Daily Nebraskan
Monday, April 9. 1C24
Pago 12
Olvmiuiic koiiESiM IkatH Ms doualb'c
By Patty Po or
Chris Riegel has lived the life of a gymnast for as
far back as his memory will reach.
Riegel, a Husker sophomore standout who began
workouts at the ripe old age of 4, will soon realize the
culmination of those years in training at next
month's Olympic trials in Chicago.
Of the 72 gymnasts who compete in Chicago, 18
(V
Lou Anne ZacekDaily Nebraskan
will qualify for the second round in Jacksonville,
Fla., in June, from which the top eight finishers will
make up the U.S. Olympic team.
Like many of his fellow gymnasts, competing in
the Olympics has been a long-held dream for Riegel,
a dream which strengthened his commitment to
training as he crew ud.
"Ever since I started, it's been injected into my
Nebraska suffers loss
in rain-plagued series
mind that 'One day, youH be there, you'll be there,' "
Riegel said. "It kept me going, but it was also a lot of
pressure."
Ricgel's gymnastics career started off almost as a
fluke, as something to do while his parents waited
for a music academy to accept him, he recalled.
"When I was four, he took me to a music academy,'
but this place wouldn't take me 'till I was six," he
siad. "So they decided for two years, they'd have me
get some coordination."
Riegel enrolled in Larry Meyer's Gymnastrum in
Reading, Pa., where fellow Huskers Jim Mikus and
Wes Suter also started out.
Then the time came when-1 was six and my
parents were getting ready to take me out," he said.
"I had already won some trophies in meets when I
was 5, and Mover told my parents that he thought I
had a lot of talent and a lot of potential, so for my
best interests, it would be a good idea if they'd keep
me in."
Riegel trained under Moyer until he came to
Nebraska in 1982, which provided a background
that he credits for his discipline and ability now.
"It wasn't like typical boys clubs," he said. "We
were like a little army. We couldn't sit down during
workouts, and sometimes, if he was in a bad mood,
we couldn't talk. It was just part of the discipline."
Riegel said he hated the regimen at the time, but
realized that it produced results.
Riegel went on to a sterling high school career
under Moyer, winning four consecutive state titles,
even though the state meet was the only one he
entered.
He concentrated primarily on national and interna
tional competition as a five-time member of the U.S.
junior squad. At age 16, he became the youngest
individual champion in United States Gymnastics
Federation history, with a vaulting title at the 1981
meet in Lincoln.
Such accomplishments were not without sacrifice,
though, and Riegel talked about some of the things
he missed while growing up.
"The proms and dances and football games were
always in the evening, and we worked out from 6 to
9:30 p.m. every day, with no exceptions, all through
high school," he said.
Continued on Pcrre 14
K.GC
Scoreboard
(Sportsmanship mtir.yj In parentheses)
F,Iens Soccer
Fraternities A
Beta Theta Pi (3.8) 2, Sigma Phi Epsiion 1 (3.6) 1
Phi Kappa Psi (4.2) 10. Sigma Nu (4.0) 0
Alpha Tau Omega (4.5) 2. Delta Tau Delta (4.0) 1
Fraternities B
Tratngla (2.5) 2, Alpha Gamma Rho (2.7) 0 -Delta
Tau Delta (3.7) 6. Delta Upsilon (3.7) 4
Phi Delta Theta (4.2) 5, Phi Kappa Psi (3.7) 0
Alpha Tau Omega (3.7) 2. Tau Kappa Epsiion (3.7) 1
Sigma Alpha Epsiion def. Sigma Phi Epsiion 2 by forfeit
Phi Gamma Delta def. Chi Phi by forfeit
Independents B
Team Italia (3.30 3, LXIXERS (3.3) 2
D. C.'s def. Holysmokers by forfeit
Don Ho's def. Sorry My Fault by forfeit
Co-Rec Softball B
I Tappa Keg 13, Team 2 10 .
Mickey D's 8, Fig Mutants 7
Schramm Two 25, Suds And Such 10
Where's the Beef? 10, Cather FourPound Thirteen 9
The Eliminators 14, Cather ThreePould Eleven 6
D. S. B.'s 13, Jesus Is Lord 7
Team 1 def. Quotation Marks by forfeit
Cather ThreePound Seven 13, Abel Twelve 7
Abel Three def. SandozAbel Eleven by forfeit
Co-Rec Softball A
Gators 12, The Buckeroos 3
Sandoz Five 3, Sandoz Nine 1
Wild Women 9, Sandoz Two "The Zoo" 1 -Reds
10, Smith Ten 6
Smith Six 14, Burr East 1
Kappa Delta def. Delia Delta Delta by forfeit '" '" ...
Deadline for all entries in the ir.trcmurrl
T-shirt design contest is Tuesday, April 10 zX
5:00 p.m.
Nebraska's rain-plagued baseball ser
ies with Iowa State concludes today,
weather permitting, with a 12:30 p.m.
double-header in Ames, Iowa.
Saturday, the 26-10 Huskers suf
fered their first Big Eight conference
loss of the season, 4-2, before taking
the nightcap 9-6. Both games were
played in a steady rain.
That rain'caused Sunday's schedul
ed double-header to be postponed, as
Iowa State's Cap Timm Field does not
have a tarpaulin for its infield. -
Nebraska Coach John Sanders jug
gled his lineup after the Huskers strand
ed 13 baserunners in the opener. Sec
ond baseman Kurt Eubanks moved
from ninth to sixth in the batting
order, while Rich King was moved
from fifth to seventh.
Those changes aided Nebraska in
seizing a 9-1 lead after Axh innings.
Mike Duncan hit a two-run homer in a
four-run fourth inning. King, Jeff Car
ter and Scott Hooper each had two
hits.
Winning pitcher Chris Knust strug
gled in the fifth as Iowa State rallied
for four runs. Roger Webb, Nebraska's
third reliever, then quelled the Cy-
clones' wind with two innings of one
hit pitching.
In the first game, Scott Kickbush's
sixth-inning single scored Dave Wis
niewski to break a 2-2 tie. Bill Argo
earlier hit a two-run homer for Iowa
State, 12-17.
.
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; i Craig AndresersDaiiy Nebraskan
David Turney looks questiorisrly at a pitch delivered to LIm in lest '
week's Kansas Stat series. Turney and the Ilcskers split a double
header with Iowa Ct&te in Antes Saturday. The teems v ill finish the series
with a pir cf comes Udzy.
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Nebraska third baseman Scctt Hooper slides safely into second b"- in a
rie earlier this week against Creihton. Il0ftrv3 vrJZi
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