monday, february 4, 1980
pags 14
daily nebraskan
'bireaks wm record.
Ottey
By Shelley Smith
Sports Editor
Merlene Ottey has done it again.
Not that anyone had doubts, but setting two world
records in as many meets, is uncommon, even for the fast
est female 300-meter dash runner in history.
Ottey, a Husker freshman from Jamaica, broke her
week old record (34.13) by almost half a second
(to 33.64), and edged out Olympian Rosalyn Bryant to
win the most anticipated race in the two-day Husker invi
tational. However Ottey was not the only record setter in- the
event, nor could she claim sole rights to a standing ovation
from about 3,500 fans.
Bryant, a 1600-meter relay silver medalist in the World
Cup Games in Montreal last summer, set an American
record with her 34.07 time. (Ottey does not qualify for
the American record because she is from Jamaica.)
Although leading until the final 30 yards, Bryant was
beat by Ottey, but said she wasn't upset with second
place. It was the first time she had run a 300-meter race in
five years, and as she stood on the second step of the
winner's box, she grabbed Ottey's hand and raised it in
admiration of Ottey's performance.
, Fantastic runner
"I think she is a fantastic runner," Bryant said.
"She's what I expected her to be, from what I heard
about her times," she said.
Bryant said she admires Ottey's style and attitude,
which makes her a "different" competitor.
"She reminds me a little of myself. She's a quiet, meek
person and her confidence is inside. She doesn't need to
talk, talk, talk," Bryant said. "She showed she could do it
on the track-that's the best type of confidence to have,"
she said. '
Ottey had been sick with a cold all week, and said she
was nervous about how she would run Saturday. However,
she said her headache went away before the race.
"I knew I could go under 34 (seconds) and when I ran
33.6 I was really impressed with the time," she said.
"With even more competition I could go faster," she
said, but added she will not concentrate on bringing her
time down for fear of peaking too soon. Ottey said her
best race-the one she is grearing towards -is the outdoor
200-meter dash.
"My race"
Bryant said she would like to run against Ottey again
"but I'd like to meet her in my race-the 440 (yard
dash)."
However, Ottey, with a somewhat startled iook, said
she would not want to run the 440-yard dash against any
one. "I like the shorter races," she said, and proved her
ability by winning the 60-yard dash.
Jenny Gorh'am, another top Husker sprinter from
Kansas City, Mo., finished second in the 60-yard dash, and
third in the 300-meter race behind Bryant and Ottey. But,
because of strenuous practice last week, freshman Gorham
was replaced by Tami Essington on the mile relay team,
which came from behind to beat Iowa State and qualify
for the national meet. '
Nebraska beat runner-up Kansas 139-77Vi, Iowa was
third, with Iowa State finishing fourth.
Husker Sharon Burrill won the high jump at 5-10, and
Nancy Kindig and Sondfa Obermeier finished 1-2 in the
pentathlon.
i mm
Tight press aids women capers
By Jim Faddis
Intensity. Hustle. Defense. Coach Lorrie Gallagher
said these characteristics have been missing from the
UNL women's basketball team the past few weeks, but
they found their way back into the Nebraska lineup
Saturday as the Huskers defeated Oklahoma State
74-70.
Defense was the key that enabled the Huskers to de
feat the Cowgirls, Gallagher said, after only three
weeks since Oklahoma State had beaten them in the
Big Eight tournament 69-64.
"We used our full-court press to force Oklahoma
State in to making a lot of turnovers," Gallagher said.
Throughout the game, the Huskers would jump to
an eight or 10 point lead, only to have the Cowgirls
fight back to even the score. But then the Huskers
press forced Oklahoma State into committing a turn
over, and Nebraska kept the lead.
Final seconds
But the game was not decided until the final four
seconds. With Nebraska leading 72-70, Husker guard
Ami Beiriger sank a shot after getting the rebound of
her own missed free throw.
The Huskers were more intense Saturday than they
had been in the Big Eight tournament, Beiriger said.
"In the Big Eight tournament, we would play hard
for a while and then let up," Beiriger said. ''But tonight
we played hard the whole game."
Playing a pressing defense helped the Huskers in
tensity, Beiriger said.
"When you press, you have to hustle to make the
press effective," she added.
Nebraska also moved the ball better on offense, said
Husker guard Chris Leigh, who maple five of nine field
goal attempts.
"We passed better and were able to hit the open per
son," Leigh said.
Foul trouble
The Huskers also stayed out of foul trouble, which
was different from the first time they played Okla
homa State , Gallagher said .
Diane DelVigna led a balanced Nebraska scoring
attack with 17 points, followed by Beiriger with 14,
Kathy Hagerstrom scored 12 points, Carol Garey added
1 1 and Chris Leigh finished with 10.
Garey was the Husker leading rebounder with 10,
followed by Janet Smith with nine.
The win moves Nebraska's record, to 17-12. The
Huskers next game is Wednesday against Missouri.in
Columbia.
Photo by Colin Hackley
Husker freshman Merlene Ottey from Jamaica
breaks her week-old world record in the 300-meter
dash Saturday.
Loss to Missouri
puts
Huskers
in tie
After three days of sole possession of second place in
the Big Eight, the Nebraska men's basketball team found
itself back in a three-way tie with Missouri and Oklahoma
Saturday night. , '
The Huskers, plagued with foul trouble, were downed
by Missouri 73-60 Saturday night in Columbia.
The Huskers rallied to within five points of the Tigers
with 10:14 left on the clock, however, Husker leading
scorer Andre Smith fouled out trying to grab an offensive
rebound.
Smith, whose job was to cover Missouri's Steve
Stipanovich,sat out most of the first half with three fouls.
Jack Moore, the Huskers 5-9 guard was Nebraska's
leading scorer with 16 points, however, was only five for
14 from the field. Tim West, playing before his home-state
fans ended with 14 points.
Missouri's Curtis Berry was the Tigers leading scorer
with 19.
Nebraska, now 14-8 for the season and 5-3 in the
conference, meets Kansas in Lawrence Tuesday night.
Mat men crushed 31-9 in wrestling dual
By Paul Martin
You wouldn't expect a coach to be
pleased after his team was beaten 31-9 in a
wrestling dual, but such was the case with
UNL Head Wrestling Coach Bob Fehrs.
His team had just been crushed by
national power Oklahoma Saturday night
in the track area of the Bob Devaney
Sports Center, yet Fehrs saw something
positive in the loss.
"Our kids wrestled hard and I was
especially proud of our effort," Fehrs said.
"After all, Oklahoma beat Missouri 40-0
last night."
Earlier this season Missouri handed the
Huskers, now 13-5 in dual action, a 32-3
setback.
Oklahoma coach Stan Abel said he
thought Nebraska wrestled an inspired
match.
"Ideally think Nebraska wrestled fired
up," he said. "Bob (Fehrs) has really got
the' program here going in the nght
direction " Abel added.
Nebraska went scoreless through the
first six weight classes, falling behind 250,
before they picked up back-to-back wins
from 167 and 177-pounders Tim Neumann
and Jim Kimsey.
Edged Evans
Neumann edged Oklahoma's Richard
Evans 9-8 while Kimsey registered a pin
against the Sooners' Joe East in 5:20, thus
accounting for the Huskers' nine team
points.
Neumann, who was in firm control of
his match through the first two periods,
narrowly eluded a takedown by Evans in
the last seconds, of the match to escape
with the close decision.
Evans, clearly disappointed with the
narrow loss, let his displeasure be known to
referee Lou Miloni, who didn't like what
he heard. Miloni expelled Evans from the
wrestling area for the remainder of the
dual.
Kimsey had little trouble disposing of
Oklahoma's East, building a substantial
lead before marking up the pin near the se
cond period's end.
Fehrs said he saw improved perform
ance from his team. He said he felt they
wrestled well against Oklahoma, a team
that he added was obviously better than
the Missouri squad that defeated the
Huskers more handily.
Different outcome
"We didn't wrestle Missouri like we did
these guys," Fehrs said. "If we had, it
could have been a completely different
outcome."
Several matches that were close could
have gone either way, Fehrs said, and could
have made a difference had they gone the
Huskers' way.
"We lost the first two by very close
scores," he said. "We also had a very close
one at 190 pounds."
Nebraska's first two wrestlers,
118-pound John Shearer and 126-pound
Brad Smith, were both decisioned by their
Oklahoma opponents.
Shearer led for nearly half of his match
before dropping an 11-6 match to OU's
Shelby Stone. In a see-saw battle with Clint
Burke, Smith escaped nearly being pinned
in the second period but was eventually
decisioned by a narrow 8-7 margin.
. In the 190-pound match, UNL's George
Rambour had Edcar Thomas on his back
for much of the second period but could
not manage togct the pin. Thomas came
back and decisioned a determined
Rambour 10-8.'
. Rambour, as well as Smith, recorded
pins in a 25-14 win against Kearney State
in a dual that preceded the Sooner match.
Abel said after his team defeated
Missouri in a highly emotional match last
Friday night that they were showing some
signs of fatigue.
"We were wrestling really tired but
Nebraska was wrestling very good also," he
said. "Bob Fehrs' kids are really responding
to his coaching," Abel said.
Fehrs team will see their next action
when they host Colorado Feb. 8 at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.