 Kim Feldcamp
3/20*
■Javelin 138-1 Candy Mason 4/16
■Shot Put 46-7 1/4 Kim Feldcamp
4/16
Heptathion 5,292 Candy Mason
4/16*
*NCAA Provisional Qualifier
**NCAA Automatic Qualifier,
Kansas School Record
Updates on recruit, tennis and rowing
Kansan staff reports
BASKETBALL RECRUIT
Bernard Smith, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Conroe, Texas, announced that he would attend Texas this fall. Smith had listed Kansas as one of his finalists before deciding on the Longhorns. He made an official visit to Texas last weekend.
Smith, who was scheduled to announce his decision on Wednesday, postponed the press conference until yesterday.
High school basketball analyst Dan Wetzel said Smith was an excellent passer who loved to run the fast break and could score with the jump shot.
ROWING COMPETITION
In other recruiting news, Khalid El-Amin is expected to announce his school selection today. Kansas and Georgetown are El-Amin's two finalists.
The Kansas women's rowing team is in Madison, Wis., for the Midwest Rowing Championships that will be held on Sunday and Monday.
The regatta will take place on Madison's Lake Wingra.
The Jayhawks will compete in five races and are scheduled to race in the varsity eight, varsity lightweight eight, varsity four, and the first and second freshman eight flight races.
races last year and fourth in two others against teams such as Wisconsin and Washington.
the Jayhawks are trying to capitalize on their performance two weekends ago. At the Great Plains Rowing Championship in Topeka, the team finished first in every women's event and won the overall team championship.
At last year's Midwest Rowing Championship, Kansas performed well against some of the best teams in the country. Kansas finished second in two
KANSAS TENNIS
The Kansas men's tennis team will face Texas A&M in the second round of the first Big 12 Conference Tournament. The two teams will play at 9 a.m. today at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas.
The Jayhawks, who finished second in the conference, defeated the Aggies 4-3 earlier in the season.
Staff Photographer / KANSAN
Kansas coach Mark Riley said he was looking forward to the match.
"We're really eager to face A&M again because we didn't play up to our potential the first time," Riley said. "We have a great chance to win this thing."
SOFTRALL
The No. 23 Kansas softball team will travel to Columbia, Mo., tomorrow to play a doubleheader against the No. 7 Missouri Tigers.
Dynamic performances to affect playoff chances
Missouri, 41-13 overall, is in first place in the Big 12 Conference with a 13-3 record in conference matchups. Kansas is 11-4 and is third in the conference behind the Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners (46-14, 11-3).
By Harley V. Ratliff Kansan sportswriter
Now things really start to get interesting.
Sophomore Sparky Wilhelm makes the catch in an attempt to tag out a Texas player. Kansas beat Texas yesterday 10-4 after a weekend of losses.
The Kansas baseball team, the front-runner in a three-way race for the final slot in the Big 12 Conference post-season tournament, begins the first game of a crucial three-game series against Texas A&M at 7 tonight in College Station, Texas.
The weekend series will provide insight into Kansas' chances for postseason play. With Missouri and Texas nipping at Kansas' heels, a bad weekend could prove to be disastrous for the Jayhawks' play-off hopes.
"Right now, we have six games left and we're 500 and holding on to the sixth spot," second baseman Joe Demarco said. "Our backs are against the wall. We need to come out and win some games."
Demarco said the team was focused on playing high-quality baseball down the stretch.
"Texas A&M is a good team — a lot like Texas. But we're going to be able to compete," he said. "Two out of three games would be great. Our goal is to win our next two series, and the rest will take care of itself."
Should the Jayhawks take two from the Aggies, it would be the first time in three weekends that Kansas has captured a conference series.
The question is, which Kansas team will show up?
During the last few weeks, the Jayhawks have been baseball's version of Jekyll and Hyde.
At times, Kansas has looked dominant — thumping Texas and beating the No. 1 team in the nation, Texas Tech. But on other occasions, the Jayhawks have appeared inept — getting run-ruled (having the game stopped after being behind by 10 runs) three times this season and striking out 17 times in Tuesday's 16-3 loss to Texas
Playing well in this weekend's series could prove to be the difference between extending the season or going home. For Demarco, a senior, that's more than enough incentive.
"I haven't been to a regional since my freshman year," Demarco said. "We've had losing seasons the last two years
that's motivation enough for me to keep playing hard. I think a lot of the guys on the team feel the same way. Destiny is in our own hands."
Stadium: For a history of Hoglund-Maupin Stadium, see Page 8A.
Comments turned off more than blue light
day Matt Woodruff
Kansan sports-
writer
Leave it to a guy named Fuzzy to ruin a great moment in sports. Fuzzy Zoeller's idiotic comments about Tiger Woods have not only cost him fans but also a deal with
Kmart. They should cost him the opportunity to compete in next year's Masters.
Which of the following is the biggest understatement?
1. Ken Griffey, Jr., who is on pace to knock in about 225 runs this season, is a pretty good ballplayer.
2. The Chicago Cubs got off to a slow start.
3. Dan Patrick of SportsCenter seems to have a thing for organs (ahem, the musical variety).
- This year's NBA playoffs will be about as predictable as a showdown between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. But if anyone can knock off the Bulls, I'll go with the Houston Rockets — if they can stay healthy. That's a mighty tall order since Sir Charles, the Hakeem the Dream, and the Clyde the Glide have suffered from sore backs, sprained ankles, stubbed pinkie toes, taco neck syndrome and just about every other possible aliment this season.
■ Scott Barnsbry of UMass pitched his way to the school's first no-hitter in more than 40 years Tuesday against Northeastern in the semifinals of the annual Beanpot Tournament. Coincidentally, Barnsbry accomplished this feat at Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox pitchers sport an ERA well over four and have about as much chance of throwing a no-hitter as that silly rabbit has of getting his Trix.
It seems that everyone is giddy about the Chiefs draft, but slow down a little. There are still some big question marks about the pick.
1. Tony Gonzalez — He has played in only 33 college games and has questionable blocking skills. If he struggles in his first few games, will Chiefs coaches (or fans) give him time to develop or replace him with an ex-offensive lineman?
2. Kevin Lockett — A good receiver, but he doesn't really add a new dimension because he is similar to Lake Dawson, only smaller (171 and 205 pounds, respectively). Has great hands but lacks blazing speed. Can he take the hits of a full NFL season?
3. Pat Barnes — Looks to be a steal, but can he recover from a wrist injury, and if he does, will he still be in a Chiefs uniform?
4. Nathan Parks — Can he become the next Dave Sootz (seventh round pick that contributes immediately)?
5. Isaac Byrd — He has limited experience as a wide-out and should continue to get better every day.
6. June Henley — If Henley can get back down to his playing weight (and if he wants to stick around, he will), he should be a solid runner late in the games.
O, yeah, one more thing. Can any of these guys kick?
Comments? E-Mail Matt at mwoodrfk@ansan.com
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