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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1991)
NU wrestler eyes shot at national title By Chuck Green Senior Reporter Jason Kelber is hoping he is saving the best for last. Kelber, Nebraska’s top wrestler at the 126-poun< his first Big Eight individ ual title Sun day at the conference championship meet in Co lumbia, Mo. Now, he’s setting his sights on the national crown. This will be his last chance. Kelber, a senior from Albion, Iowa, is using the last of his college eligi bility this month, and expects to graduate in August with a degree in biology. “Winning the Big Eight cham pionship was great,” Kclbcr said. “It feels good. It was a long time coming.” KeiDcr, as me lop seed at 126, got a bye ihc first round, then beat Oklahoma’s Shawn Harrison 18-6 before wrapping up the title with an 8-4 decision against Iowa State’s Dan Knight. Kclber finished the regular sea son with a 27-2 dual record. He was named the Big Eight champi onship meet’s most outstanding wrestler. Nebraska coach Tim Neumann said he was impressed with the way Kelber handled adversity dur ing his final match. “He got taken down early in the finals, and that shook him up a little,” Neumann said. “But he came back and totally dominated Knight. He wrestled great.” Although Kclber dominated his opponent, Oklahoma Slate domi nated the team scoring. Seven Cowboys reached the finals and six won individual championships to lead Oklahoma S tale to its fourth straight team title. The Cowboys finished with 94.25 points. Iowa State was second with 84 points, followed by Nebraska with 63.50, Missouri with 29.50 and Oklahoma with 26.50. Both No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 3 Iowa State will take 10 wres tlers to the NCAA championships in Iowa City, Iowa, March 14-16. The Comhuskers, ranked sev enth in the latest Amateur Wres tling News coaches’ poll, will send nine wrestlers to the NCAA cham pionships. In addition to Kelber, Nebraska will be represented by Big Eight runners-up Dave Droegemueller (134), Scott Che noweth (177) and Chris Nelson (190), and third-place finishers John Buxton (118), Laync Billings (142), Tommy Robbins (167) and Sonny Manley (Hwt.). Todd Enger, who finished fourth at 150, received a wild-card spot for the championship tournament. At last year’s NCAA meet, Kelber came close to a national title, los ing 3-2 to Iowa’s Terry Brands in the final after winning four matches. “Jason has focused on a rematchl with Brands all year, but he’s done, an excellent job of taking care of business,” Neumann said. Kelber probably will have to make it to the final for another shot at Brands. “Since we’re ranked first and second in the country (at 126),” Kelber said, “we won’t meet unless we both get there.” Kelber said the other eight Husker qualifiers will have to wrestle their best to place at nationals. But, he said, he thinks they can perform well. “Wc didn’t finish as well as we wanted to at Big Eights,” he said. “But I think that maybe opened some guys’ eyes and made them realize that they have to get re focused and work hard to accom plish what they want to.” Results ot finals involving Huskers: 126 — Jason Kelber (NU) dec Dan Knight (ISU), 8-4 134 — Alan Fried (OSU) dec. Dave Droegemueller (NU), 11 -8 177 — Matt Johnson (ISU) dec Scott Chenoweth (NU), 8-4. 190 — Randy Coture (OSU) dec Chris Nelson (NU), 4-3. NU, KU, OSU rankings close Tha Associated Press The Associated Press rankings for Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma State are as close this week as the Big Eight standings were for those teams. Kansas, co-champion with Okla homa State at 10-4, fell from No. 10 to No. 12 this week after losing to the Comhuskers on Sunday. Nebraska, third in the conference at 9-5, lost at Oklahoma State and defeated Kansas to jump from No. 15 to No. 13. And the Cowboys, after beating Nebraska on Wednesday, lost at Iowa State on Saturday to go 10-4 in the Big Eight. They dropped from No. 12 to No. 14 with the loss. Arkansas said farewell to the South west Conference and to No. 3 in the poll. The Razorbacks fell to No. 5 in the poll, the lowest they’ve been all sea son, after a 99-86 loss to Texas Sun day. Arkansas leaves the SWC for the Southeastern Conference next sea son. Texas and DcPaul arc new U) the poll. DcPaul moved up by beating St. John’s 79-69 in Roscmont, III. Out of the poll this week are Pitts burgh and Virginia. Pitt was No. 22 until losing to Connecticut 78-68, and Virginia fell out from the 25th spot after losing to Maryland 78-74 in overtime. Records through March 3 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmummmmmm Rank Record SchoolPoints 1 27-0 UNLV " 1.550 2 25-1 Ohio St. 1.488 3 25-4 Indiana 1.363 4 26-4 Syracuse 1,347 5 28-3 Arkansas 1.298 6 25-6 Duke 1,270 7 22-5 North Carolina 1.156 8 26-2 Utah 1.103 9 24-6 Arizona 1,048 10 22-6 Kentucky 947 11 23-4 New Mexico St. 846 12 21-6 Kansas 813 13 24-6 Nebraska 773 14 21-6 Oklahoma St. 700 15 28-4 E. Tennessee St. 607 16 20 8 LSU 467 17 21-8 UCLA 451 18 20-7 Mississippi St. 450 19 23 2 Princeton 437 20 20-7 St. John's 427 21 19 8 Seton Hall 377 22 21-6 Southern Miss. 376 23 20-7 Texas 263 24 18 9 Alabama 149 25 18-8 DePaul 76 *AP Robin Trimarch! Daily Nebraskan Nebraska’s Jeff Stych dives back to first base to beat the pick-off throw in the Cornhuskers’ 9-1 first-game win over Western Illinois on Monday. Shortstop’s hits key in seesaw game By Erik Unger Staff Reporter Dale Hagy made every hit count. The Comhuskcr shortstop only went 2-for-5 in the second game of Mon day night’s doublchcader against Western Illinois, but had five RBIs, including a three-run home run in the sixth inning. His two hits came at opportune times in the seesaw game. One gave Nebraska an early lead and the other the eventual 10-8 victory. Nebraska also won the first game, 9-1. Hagy’s first hit, a fourth-inning single, drove in the run that regained the lead for Nebraska at 5-4. The Huskers had been ahead 3-0 after the first. His second hit came in the sixth with Western Illinois leading 7-5. Hagy hit a changeup off the Buck Bclt/.er Field scoreboard for his second home run of the season to put Nebraska up for good, 8-7. “They hadn’t thrown me a fastball all day,’’ Hagy said. “1 was just wait ing for an off-speed pitch.’’ It was also a strong sixth inning that helped Nebraska in the first game of the double-header. Outfielder Jeff Rhein’s three-run double started a six-run for the Huskers. Hagy said he can’t take all the credit. He said pitchers have to chal lenge him with runners on base bc See SEESAW on 8 Law imperils NU athletes By signing LB69 into law, Gov. Ben Nelson guaranteed student ath letes at Nebraska’s postsecondary educational institutions the full amount of need-based financial aid that they are eligible for, despite NCAA rules to the contrary. But instead of protecting student athletes from outdated NCAA rules, the state government may be jeopard izing the university’s membership in the organization itself. Nebraska is one of seven states that have considered or are consider ing legislation dealing with the NCAA. Last year Kay Orr signed into law a bill that requires the NCAA guaran tee due process when dealing with Nebraska schools. It remains to be tested. In the Feb. 27 issue of The NCAA News, Executive Director Dick Schultz commented on the recent rash of state legislation directed at the associa tion. “It would depend on how the leg islation is written,’’Schultz said. “But it might be impossible for that state’s institutions to be a member of the NCAA because there would be no way for them to comply with the rules.” Schultz said the states are trying to work around the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of University of Ncvada-Las Vegas coach Jerry Tar kanian. In 1988, the high court ruled 5-4 that Tarkanian’s rights to due process had not been violated by the NCAA. “The Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA is not a stale actor,” he said. “What you have arc states trying to make the NCAA a state actor. “It’s a voluntary association, a private organization, that has t he right to establish rules of membership, and the members themselves make the rules. If the members want to vote out our entire process, they can do it.” Despite that, Nelson and several members of the Nebraska Legislature arc patting themselves on the back for shaking a paper fist in the face of the NCAA, while they endanger the live lihood of the athletic department. Next they’ll want to pay Nebraska football players. Nebraska’s financial aid law, which goes into effect June 1,1992, already runs counter to NCAA rules that limit the amount of benefits a student ath lete can receive. Gary Fourakcr, assistant athletic director for business affairs, said each individual institution has a different limit based on its rates for tuition and fees, room and board, and books. It is up to the various institutions, Fourakcr said, to decide how to di vide the funds. At Nebraska in-stale athletes are allowed to receive a maximum of $4,894 in benefits. Non-residents are allowed $7,470. Under the current guidelines, Fourakcr said, student athletes at Nebraska are allowed $ 1,700 of a $2,100 Pell Grant. Since the law does not go into effect until the middle of next year, Nebraska officials will have the op portunity to support changes in the NCAA regulations at the annual con vention next January. “Maybe the NCAA will vote to give them the full Pell Grant,” Fourakcr said. “If they don’t,there could be some problems. In ihc meantime, before next January, I’m sure there will be some legislation proposed.” Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said die time is on the school’s side. “We feel it can potentially put us in an awkward position, but the time gives us an opportunity to change something,” Osborne said. “If the NCAA doesn’t change their stance, we’re going to have to go to the Leg islature and explain our position.” In other words, “Thanks, but no thanks.” The Legislature has to realize that the future of the athletic department is more important than its pride. The public should understand, Fourakcr said, that the NCAA’s vot ing body is made up of the member instilulions. “It’s not just four guys down in Kansas City,” he said. Fourakcr said convinc ing the other member-institutions of the NCAA will be difficult because of how they dis tribute their funds. Some schools, he said, allow the student to receive the entire Pell Grant and reduce the amount of money paid out of the scholarship funds. “It’s a way of saving them money,” Fourakcr said. “So a lot of the schools arc going to vote against because that will tap into their funds.” Fourakcr said the law would affect only a small number of Nebraska’s student-athletes. “I would say that on the football team we’re looking at less than 10 players,” Fouraker said. A bad decision by the Legislature and by Nelson, however, will affect the entire athletic department. Hopfensperger is a sophomore news-edi torial major and a Daily Nebraskan senior sports reporter.
