THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
INTRAMURALS
PAGE 1B
Jenn Bono/KANSAN
Andy Schumm, Overland Park junior, Randal Gerstner, Lawrence sophomore, Travis Meier, Lenexa sophomore, and Lee Iversen, Manhattan senior, jump for the loose ball during Wednesday night's Intramural Basketball Championship game in Allen Fieldhouse. Delta Chi defeated Phi Psi OHB 54-35
Delta Chi takes title
BY CASE KEEFER
ceefer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Senior leadership played an important role in Delta Chi's intramural championship victory Wednesday night against Phi Psi OHB.
Delta Chi won 54-35 in Allen Fieldhouse.
Lee Iversen, Manhattan senior, and Grant Creighton, Engelwood, Colo., senior, seemed to be on a separate level from the other players. They energized Delta Chi with exciting plays throughout the game.
Creighton received uproars from the Delta Chi crowd as he made two steals and drew three fouls early in the game. Despite shooting only 2-of-5 from the free-throw line, Creighton had six points in the first five minutes of the game.
"I played a year of college basketball at Denver University so with more experience, I knew what to expect," Creighton said.
Gentry Leitner, St. Louis freshman, was the only Phi Psi OHB player that found his shots falling. Leitner represented nearly half of the offense for his team — he scored 17 of his team's 35 points.
"The shots we usually hit just weren't falling, and they had a big height advantage on us," Leitner said.
At halftime, the game still seemed to be in reach, with Phi Psi OHB trailing 22-14.
That was until Iverson had something to say about it. He hit
BREAKBOX
The following were scores of other Intramural Championship games on Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse;
Women's:
Women's:
Keep Shooting — 35
NSCS Womens — 23
Co-Rec:
Booty Poppers — 50
You Sunk My Battleship
— 51
Men's Open Bracket:
I Like Apples — 54
SEL Connection — 48
Source: Kurt Schooley, director of intramurals
"Lee was on fire tonight. We boxed out well and were able to run; I think that broke it open early." Creighton said.
5-of-7 three-point shots in the second half alone. Iversen ended the night with a team-high 21 points.
Despite Leitner shooting well and Travis Meier, Lenexa junior, doing a solid job of protecting and distributing the basketball, Phi Psi OHB never once led and were unable to make runs that had swing momentum.
Delta Chi and its fans celebrated the championship with excitement.
"It feels great, especially after falling short two of the last three years, it was nice to finally get one," Iversen said.
Edited by Timon Veach
BASEBALL
Confidence boost
Jayhawks defeat Shockers 8-2
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Center fielder Kenny Waddell and right fielder Matt Brown tracked a fly ball heading toward right center field on Wednesday night.
Looking up into the lights of Hoglund Ballpark, the pair of Wichita State Shockers seemed helpless — the ball hit the ground between them.
For No. 13 Wichita State (21-7,
1, 1-2), the night didn't pick up
from there. The Jayhawks defeated
the Shockers. 8-2.
Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson said his team was never really in the game after not being able to pitch.
Before Wednesday night, the Jayhawks (18-10, 2-4) described games between Wichita State and
Kansas as a way to determine which team is the best in the state.
For now, the title belongs to Kansas.
"We're definitely the best team in the state," sophomore outfielder John Allman said. "Anytime we line up against Wichita State it's a good game. We all get excited to play."
Allman led the Jayhawks with a 3-for-5 night. The sophomore drove in three of Kansas' eight runs.
Kansas coach Ritch Price, a little more modest, said he was pleased with his team's dominating performance, but was reluctant to give his team the superior label.
"I wouldn't go there," Price said. "If he said that I'll clobber him." Price said, referring to Allman. "It's a great rivalry, but our guys pitched better than their guys tonight."
Freshman pitcher Andy Marks delivers against Wichita State in the fourth inning at Hoglund Ballpark Wednesday night. Marks notched his second win of 2006 in relief of starter Brendan McNamera, allowing two hits, walking three batters and striking out four. The Jayhawks beat the Shockers 8-2.
Randall Sanders/KANSAN
SEE CONFIDENCE ON PAGE 4B
KANSAS RELAYS
Sheldon Battle, Jamestown, NY senior and member of the KU track and field team, throws the hammer during practice yesterday in the field by Memorial Stadium. The track team will compete in the Texas Relays on April 6.
Nicoietta Niosi/KANSAN
Going for GOLDZONE II
BY EVAN KAFARAKIS
ekafarakis@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The big event in the Kansas Relays, which will take place April 20 to 22, will be the GOLDZONE II, which will feature Olympic athletes competing against each other.
Tim Weaver, Relays meet director, said the response from last year's meet was great, but he expected more fans to come out this year because of the quality of athletes competing. Last year, more than 24,000 people attended the GOLDZONE event, which was the second highest attendance in relays history.
Weaver and Kansas track and field coach Stanley Redwine
announced the main events for the Kansas Relays and unveiled the GOLDZONE II poster on Wednesday.
THE GOLDZONE II event will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Memorial Stadium. Two household names will compete head to head.
Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin, who won gold in the 100-meter dash at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, will compete against Maurice Greene in the 4x100-meter dash. Greene won gold in the 2000 Olympics in the 100-meter dash in Sydney, Australia.
Weaver said that Greene, a Kansas City, Kan., native, loved coming to the Kansas Relays to compete in front of a home crowd.
"A great track meet draws a great crowd, and to draw a great crowd, a meet must assure people that they will be entertained," Weaver said. "Last year's story was the presence of track and field's household names in Lawrence. This year is all about match-ups." Weaver said.
The unveiled poster showed just that: Gatlin on one side and Greene on the other.
"It looks like a heavyweight poster, and not by accident," Weaver said. "People love rivalries, and although they are friends off the track, on the track they are rivals."
The women's main event also attracted stars.
World champions Allyson Felix and Muna Lee and silver medalist Rachelle Smith will compete in the 100-meter dash.
"Each of our featured events will have at least two champions competing for the Relays crown and the attention of our fans," Weaver said.
Redwine said he expected to see top performances from his Kansas squad throughout the weekend as well.
"Sheldon Battle can be on the field competing with anyone during the GOLDZONE II event if he qualifies." Redwine said of the senior. "Any given day, anyone can show up."
— Edited by Meghan Miller
TOPEKA'S FINEST
Early NCAA tournament exits unacceptable at Kansas
It used to mean something at the University of Kansas to make it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Not since Dr. Phog Allen led the crimson and blue charge 56 years ago has Kansas lost consecutive first-round tournament games. If nothing else, Kansas coach Bill Self is in exclusive company — for the wrong reason.
Now, I know critics of Roy Williams are crying about how Williams had his fair share of
KU tournament failures.
Fans and media outlets criticized Williams after bowing out to UTEP in the second round in 1992 (between two Final Fours), or falling to eventual national champion Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen in 1997.
You're right. But I'll take Roy's four Final Fours and zero first-round exits at Kansas over mid-major meltdowns any day.
Yet Self was given a free pass for this season's tournament exit. One reason was the
team's youth — starting three freshmen and two sophomores. Other reasons included winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships.
OK, so the team was young. The top seven scorers were freshmen and sophomores.
One problem with the youth argument — Kansas isn't the only team in America with young players.
starting five includes four sophomores and a junior. And three of UCLA's leading tournament scorers were underclassmen.
LSU starts three freshmen and a sophomore. Florida's
Kansas won the Big 12 in a down year. Only two of the seven teams that made postseason son play (including the NIT) advanced past the first round.
Now let's look to next year.
If Rush keeps his word, then those aforementioned "Magnificent Seven" will return intact.
With that lofty ranking comes the pressure that comes with Kansas basketball territory
along with the addition of one, possibly two McDonald's All-Americans, likely landing Kansas in the preseason top five next season.
- Final Four or bust.
Also, this is now Self's program, so the excuses of a Williams hangover are gone. Will another early exit be tolerated next season if it were to happen?
It's now safe to say, for Self, the three-year grace period is over. Kansas basketball is supposed to be about national championships not just Big 12 titles. I know Kansas can't win it all every year, but we should expect better then what we've settled with for the past two years.
■ Fred A. Davis III is a Topeka junior in journalism. He is a Kansan staff writer and can be reached at fdavis@ kansan.com