Snorts_
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NU’s Allen savors Pan Am competition
By Rich Cooper
Staff Reporter
Two current Nebraska gymnasts and
one former Cornhusker got a taste of
' international competition during the
recent Pan American Games in India
napolis, Ind.
Nebraska gymnasts Tom Schlesinger
and Kevin Davis teamed with former
Husker Scott Johnson to help the Uni
ted States defeat Cuba for the game’s
gold medal.
Johnson, a three-time NCAA cham
pion while at Nebraska, set a Pan
American Games record by capturing
four gold and four silver medals.
While Johnson savored the sweet
taste of victory, Nebraska gymnasts
coach Francis Allen and the Cuban
coach tasted some internationally
* famous liquor.
“Me and (Assistant coach) Jim
Howard got the opportunity to take out
the Cuban head coach, and the Cubans
are real strict about letting their peo
ple spend time with Americans,” Allen
said. “But we took him out water ski
ing, and he asked us, ‘What do Ameri
cans drink?,’ so we pulled out a bottle
of Jack Daniels and had a good ’ol
time.”
Howard, who was an assistant to
Southern Connecticut gymnastics coach
Abe Grossfeld at the games, said 1987
marked the first time that the U.S. sent
its best team to the Pan American
competition.
"I thought we did a pretty good job,
this is the strongest U.S. team we’ve
had since the 1984 Olympics,” Howard
said.
He said the U.S., which entered the
games as the favorite to capture the
gold medal, was at a disadvantage
because the team of six gymnists had
about a month to prepare. He said the
Latin American teams had been together
for years.
Francis Allen said he was proud of
the way the Huskers performed.
“Half of the team was from Nebraska
and even though the level of competi
tion wasn't as high as the Olympics, the
level of intensity was pretty high,"
Allen said. "We definitely were the best
team at the games, though."
Allen said Davis and Schlesinger
were busy over the summer because
both gymnasts tried out for the Ameri
can team. He said Davis and Schlesin
ger were in good shape because they
both did well last year.
“Tom had a good year in NCAA com
petition so he was pretty well known
with the selection committee,” Allen
said. “Kevin had to work a little bit
harder to make the team.’
Allen said he is concerned that
Davis and Schlesinger may get burned
out because the two gymnasts are now
training for the world Championships
in November. The trials for the U.S.
World team will be held in Colorado
Springs, Colo, in September.
Davis said he is not worried about
getting burned out because he enjoyed
competing and practicing with John
son and former UCLA star Tim Dagget.
“I learned a lot from both of those
guys,” Davis said. “When you’re work
ing out twice a day and not just for
yourself but your country, your inten
sity goes way up.
“I'm so psyched up about this year,
and I can tell that just by the way I’m
working out in the gym," Davis said.
Davis said he was hindered through
out the Pan American Games because
he severly sprained his ankle one day
before the optional competition began.
He said the injury forced him to com
pete in only four of six events.
Both Davis and Schlesinger said that
they didn’t see any anti-Cuban demon
strations, but also said there was an
intense rivalry between the team on
the gym mat.
The boxing port ion of the Pan Amer
icans games was marred when Cuban
athletes attacked American fans who
were shouting racial remarks.
"The Cubans pretty much kept to
themselves, in fact we hardly talked to
them at all,” Davis said. "But gymnas
tics is not the kind of sport where
you’re gonna see fights breaking out on
the floor and gymnasts’ bodies slam
ming each other.”
“But the Cubans really did come
after us, the only event that really hurt
them was pommel horse," Davis said.
Allen said he is excited about this
year’s Nebraska team because the
Huskers have an abundance of depth.
“If Davis and Schlesinger are suffer
ing from burnout then we will use the
freshmen in the first couple of meets,”
Allen said.
Howard said he thinks Nebraska
could have some representatives on the
1988 U.S. Olympic team.
. “Depending on how much they con
tinue to improve, both Tom and Kevin
have a decent chance of making the
Olympic team,” Howard said. “This
meet gave them a lot of experience on
how to deal with the pressure of a big
media event such as the Pan American
Games.”
Davis said one of the highlights of
the games was the opening ceremo
nies, which were televised by CBS
television.
“Participating in the opening cer
emonies was quite a thrill because eve
rybody was so excited,” Davis said. “I
never have gotten the chance to be a
part of something this big, hopefully in
1988 I’ll get the chance to participate
in the big one."
_
gals include 1992 Olympics
unner benefits from two coaches
By Rich Cooper
Staff Reporter
Nebraska’s Susie Larson has
learned that having two coaches is
better than one.
Larson, a junior on the Nebraska
women’s cross-country team, is the
most improved runner on this year’s
squad, Coach Jay Dirksen said.
"When Susie first came here two
years ago, she wasn’t that good,”
Dirksen said. "She couldn’t run 10
kilometers under 40 minutes, but
she has brought that time down to
around 35 minutes.”
Dirksen said he attributes Larson’s
improvement to her "blue-collarwork
ethic” and her husband, Ted, the
track and cross-country coach at
Lincoln Southeast High School.
"Susie got married to a tremend
ous coach. He is a big influence on
her and supports her quite a bit,”
Dirksen said.
Dirksen said he expects Larson
to be a leader on this year’s squad.
He said she will help replace the
four athletes who graduated last
year.
"Susie is a blue-collar runner,
Dirksen said. "She doesn’t have
that much talent, but she worked so
hard over the summer that she will
be up there in the top five."
Larson attributes her success to
her husband’s help with every aspect
of her running.
"I wouldn't be where 1 am today if
Ted wouldn’t have been around to
* help me," Larson said. "1 listen to
everything he tells me, and he
knows me so well that he can tell
when something in my workouts
needs to be changed."
Susie met Ted Larson when she
went out for cross-country during
her sophomore year at Southeast.
She had particpated in horse shows
before she started running.
"In horse shows you can have a
perfect routine and you still can't
win because the judges might like
somebody else that has a more
expensive horse,’’ Larson said. "So I
.lecided to try something that would
give me more results and help me
get into shape."
Before she started running, Lar
son said, she was 15 pounds over
"Susie works very hard, she doesn’t
have that much talent, but it’s
been exciting to watch her develop
into one of the top runners in the
Eric Gregory/Dally Nebraakan
Susie Larson is congratulated by her husband, Ted, after winning the Lincoln Marathon last spring.
area," Ted Larson said. "Our rela
tionship is structured around her
running.
"But I also think this relation
ship has helped her running quite a
hit, when she first started running
she really wasn't that good, but she
has improved immensely.”
Larson’s biggest accomplishment
since coming to Nebraska was a vic
tory in the Lincoln Marathon last
May. Ted Larson said he thinks
Susie is the most underrated runner
in the Lincoln area.
"I told her two weeks before that
race, 'Don’t be surprised if you win
the whole thing,' ” Ted said.
“What made me mad was after the
Ted has always
told me that all
the hard work I
have put in will
eventually pay off,
and I think it
finally is.
—Larson
race, everybody was saying, ‘What
happened to Mary Amen?’ People
seemed to think that Susie was
lucky to win the race, but she was a
contender the whole time.”
' Susie Larson came to Nebraska in
1985 after running cross country at
Midland Lutheran College in Fre
mont.
"I really didn’t like it that much
at Midland because the coach
wouldn’t even go to workouts with
us, and 1 hurt my knee and had to
have arthroscopic surgery on it, so I
just left,” Larson said.
Throughout that time, Susie and
Ted Ufsoit ran together an»A» 4
, cussed now she could improve as a '
runner.
After making the Nebraska cross
country team in the spring of 1986,
Larson had to sit out for a year
because she transferred from Mid
land.
Larson said the redshirt year
helped because it gave her an op
port unity to improve and also to get
used to Dirksen’s workouts.
Now that she is included among
the top five runners on the team,
Larson said, running is the greatest
thing that has happened to her.
“Ted has always told me that all
the hard work that I have put in will
u eventually pay att, and I think it
* finally is,” Larson said. “I would be
lost if 1 didn’t have Ted around to
help me.”
Larson said she would like to run
marathons and try to qualify for the
1992 U.S. Olympic team.
