The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 11, Ed. 1, Friday, September 29, 2000 Page: 4 of 10
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4 Friday September 29 2000 Optimist
Sports
ACU continues Olympic history in Sydney
2000 Olympic Games
in Sydney Australia
Chris Smith
Sports fd tor
The 2000 Olympic Games in
Sydney Australia arc coming to a close
Sunday night but a long tradition of
ACU track and field succss at the
worlds greatest sporting event will
continue expand into the new millen-
nium The rich tradition of ACU at the
Olympics ironically enough was start-
ed at the 1956 Olympic Games in
Melbourne Australia
Bobby Morrow won three gold
medals as -a part of the United States
team
The Texas name who was ranked
No 1 in the world in the 200 meters
and 400 meters in 1956 won both
events as well as a gold medal as part of
the 400-meter relay team
His three gold medals are the most
by any former or current ACU athlete
at the Olympic Games
At the 1960 Olympic Games in
Rome Earl Young a standout runner
for the Wildcats in the 400-meter dash
won the gold in the 400 and the 1600-
mctcr relay
No other ACU athlete has struck
gold at the Olympics since 1960
Billy Pemclton placed eighth in the
pole ault in 1964 marking the begin-
ning of a 20-ycar absence of ACU ath-
letes at the Gimes
But the Wildcats returned tri-
umphantly in the 1984 Olympic
Games in Los Angeles
Albert Lawrence helped lead
Jamaica to a siher medal in the sprint
relay
Lawrence is the last ACU athlete to
medal in any cent at the Olympics
Tim Bright competed in the most
Olympiads for ACU representing the
United States in the decathlon at the
1984 Games in Los Angeles the 1988
Games in Seoul South Korea and the
1992 Olympics in Barcelona Spain
His best finish was seventh in 1988
Greg Meghoo and Chris Faulknor of
Jamaica were the only two teammates
to pirtlclpatc in the same event until
this year running on the fourth-place
finishing 4x400 team
Oscar and Jose Meneses will run for
Guatemala in the 4xl00-meter relay
this weekend
lm Morns df Trinidad and Tobago
competed in the 400-meterS and 1600
relay in 1988 and 1992
He barely missed a medal In the
400 finishing fourth at Barcelona
Former 400 meter specialist Traccy
Bamcs finished fourth on Jamaicas
4400 relay team In Atlanta
Barnes' teammate Mary Tombiri
helped the 4x100 team finish fifth
Freddie Williams the new ACU
mens and womens track and field head
conch competed in the 800-meters
and the L600 relay for Canada in 1992
Sayon Cooper of Liberia is the only
athlete from the 1996 Games In Atlanta
particip-ulng in the Sydney Olympics
Cooper a former NCAA Division II
champion for the Wildcats did not
advance past his first heat m 1996 but
he finished fifth in the 100-mctcr quar-
terfinals this year
ACU reached an all-time high with
eight current or former athktcs partic-
ipating in the XXV11 Sydney Olympic
Games
Nic Alexander and Juheon Raeburn
will run In relay events for their native
country Tnnidnd and Tobago this
weekend
Both athletes failed to get pass the
first round of their qualifying Individ-
ual races
Alexander and Raeburn both
NGA Division II champions for the
Wildcats ran the 100 and 400 respec-
tively Oscar Meneses also failed to y:l
beyond the first round in the 100
Former 100 meter standout Louise
Ayctotchc lost In the first round
She represented Ivory Const
Former athletes Eric Thomas of the
United States and Dellorecn Ennls-
London or Jamaica ran In the 100-
meter hurdlesand 400-mctcr hurdles
respectively
Thomas lost in the semifinals .but
Ennis-London finished fourth in the
finals
Both athletes were favored to win
medals by Sports Illustrated
Amara Ezem will represent Nigeria
in the 4x100 relay
Current and former athletes will
have one last chance at a medal in the
relay events which will conclude the
2000 Sydney Olympics and close the
book on another chapter of ACU track
and field Olympic history
Overall the former and current
ACU athletes have won five medals at
the Olympic Games representing
while 16 countries
WESTWARD BOUND
Wildcats prospect
for their first win in
2000 against ENMU
Chris Smith
Sports Editor
Casey Hummel wants this
season to be something to
remember
The Wildcat football team
has not had too much they
want to remember this season
especially after a 19-18 loss to
East Central University last
weekend at home
However Hummel and
ACU are confident of their
chances to win their first game
of the season against Eastern
New Mexico University in
Blackwater Draw N M
Kickoff time is set for 2 p m
at Greyhound Stadium
The contest will be the Lone
Star Conference South Division
opener for both teams and
Homecoming for the
Greyhounds
And no other team as been
a better redemy for a 0-3
Wildcat football team than
ENMU
ACU has avoided two 0-4
starts by defeating the
Greyhounds in 1988 and
1989
The Wildcats stunned the
nationally ranked Greyhounds
in Blackwater Draw 31-28 last
season
"The scout teams have been
pushing us hard and that
makes us better in practice"
Hummel said "We have an
idea of what we are going to do
and hopefully after seeing what
we did last week Eastern New
Mexico will try to throw more "
ACU continued to improve
on both sides of the ball each
game but special teams mis-
cues hurt the 'Cats late against
ECU
Two blocked extra points
proved to be the difference but
Hummel said the Wildcats are
still hungry for their first win
"We were so close and that
makes the game even more
personal" Hummel said "I
believe we played well last
week "
Defensively the Wildcats'
unit held the Tigers to only
nine points in the last three
quarters
ACU allowed only 152
yards rushing us best effort of
the season .while holding the
third-best rusher in the LSC
Cunts McAfee to 49 yards
rushing on 20 carries after the
first quarter
"Most teams look at our sta-
tistics and plan their game
around that" Hummel said
"But that is a confidence
builder when teams believe we
are a weak rushing defense and
1 do not think we are
"Last week we had so many
guys flying to the ball "
A 52-yard touchdown pass
from ECU quarterback Luke
Hackbarth to Chns Barnes on
the first play of the game sur-
prised the Wildcats but they
regrouped allowing only 192
combined yards in the last
three quarters
"We were not expecting
ECU to pass on
the first play.
Hummel said
"We got on the
sideline and we
said we were
going to start
doing what we
were supposed
to do and that
fired us up "
Gary Gaines head football
coach said he was very posi-
tive after the Wildcats' defen-
sive performance in the second
half
SARA KERENS
Derek Lyons glares at a referee after a call on ACU during the Wildcats 19-18 loss to
East Central Oklahoma last Saturday night. ACU travels to Eastern New Mexico
University to face the Greyhounds Saturday in Blackwater Draw N M in the Lone Star
Conference South Division opener for both teams
ACU stopped the Tigers
four times in the red zone
which means inside the oppo-
nents 20-yard line
"It was our best run defense
and offensive rushing effort up
"It was our best run defense and offensive rushing
effort up to date. We just have to battle back this
week and do what we need to do."
Gary Gaines
to date" Gaines said "We just
have to battle back this week
and do what we need to do "
Inside linebackers Ryan
Boozer and Wamng Vital led
ACU with 25 tackles com-
bined Offensively Adrian Rascon
led the Wildcats' rushing attack
with 65 yards and one touch-
down on 11 carnes George
Fisher added
52 yards on
15 carries
helping ACU
eclipse the
100-yard
mark in total
rushing
yards for the
first time
this season
Aaron Birdwell starting his
second game at quirterback for
the Wildcats finished the night
18-29 for 164 yards and a 13-
yard touchdown pass to
Eugene Sykes
This week the Wildcats will
face.an ENMU team that runs
an option offense similar to
Northeastern Oklahoma
University
The Greyhounds 2-2 over-
all are coming off a 21-16 win
over Central Oklahoma
University
ENMU the second best
rushing team in the LSC
rushed for 267 yards on 43
attempts
The Wildcats will have to
slow down quarterback James
Williams who scored twice
and gained 129 yards earning
LSC South Division Offensive
Player of the Week honors
Dennis Beard leads ENMU
with 311 yards rushing
Wildcats
ranked
regionally
Chris Smith
Sports Editor
The ACU volleyball team is
ranked-fifth in the Southwest
regional poll released
Wednesday by the American
Volleyball Coaches Association
The Wildcats 16-2 overall
increased their winning streak
to seven matches after defeat-
ing Texas Wesley an University
in Fort Worth Tuesday night
Nebraska-Kearney is No 1
in the region followed by West
Texas A&M University
Metropolitan State University
and Regis University
ACU is 10-2 against region-
al opponents
The Wildcats split two
matches against Colorado
Christian University ranked
No 6 in the region and loss to
WTAM in Lone Star
Conference play
ACU defeated tenth-ranked
St Marys University and No 8
Cameron University last week
SPORTSBRIEFS
ITA regional tourney
The womens IntercoUigiate Tennis
Association Regional Tourney will
continue play Friday ACU is the
host school for the tourney which
will be held at. the ACU tennis
courts and Rose Park Tennis
Courts The champions of the sin-
gles and doubles flights will
advance to the national ITA tour-
ney in three weeks In Memphis
Tenn Opening round matches
started yesterday at the ACU tennis
courts Other schools participating
are Tarleton Slate University
Eastern NeW Mexico University
Southern Colorado University
Central Arkansas University
Incarnate Word. University and the
I West Texas A&M University
Golf team at NSU
NThe ACU golf team will return to
action Monday at the Northeastern
Slate University1 Invitational at
Muskogee Okla. The men wi.1' try
to Improve a 'seventh place finish at
the Charles Woody West Texas
Intercolllgtate In Abilene Sept.ll-
jill-.The JV played afjemple this
tpast week f ."tfV
Cross Country teams travel to Oklahoma State meet
The men's cross country
teams face the top-ranked
teams in the NCAA and
NAIA in Oklahoma
Steve Holt
Sports Writer
The mens and women's cross country teams
will face their biggest challenges so far this sea-
son Saturday in Stillwater Okla where they will
compete In the Oklahoma State University Cross
Country meet '
Several perennial cross country powerhouses
will be present including the University of
Arkansas men Life College Oklahoma State and
South Plains Junior College
The University of Arkansas men are ranked
No 1 in Division 1 and Life College is Tanked
No 1 in NAIA
The Wildcats however welcome the chance to
showcase their talent in front of some of the
"We have a chance to go up
there and beat a lot of good
nations best programs
"The meet this weekend will be a good chance
to show everybody just how fast we are" said
freshman Quinn Smith "We have a chance to go
up there and beat a lot of good teams "
Jon Murray mens and womens head cross
country coach echoes
Smith's sentiments but
acknowledges the chal-
lenge that lies before his
team
"We are looking at this teams."
meet as another evaluation
prdcess" Murray said "We ' '
have had ten days of hard
work This Is the toughest
meet so far and I think
that we are up to the challenge"
The Wildcat men are shooting for a top-three
team finish behind a young fast top-five run-
ners Many of the runners have individual goals
in addition to their team goals
"I want the men to run in the low-26s" said
Smith who has been an integral part of the crop
of talented freshmen runners this season
Murray can breathe sigh of relief at the return
of freshman standout John Kembol who suffered
a separated shoulder on a morning run a week
and a half ago
"He is not 100 percent
yet but at least he is get-
ting tyick into competi-
tion." Murray said of
Kemboi
A runner who has
Ouinn Smith stePPed UP in a biS way
yuinn smnn has been Alfred Rugem3i
who recently won the SMU
" meet with a time of 24 37
Rugema is expected to
finish high again on ihe hard 8-kilometer course
Saturday in the midst of some of the nations top
runners
"Alfred has really been running well" team-
mate Smith said "He is running very fast right
now"
In the womens race ACU will look to finish
strong led by sophomore Justine Nahimana The
Wildcats' biggest nvals will be conference favorite
Central Oklahoma University and OSU
"If we run well Saturday we will know that our
practices are right on target" Murray said "We
are looking at t as another test to see how we
have progressed "
The ACU Women may be without the legs of
sophomore Angle Waters who has been experi-
encing pain in her quadriceps
"A few of the girls have also been sick"
Murray sad "This will definitely be a meet to see
where we are as a team " '
Training-wise Murray could not be happier
with his teams
"Doth the men and the women are doing fan-
tastic" Murray said "They all have great attitudes
and high expectations "
Smith shares his coachfc sentiments
"We are alt getting really close to where we
need to be" Smith said "And we are all Improv-
ing in our practices "
J
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 11, Ed. 1, Friday, September 29, 2000, newspaper, September 29, 2000; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101672/m1/4/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.