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Twice
as nice
The
team of Goodwin, Schlager and Crossland isn’t a law firm, but the
three, along with ten other teammates, laid down the law this weekend
at the 2003 USA Weightlifting National Collegiate Championship. Over
150 athletes from 44 universities competed in Shreveport, La., but
it was MSU who walked away with its third national championship. The
women and lightweight men competed on Saturday while the heavyweight
men went Sunday. “At the end of day one, we were actually behind,”
coach Michael Hartman said. “The U.S. Naval Academy was in first place.”
For the third time in four years, the weightlifting team was named
the Overall Team National Champions by winning the Men’s and Co-Ed
Team title. The team also placed first in state the last weekend before
nationals. Dee Hodges placed fifth in the women’s 53 kg class and
Amy Byers placed fourth in the women’s 75 kg. Roy Dorman came in third
in the men’s 62 kg class, Robert Schmid placed fifth (69 kg) and Justin
Kulik finished second (77 kg). Josh Wells placed second behind teammate
Trey Goodwin in the 85 kg class. Justin Berardi came in fifth (94
kg) and Ben Preda took third (105 kg). Damon Fox placed third and
Adam Weaver came in fifth in the 105+ kg category. Wells and Preda
were both on the team at Rider High School and came to MSU for the
weightlifting program. “When we get these kind of kids coming from
the high school teams, it’s a huge advantage to our team,” coach Glenn
Pendlay said. “It’s a phenomenal situation. It’s a dream situation
to coach.” Three MSU athletes won their individual weight class. Goodwin
(85 kg), Justin Schlager (94 kg) and Brett Crossland (105 kg) all
took first place in their class, becoming the first trio from the
same university to do so. Last year, the three were ranked as the
top weightlifters in the country. “Those three kids really are real
leaders on the team,” Pendlay said. “They’re great athletes that work
extremely hard. “They have the talent and work ethic to be legitimate
Olympic hopefuls.” With the win, Goodwin has qualified for a spot
on Team USA for the upcoming Junior World Championships. He was also
named an All-American by placing in the top 10 percent of all collegiate
weightlifters in the world. The sophomore is first in his weight class
and third overall in the United States. The top eight weightlifters
overall in the country will represent the United States in the World
Championships. “It’s always been my dream to be an All-American someday,”
Goodwin said. “It’s an honor. Now my dream is to go to the Olympics
- 2004 is a long shot, but 2008 is a definite.” Goodwin and Schlager
also each won silver medals at the Pan-American Games in Puerto Rico
at the end of October. The team endures intense training eight weeks
before going to the National Championships. Goodwin, Schlager and
Crossland train five days per week with almost seven workouts per
week to prepare for the competition. With the team dominating on a
national level and having 23 national champs in three years, some
do not realize that MSU even has a weightlifting team. “It’s too bad,”
Pendlay said. “Weightlifting is not an easy sport. These kids work
their butts off. They train for hours a day, 12 months a year.” The
program was started in 1998, and in 1999, the team hosted the national
competition, finishing fourth in their first year as a competitive
group. Lon Kilgore, assistant professor of the kinesiology program,
started the program in 1998 before handing over the future-championship
reigns to Pendlay. MSU won the national title in 2000 and 2002 but
came in second in the 2001 competition. In competitions, each lifter
has three chances to perform the clean and jerk and the snatch. The
clean and jerk is a lift focusing on strength where the bar is lifted
over the head in two movements. The snatch is a more athletic lift
completed in a single movement that emphasizes quickness and technique.
MSU will travel to the University of Indiana next year in a quest
for their third consecutive and fourth overall national championship.
“We have the best weightlifting team in the country,” Pendlay said.
“I look forward to next year.”
NBA
needs to rethink All-Stars
The votes are tallied and the results are in. Once again, sports fans around the world have made the 2003 NBA All-Star Game . . . a popularity contest. Never mind the fact that Toronto Raptor Vince Carter has played in just 13 of 46 games this season for a seventh-ranked team in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. Never mind the fact that Kobe Bryant is representing a team that’s fourth in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with a losing record. Who cares that Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash were snubbed for starting positions in place of the Houston Rockets’ Stevie Franchise and Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett? Michael Jordan, O Great Aging Wizard, was certain to be a fan shoo-in, it being his last year and all. Right. Like we haven’t heard that before. The fans have a right to vote for who they want in the All-Star Game, but yet another year goes by without a strong team of solid players. For the third time in history, the team with the best record in the league is left without a player in the starting lineup. That’s right. Your Dallas Mavericks, probably the least respected team with the best record, won’t have a man on the court at tip-off. Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, a second-year All-Star reserve, averages 22.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Point guard Steve Nash has made his way to his second All-Star spot as a Mav with 17.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. Guard Michael Finley, a nod to the ballot and a snub for a position, averages 19.9 points each contest. The All-Star coaches luckily had enough sense to place the dynamic duo of Kid Canada and the Bavarian Blitzkrieg on the roster. Why didn’t the fans have enough sense to start them? Maybe it’s because the All-Star ballot is unfair. Yao Ming earned nearly 1.3 million ballot votes. Nowitzki came within 7,335 votes of being in the West’s starting lineup. What would have been the outcome had the All-Star ballot been made available online in languages other than English and Mandarin? How many Germans would have voted for Dirk? How many would have voted for San Antonio’s Tony Parker, who hails from France? Perhaps the name supercedes the stats. Michael Jordan: a name synonymous with championships, Hanes and Nike. Kobe Bryant: huge factor and member of three-time NBA Champion L.A. Lakers. Yao Ming: Asian superstar mysteriously exploding to Ichiro-like fame here in the U.S. Or Kobe, who is a member of a now-defunct 22-23 Lakers team with more dirty looks between him and teammate Shaq than Susan Lucci and any other girl trying to be the star of soap opera “All My Children.” If you’re looking for some high-scoring action, watch The Game. The last time either team scored less than 100 points was in 1973 when the East beat the West 104-74. Since then, the scores have been incredibly high, including the 1992 West’s drubbing of the East, 153-113. So if you don’t like tough, close, hard-fought games and prefer a more lackadaisical approach with players who will show off for a few minutes and turn the game over to the real players, watch the 2003 NBA All-Star Game Sunday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
Lady Indians fall to ASU 74-61
The Lady Indians were outshot and outhustled Saturday night against the Angelo State Rambelles en route to their first conference loss, 74-61. Neither team scored for almost two minutes to start the game. ASU’s Kami Williamson got things going with a basket and a foul by Octavia Holmes. By the first timeout, the score was Williamson 5, MSU 0. “They’re not 16-1 because they don’t know what they’re doing,” head coach Shannon Burks said. “You can prepare all month for them and still lose.” Adrian Fincher got MSU on the board with a backdoor pass by Jel-ani Armstrong. Fincher got a shot off again from the outside for another two points and Armstrong powered up for two of her own, narrowing the lead to 7-6. Sonya Calhoun entered the game with an explosive, long-range two-pointer to put the Lady Indians up 10-9. Kristin Ramsey checked into the game and hit a three-pointer to put the women up 15-13. Ramsey would hit another three-pointer late in the first half under pressure, but ASU came storming back to within two points. Rambelle Kelli Anne Goble knocked down a three-pointer with just four seconds until halftime, putting her team up 32-31. The Rambelles went on an 8-2 run late in the first half. “Defensively, we played well in the first,” Burks said. But free throws were the problem in the first as MSU shot just 2-of-7 for 28.6 percent. Angelo State started the second half with a couple of baskets and MSU kept the score close with a three-pointer by Emily Edmonds. But the Rambelles responded with an 8-1 run, and the Lady Indians would have to find some way to try to catch up to their opponents the rest of the night. The Rambelles would lead by 10, but MSU would cut that back to seven. ASU then went up 68-55 late in the half. MSU would try a comeback with a basket by Fincher and four points by Armstrong to make the score 68-61 1:23 left, but ASU pulled away, hitting 6 of 8 free throws while the Indians’ final four shots failed to go in. “Defensively, I was disappointed in the second half,” Burks said. “We had a lack of communication. Some of that was due to inexperience.” Armstrong led the Lady Indians with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Meosha Walker chipped in with 11 points and 13 rebounds along with four steals and five assists. Fincher had 10 points and Ramsey had eight. The Rambelles were led by Williamson with 21 points. Goble had 16 points and Kim Moore had 12. “Our kids are disappointed right now,” Burks said. “They know they can play better and hopefully next time out we can. We’ll go back to work, play Thursday and Saturday and try to start a new winning streak.” The loss marks the end to a five-game win streak and puts the team at 14-5 on the season and 5-1 in the Lone Star Conference South. The teams will meet again Feb. 27 in San Angelo in the next to last game of the season. “We’re 14-5,” Burks said. “It’s not like we got nailed to the floor and thrown in a grave. “We’re alright.” The Lady Indians will host West Texas A&M Thursday night and Eastern New Mexico Saturday night, both at 6.
Wilkins
paves way for MSU in 77-76 thriller
After a 15-point halftime lead had evaporated and with a 1-3 divisional record looming on the horizon, the men’s basketball team turned to who else but Marquette Wilkins. And the 6-0 junior point guard answered in a big way. While his teammates went scoreless for the first 11 minutes of the second half, it was Wilkins, scoring a career-high 30 points, who kept the Indians alive with 12 straight points. And even when Angelo State’s Nate Gordon tied the game at 70-70 with 4:28 remaining, it was a sequence by Wilkins that included an assist, block and basket that gave MSU a lead it would not relinquish. “Marquette just took us and put us on his back like he’s done a number of times,” MSU coach Greg Giddings said. “He’s never scared. He’s a fearless competitor, and he certainly played like that the second half. Largely because of him, we were able to pull it out.” But even with Wilkins’ heroics - 17 of the team’s 30 second-half points - the contest was not sealed until Leonard Pralour blocked a lay-up by ASU’s Matt Hardin at the buzzer to preserve an intense 77-76 win. But even then the game did not escape controversy. The fact that Hardin had a chance to win the game on the final shot for the Rams was a whole other matter. With MSU clinging to a 77-75 lead with 16 seconds left, ASU’s Toby Thompson converted only one of two free throws to cut MSU’s lead to one. As Wilkins brought the ball up the court, he lost it out-of-bounds in front of the ASU bench when it appeared that Rams coach Joe Esposito knocked the ball from Wilkins’ possession. After a conference by the officials, possession was given to ASU to attempt the final shot. “Coach Esposito said that he didn’t grab the ball,” Giddings said. “When I replay it in my head, it sure looked to me like he stuck his hand out and grabbed that ball. And then I was really surprised when (the officials) let them have the ball.” MSU’s poor second half, in which they shot 36 percent from the field, overshadowed a brilliant first period. The Indians jumped out to a 10-2 lead early, and a Josh Drumgole jumper with 6:26 left in the half provided MSU with a 27-11 advantage. “I talked to our guys before the game and told them how important it was to come out and give a good effort,” Giddings said. “We got off to a great start, but then it’s one of those things, the opposing team basically has nothing to lose, so they can just start throwing up three’s from everywhere. “Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for us, they started going in, and the game started changing very dramatically and very quickly. To our credit though, they took the lead, and we were able to regain our composure, come back and win it down the stretch.” Drumgole was instrumental in the Indians’ first-half dominance, totaling 14 points and 11 boards in the first 20 minutes. Even though he cooled off in the second half, the 6-5 junior still finished with 16 points and a season-high 15 boards. “We’ve really talked to (Drumgole) about simplifying his game and just catching and shooting,” Giddings said. “He played very well the first half.” Wilkins accomplished another milestone in the first half, collecting his 1,000th career point as an Indian on a three-pointer that put MSU up 43-28. Wilkins is the 26th player in Midwestern State’s history with 1,000 points. Drumgole’s putback with two ticks left on the clock gave the Indians what seemed like a comfortable 47-32 lead heading into the second half. Pralour and sophomore Justin James were also valuable for the Indians down the stretch. The two big men combined for 17 points and 15 boards as Midwestern State outrebounded the Rams 46-31 in the contest. The win improved the Indians’ record to 7-12 overall and 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference South Division. The Rams suffered their fifth straight loss, dropping to 11-9 and 1-4 on the season. The win was especially important for the Indians, who were coming off an 82-71 loss to Abilene Christian on Thursday. Dropping Saturday’s game would have put MSU in a 1-3 rut, leaving them with a difficult uphill climb into playoff position. “The win is important for a couple of reasons,” Giddings pointed out. “One, clearly we need to maintain pace in the conference standings. Two, it’s another close win, and it’s the second one we’ve gotten in a week. “LSC games are usually close, and if we can find a way to win close games, then I think we have a chance to make the playoffs. Anytime we can win a tight game and get a little bit more confidence, it’s going to help us down the road.”
Tennis
teams hopeful for new season
The MSU men’s and women’s tennis programs are days away from firing up the 2003 schedule. The Lady Indians host Tarleton State on Saturday at the MSU tennis center, which is undergoing a facelift. Senior Brooke Gray will lead the women’s squad as their No.1 player again this year. She is a graduate from Rider High School. “She’s been our No. 1 since she was a freshman,” tennis coach Larry Wiggins said. There are also two freshman additions to the women’s team this year. Shelby Stegner joins the team from Wichita Falls High School. Kama Scott was recruited from Abilene High. “Kama is an awfully good player,” Wiggins said. “Her father is the coach at Abilene High.” With three starting seniors and three talented freshmen, Wiggins said it is going to be interesting to see how they mature as team once matches begin. “You never know how those things turn out. We’ll just wait and see,” Wiggins said. That statement holds even more weight on the men’s side of the court. With only one returning senior and four young freshmen, the picture looks muddy for the men. “When four of your top seven players are freshmen, you have got to be patient and watch how they respond in match situations, but they have been working hard in practice,” Wiggins said. Playing their first season in several years without standout Michael Mills presents a challenge for the team, but a suitable heir to the No.1 spot has already emerged. Gen Ligeon is a 6-foot freshman from Paramaribo, Suriname (a South American country located north of Brazil) and has displayed more raw talent of anybody on the squad. “He is playing fairly well right now and will start the season there. He’s a big, strong, stout kid and a good athlete,” Wiggins said. “Usually the freshman boys have a little trouble with strength and development, but he doesn’t seem to have those problems,” he added. Jared King is the only freshman on the team from Wichita Falls. He graduated from Rider High School. The men start their schedule in Austin against St. Edwards on Feb. 13. They will not play at home until Wednesday, Feb. 19. The men finished last year’s regular season with at 14-2 mark, losing only to Incarnate Word and ACU in the conference tournament. The MSU tennis center will be the host for this year’s Lone Star Conference Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for April 18-19. The courts are undergoing renovation with improvements to aid spectators who wish to attend. Two covered viewing platforms are nearing completion to provide an overhead view of all the action on the courts. New fencing has already been put in place to cut the effects of wind during play, and a central entrance into the complex is in the works.
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