Sports
Husker wrestlers to face
top-ranked teams at meet
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Not many people can accuse
Nebraska’s wrestling team of facing a
weak, unchallenging schedule.
The Comhuskers, ranked No. 18 in
the latest wrestling polls, travel to
Stillwater, Okla., this weekend to
compete in the Cowboy Duals, which
will feature No. 1-ranked Oklahoma
State and No. 2 Arizona State. The
meet will mark the third time this
season that Nebraska has faced a No.
1-ranked team.
“It seems like they wait and see
who Nebraska wrestles next, and then
put them at No. 1,” Husker wrestling
coach Tim Neumann said.
Boise State, Brigham Young and
Clemson will round out the six-team
tournament. Missouri and Illinois
originally were scheduled to compete,
but withdrew.
Neumann said the Huskcrs should
have little trouble defeating any team
other than Oklahoma State and Ari
zona State at the meet.
“We’ve obviously got to beat some
people we haven’t beaten before,”
Neumann said. “Against Oklahoma
State, I think we’re favored in two
matches, and there are four or five
others that arc considered lossups, and
it’s the same with Arizona State.”
Neumann said Oklahoma Slate’s
combined individual records from
dual meets this season is 191-31, and
Arizona State’s is 126-28. He said the
Sun Devils arc “the best dual team in
America right now.”
• Oklahoma State’s top wrestlers
include John Smith, at 134, who has
only one loss in the last three years —
to former Nebraska All-America Gil
Sanchez last season. At 158, Vince
Silva leads the Cowboys with a 23-1
record.
Nebraska’s Jeff Coltvct will chal
lenge Silva this weekend in a match
Neumann said could decide the top
seed in that weight class at the Big
Eight Tournament.
Arizona State’s best wrestler is
Zeke Jones at 118. Jones is 16-0 and
ranked third in the nation. The Sun
Devils have wrestlers ranked in the
top eight in the nation in every weight
class from 167 on up.
Neumann said winning the Cow
boy Duals would place Nebraska in
the top five in the next polls, but that
isn’t his primary concern.
“There are so many individual
matchups that are important,” Neu
mann said. “ We ’ vc got a lot of athletes
right on the brink of wrestling really
well, and that’s what I’m looking for.
I’m not so much concerned with win
ning as I am with how well our kids
perform.”
Last weekend, Nebraska defeated
North Dakota 28-6, lost to North
Dakota State 24-16, then lost to No. 7
ranked Minnesota 20-19. The North
Dakota teams were the top two teams
in Division II.
Neumann said last weekend’s
meets actually showed him how well
his team is developing this season,
despite the losses.
“After a grueling week of practices
and late-night trips from meet to meet,
it’s shown me that our kids have a lot
of character,” Neumann said. “We’re
really coming on.”
Neumann said injuries have
slowed the Huskcrs this week. Jeff
Castro, Nebraska’s top man at the
142-pound class, suffered a broken rib
and may be out for the season. In
addition, Neumann said, Terry Cook
dropped from 126 to 118,and Wallace
Dawkins, Nebraska’s only senior this
year, has changed to 126 from 118,
where he is undefeated this season.
Nebraska expected to win
season’s first track meet
By Richard Cooper
Suff Reporter
Drake track coach Bob Erhart
knows he will be in a no-win situation
when his men’s and women’s track
teams compete against Nebraska,
Wichita State and Barton County
(Kan.) Junior College Saturday at the
Bob Dcvancy Sports Center Track
Complex.
But Erhart said he’ll still be happy
if some members of his teams can win
a few events in the triangular meet.
The meet, which will open Nebraska’s
season, begins at noon.
“It’s always good to compete
against a good team like Nebraska,”
Erhart said. “We know there is no way
we can win the meet, but we have
some individuals who should chal
lenge strongly for some events.”
Erhart said the Bulldogs can do
nothing but benefit from competing at
Nebraska because of the caliber of the
Comhusker athletes and the quality of
the facilities.
“Nebraska’s indoor track is one of
the fastest in the nation,” Erhart said.
“Every time we’ve competed there
our kids have come out with belter
limes.”
Erhart said Drake’s top athlete is
senior long and triple jumper Todd
Crawford, a transfer student from
Bradley University in Peoria, III.,
Crawford has recorded jumps of more
than 25 feet in the long jump and 50
feet in the triple jump.
Erhart said Kevin Little, who was
the Missouri Valley Conference
Champion in the 300-nictcr competi
tion last season, should also contend
lor a first-place finish. He said Shane
Bungcr and Dca Ohuhau should pro
vide strong competition in the 600
and 800-meter runs.
“We have some runners who can
run with Nebraska and who could win
some events,” Erhart said. “It will be
a good experience for our team.”
Wichita State assistant track coach
Mike Wade said the Shockers arc on
the upswing. Although Wichita State
doesn’t expect to win the meet, it
hopes to leam something from it, he
said.
“We think it’s a good idea to
compete at Nebraska because we’ll
get nothing but a positive experience
from it,’’ Wade said. “We won’t put
any pressure on our kids to win the
meet because we know they can’t, but
the track is fast, so maybe we’ll get
some NCAA qualifying times out of
it.”
Wade said the Shockers’ top run
ner is former Nebraska runner Phillips
George. George, who transferred to
Wichita State in 1986, will compete in
the 60- and 300-melcr dashes.
Wade said the Shockers arc strong
est in the distance events. The Wichita
Stale men’s and women’s cross coun
try teams won the Missouri Valley
Conference Championship in the fall.
Wade said Wichita Suite’s top dis
tance runner is South African Tjaart
Van Nieuwenhurizen. He said
Nicuwcnhuri/.cn iscapablcof running
a sub-four-minute mile.
Nebraska track coach Gary Pepin
said Wichita Suite should give the
Husker distance runners a good lest.
He said senior Jean Verslcr, a two
lime All-America in cross country,
will not compete because he has used
up his eligibility in indoor track.
Pepin said middle-distance runner
Regis Humphrey, who is being both
ered by a knee injury, and Bob Jelks,
troubled by a sore hamstring, also
won’t compete.
Pepin said the meet is a good way
to begin the season because all three
teams will give the Huskers some
good competition.
“All three teams have some good
individuals who should be very com
petitive,” Pepin said, “but I think
point-wise we should win the meet.’’
tsutcn ireiana/uaiiyn«Dra*Mn
Nebraska center Stephanie Bolli shoots over Kansas State’s Diana Miller.
Cornhusker coach hopes ranking
will help her team in the Big 8
Probable Starters:
Nebraska (13-2,3-0)
Amy Stephens G
Pam Fiene G
Stephanie Bolli C
Maurticc Ivy F
Kim Harris F
Kansas (11-5,1-2)
Lisa Dougherty G
Lisa Braddy G
Deborah Richardson C
Lisa Baker F
Mcsho Stroughter F
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
Being ranked among the
nation’s top 25 teams ntay not be
beneficial to the Nebraska
women’s basketball team.
But Nebraska coach Angela
Beck said she hopes being ranked
No. 25 by USA Today will add
more motivation to the Com
huskers than their opponents.
“I kind of feel that once we were
ranked in the top 25, we would give
a sigh of relief because we were
eager to get there,” Beck said. “I’m
hoping it will give us a little more
incentive than the other teams we
play. Now, everybody will be out
to beat us.”
Beck said one team that will be
out to beat the Huskcrs is Kansas.
Nebraska faces the defending co
Big Eight champion Jayhawks
Saturday at 11 a.m. at Allen Field
house in Lawrence, Kan.
“Kansas is a very strong team,”
Beck said. “We’ll need to keep the
game under wraps and during
crunch time perform well to win
the game.”
Beck said one advantage the
Huskcrs have is they’ve been win
ning on the road this season. Ne
braska, 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the
Big Eight, opened its conference
season with a 91-87 win against
Iowa State at Ames, Iowa.
“I think we’ve played very well
on the road this season,” Beck said.
“I think we’ve played better on the
road than we do at home at limes,
and I don’t know why.”
Beck said Nebraska’s 3-0 start
in thcconfercnce will give the team
confidence during its three-game
road trip. After facing Kansas, the
Huskcrs will travel to Norman,
Okla., to face the Sooncrs next
Wednesday and then will play
Colorado on Jan. 30 in Boulder,
Colo.
“I was hoping we could get off
to a quick start,” Beck said, “Our
goal was to be 3-0, and that will
help during our road trip. It was
good to get three wins under our
belts before we took to the road.”
Nebraska guard Sabrina Brooks
said she isn’t surprised by the
Huskers’ fast start.
“I think it’s confidence,”
Brooks said.
Beck said the Huskers must slop
guard Lisa Braddy and center
Deborah Richardson to beat Kan
sas. Braddy, a 5-fool-7 sophomore,
is averaging 8.8 points per game,
and Richardson, a 6-4 junior, is
averaging 10.4 points and 8.3 re
bounds per game.
“We have to contain Braddy of
fensively,” Beck said. “She’s a
good pointguard and is very quick.
Against Richardson, we’re going
to have to dead front her. She’s
slower, so we’ll have to use our
quickness and keep her off bal
ance.
“She’s a major concern.”
Beck said the Huskers must also
react to Kansas’ pressure defense.
“Offensively, we’ll have to
handle their man-lo-man press,”
she said. “They run a lot of junk
defenses, and we’ll have to react to
them.”
