daily nebraskan
friday, march 10, 1978
Small but talented track team heads to NCAA meet
page 10
Sp
UNL track coach Frank Sevigne will
take a small, but talented team to Detroit
for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field
Championships this weekend.
Six UNL performer performers from
the Husker team that finished second in
the Big Eight Conference Indoor Track
and Field Championships will go to the
national meet.
"Six people could win a national meet
if you have the right people," Sevigne
said. "You just need the right combina
tion of points. Don't get me wrong, I'm
not saying we're going to win, but any
thing can happen in a national meet."
Headlining the UNL entries is hurdler
Jeff Lee. Lee, a junior from Racine,
Wise, is defending his 60-yard high hurdle
title which he won in Detroit last year.
Lee won the national title in 7.1
seconds last year and has tied his record
three times this season. However, in the
Big Eight meet, Lee ran 7.23 seconds good
for second place.
"Jeff has a definite possibility of
repeating," Sevigne said. "Out of all the
weekends this season, he has had one bad
meet and that isn't unusual."
Another front-line performer for the
Huskers is sophomore Scott Poehling.
Poehling has the fastest time in the world
this year in his specialty, the 600-yard
run , with a time of 1 :09 .0 1 .
However, Poehling also encountered
difficulties in the Big Eight meet when he
was nipped at the tape by Lester Mickens
of Kansas.
"Scott went out too fast in the Big
Eight meet," Sevigne said. "He ran his
first quarter faster than the quarter (440
yard dash) was won in."
The other UNL entry in the meet is the
mile relay team. The team is expected to
be Ron Hoagland, Pat McKenzie, Ray
Mahoney and Tom Dovel.
The quartet has run the mile relay in a
time of 3:12.56 while winning the Big
Eight meet and setting a new UNL record.
Although, Poehling ran the anchor
leg in the Big Eight meet, he is expected
to be replaced by Hoagland at the national
meet so he can concentrate on the 600
yard run, Sevigne said.
Sevigne said there is a possibility Poeh
ling will run the relay depending on "cir
cumstances," but Sevigne did not elab
orate on those circumstances. If Poehling
runs the relay, he probably will replace
Hoagland, Sevigne said.
One other Husker, freshman sprinter
Everad Samuels, had qualified for nationals
with a time of 6.1 seconds in the 60-yard
dash but will not make the trip. Sevigne
said Samuels is not ready for the meet.
There will probably be quite a differ
ence in the times in the NCAA meet,
Sevigne said. The meet will be run at
a wooden track which
times than the Sports
Cobo Arena on
produces slower
Complex track.
Sevigne said Villanova, University of
Texas-El Paso, Washington State, Tennes
see and Auburn will probably be the lead
ing contenders for the team title.
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Photo by Ted Kirk
UNL hurdler Jeff Lee will defend his national title in the 60-yard high hurdles this weekend at Detroit in the NCAA Indoor
Track and Field Championships. Lee was upset in the event by Missouri's Dan Lavitt (middle) in the Big Eight meet Feb. 26.
Women gymnasts pin national title hopes on Concannon
UNL's 98-pound freshman gymnast, Jeanne Concan
non, is favored to take the all-around women's gymnastic
title and qualify for nationals in the AIAW (Association
for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) Region 6 gym
nastics meet Friday and Saturday.
UNL women's gymnastics coach, Judy Schalk, said
Concannon is the Husker's best shot to qualify for na
tionals. "Patty Carmichael will' also have a chance, but she is
not yet 100 percent healthy," Schalk said. "It will be
tough for anyone to top Kolleen Casey of Southwest Mis
souri State."
The top all-around competitor from this weekend's
meet at Springfield, Mo., will compete in the national
AIAW meet at the University of Washington March 31 and
April 1 .
Southwest Missouri State's Casey, a former Olympian,
has been scoring about 38 points this year in the all
around - an average of 9.5 in each of the four events.
Intramural starter overcomes handicap
The Birds of Prey intramural basketball team scored six
points in overtime Monday and nabbed a win over the
Midnight Raiders in the Independent League B competi
tion. One player, Mark Manning, scored the six overtime
points. Manning lost his left arm at age four, to bone
cancer.
Manning, a sophomore accounting major and a starter
for the intramural team averaged about 10 points a game
during the playoffs.
"I always liked sports and I never let my handicap get
in my way," Manning said. "Whenever I wanted to do
something, I got out and did it. I guess I feel I don't
have a handicap.
Manning was a starter his senior year for the Exeter
High School varsity basketball team. He earned letters
in basketball, football, track and golf. In track, Man
ning went to the state meet in the triple jump.
In all these sports. Manning said he did not hesitate
to go out and play with everybody else. He added'that
no special coach helped him to overcome his handicap.
He admitted that a good man-to-man defense probab
ly is his weak point in basketball, but that otherwise,
playing with one arm does not limit him.
Manning said he has succeeded in sports because he
refused to allow a tough physical limitation to become
a mental obstacle as well. He said other people might
look at him and say he is limited in what he can do, but
he does not see it that way.
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Schalk said the SMSU team has added depth to go
along with Casey.
"They have a fine team all the way around and should
be the favorite for the team title," Schalk said, "But we
and Grandview will be fighting for second."
Host SMSU is the six-time defending regional cham
pion and one of the country's top-ranked teams, she
added.
"Grandview used to be untouchable, but we're up to
their level of competition now," Schalk said. "We lost to
them by a small margin on their court earlier in the year.
"On a neutral court I'm sure we can beat them."
Sophomore Patty Carmichael said she hopes the team
can earn a wild card berth for the nationals.
"Southwest Missouri will be tough to beat because
they're been scoring more than 140 all year," Carmichael
said. "If we could score 134 points, we should have a
chance to be a wild card team."
Schalk said threre is one problem with the wild card.
"The teams on the East and West coast always score
higher than the teams in the Midwest. It's the judging. The
other teams have a much better chance to qualify," she
said.
According to Carmichael. the team is "psyched up for
the meet and ready to do well.
"All of us are finally in better shape. Peggy's Liddick
ankle is better and so is mine," she said. "Crissy (Robert
son had a bone bruise but it is also better."
Carmichael said winning the Big Eight Championship
puts added pressure on the team.
"It's our own prestige. We know we have to perform
well, but that doesn't intimidate us," she said.
While the women are busy preparing for the trip to
Springfield. Coach Schalk also is busy recruiting
"Letters of intent went out Monday." Schalk said. "We
hope to pick up a couple of girls from Florida Usa Mar
tin and Karen Ginsbury. The 're probably better than the
prls we have now."
Renee Reisdorff, outstanding Omaha Bryan gymnast,
almost is a certainty to attend I 'M,. Schalk said
"That would really give us depth," Schalk said
