Sports
Nebraska freshman
sprinting to success
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter
Nebraska sprinter Kathy Travis has
come into her own as a collegiate
athlete, and she’s only competed in
four meets.
But Travis said she was just glad to
be running for the Huskers.
“The feeling of this team is so
great,” Travis, a freshman from Lin
coln Christian, said. “Everyone helps
each other out all the time.”
After a brilliant high school ca
reer, Travis pretty much could have
gone anywhere to run. But being close
to home appealed to her, she said.
“When the decision came of who
to sign with, there was no doubt in my
mind whatsoever to come to Ne
braska,” Travis said. “The competi
tion on this team alone is incredible.
This is definitely one of the best teams
in the country.”
So far in the indoor season, Travis
has qualified for the NCAA meet in
both the 55-mctcr dash and the 2(X).
Her time of 6.86 in the 55 ranks her
third in the entire nation. In the 200,
Travis ran a 24.1, a personal best
time, for a provisional qualifying mark.
Provisional means that if there aren’t
enough automatic qualifying marks
at the end of the season, the top provi
sional times will be taken.
Travis achieved both of these marks
last Saturday at the Frank Scvigne
Husker Invitational, which is consid
ered one of the lop indoor meets in the
country.
Inihat55-metcrracc,Traviscdgcd
out Zundra Feagin of Nevada-Las
Vegas, who was the top sprinter coming
out of high school last season. Feagin
came back to nip Travis at the tape in
the 200.
Travis said all of the success hadn’t
really gotten to her yet.
“Whenever I might feel even a
twinge of pride, I feel so lucky to be
blessed by the Lord and to be able to
run at a school like Nebraska,” she
said.
Travis was never pushed in high
school. Over her four-year high school
career, Travis won 15 Class C Cham
pionships in the four events she ran
in. She holds the All-Time Nebraska
state records in the 100 (11.7), the
200 (24.5) and the 400 (55.78).
Over those four years, Travis also
won nine All-Class gold medals and
in 1991, was named the Female Ath
lete of the Year by The Omaha World
Herald and The Lincoln Journal.
Travis said she realized even then,
however, that track was more fulfill
ing as a team sport.
“The biggest highlight in high
school was when our mile-relay team
won the All-Class gold when I was a
senior,” she said. “Track is mostly
looked at as an individual sport, but
when you can win as a team, it’s
really great.
“Running a relay is the only way
you can do that.”
Nebraska women’s sprints coach
Steve Rainbolt said he watched Travis
quite a bit her senior year. At first
glance, Rainbolt said, he thought she
would be strongest in the 4(X). But, he
said, that feeling has changed some
what.
“Right now, she’s really running
strong in the short sprints,” Rainbolt
said. “Who knows, though. She could
still do well in the 4(X).”
Now that she is scaled at Nebraska,
Rainbolt said, Travis is a real joy to
coach. Not only is she a great sprinter,
but she is a great person in general, he
said.
“Kathy is a very spirited runner,”
Rainbolt said. “It’s a challenge in a
lot of ways to coach her, but she runs
with so much heart, it’s just great to
have the privilege to be a part of it.”
The feelingsare definitely mutual,
Travis said.
“Coach (Rainbolt) is really great,”
she said. “He has really taught me a
See TRAVIS on 8
Mtchelle Paulman/DN
Nebraska sprinter Kathy Travis lunges for the tape in the 200-meter dash at the Frank Sevigne
Husker Invitational Saturday. Travis, a freshman, was edged out by Zundra Feagin, but won
the 55-meter dash earlier.
i-—-1
South African swimmer
says U.S. sport intense
By Susie Arth
Staff Reporter
Since arriving at UNL, Scddon
Keylcr has grown accustomed to a
slower lifestyle and faster swim
ming.
Keyter, a senior swimmer from
Capetown, South Africa, said he
found that swimming in the United
States was more scientific and in
tense than in his homeland.
Weightlifting and two-a-day
workouts, he said, were an adjust
ment for him.
Keyter, a two-time All-Ameri
can, said he was pleased with the
results of his new work ethic.
“I feel like an improved swim
mer,” he said. “I’m in a lot belter
shape, I’m stronger and I’ve been
more consistent with my workouts.”
Right now, Keylcr said, he is
concentrating on doing well in the
Big Eight Championships and
qualifying for the NCAA Champi
onships.
Keyter said he needed to cut
about seven-tenths of a second off
his 50-meter freestyle, 1.5 seconds
off his 100-meicr freestyle and 1.0
second off his 100-mctcr backstroke
toqualify for the championships in
Indianapolis. The NCAA champi
onships will be March 26-28.
After the Big Eight Champion
ships, Keyter said he would return
to South Africa for 2 1/2 weeks for
the Olympic trials.
Keyter holds the national rec
ord in South Africa in the 100
meter backstroke.
Keyter said he was confident
about his upcoming challenges.
“The Big Eight Championships
will be my first shave and taper
meet this season,” he said. “I think
I have a pretty good chance of
doing well.”
Keyter said he would continue
his taper until after the NCAA
championships. The team mem
bers taper, or reduce workouts, so
they can swim their best times of
the season during the champion
ships.
Keyter, who started swimming
in grade school, said he partici
pated in many sports in high school
but did not specialize in swim
ming.
“I never rrtade a commitment to
swimming until arriving in the
United States,” he said.
Keyter, a senior architecture
major, said he was recruited by
Arizona State University and UNL
after high school. He chose UNL,
he said, because six swimmers from
South Africa already were on the
swimming team.
“1 wanted to go where the tran
sition would be easy,” he said. “I
don’t think I could have made a
better decision.”
Keyter said he was recruited by
UNL to swim the backstroke but
now concentrated mainly on the
50-meter and 100-meter freestyle.
“I’m happy with the decision
because I still get to work hard on
the backstroke,” he said.
Keyter said he hoped to slay in
the United States and work for a
See KEYTER on 8
Magic returns to sports realm
“Do you believe in miracles?”
Il seems like only yesterday, but it
was 12 years ago when I heard A1
Michaels screaming that question.
It happened in Lake Placid, N.Y.,
site of the 1980 Winter Olympics.
1 was only 10 years old, and I was
transfixed as I sal in front of the
television, watching the U.S. hockey
team pull off an unbelievable upset of
the powerful Soviet team.
I had never watched hockey be
fore, but somehow, I understood the
action, but didn’t really understand
the full effect of what the American
team was actually achieving.
All I knew was that they won a
game that they weren’t supposed to.
Two days later, I was once again
anchored in front of the television,
this lime watching the United States
defeat Finland to win the gold.
I can remember the chills that ran
up my spine as the crowd chanted
“U.S.A., U.S.A.” It was a great day,
and I was surging with national pride
as I watched goalie Jim Craig, draped
in an American flag, search for his
father in the crowd.
You could read Craig’s lips as he
continually inquired “Where’s my dad?
Where’s my dad?” his eyes scanning
the crowd. Il was the stuff that dreams
are made of. One of those events you
remember for the rest of your life.
All those memories were racing
through my mind Sunday as I watched
the first full day of Olympic competi
tion. The same thing happens every
four years. Especially during hockey.
Watching the United States’ open
ing-game victory over Italy, I couldn’t
help but have a flashback to Lake
Placid.
Maybe il had something to do with
the fact that Mike Eruzione, one of
the stars of that 1980 team, was doing
commentary for the game.
Eru/ionc will be covering the
hockey team throughout the Olym
pics, so it’s possible that I’ll be mak
ing a lot of trips through lime back to
my living room back home.
But the chance of a repeal miracle
this year is slim, or so the expert
analysts say.
I guess that remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Eru/ionc said on
Sunday’s late-night Olympic roundup
show that the 1980 team faced similar
criticism.
Who knows? A break here or there
and a little luck, and the United Stales
might find itself witnessing another
miracle.
That might be the reason the Olym
pics can be so enjoyable. Every four
years, some athlete or team pulls off
the improbable and becomes forever
etched in our minds.
It’s the stuff from which legends
arc bom.
Speaking of legends, and magic
for that matter, one can’t help but be
happy for Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
For 12 years, Magic was a main
stay for the Los Angeles Lakers, re
defining the position of point guard
along the way.
Never before had someone with
his 6-foot-9 frame been given the job
of running a team, but Johnson made
it look easy, guiding the Lakers to
five world championships in the 1980s.
An NBA highlight film isn’tcom
plcte unless it includes a few of Magic’s
passes, which could make up a high
light film themselves.
All that came to an end last fall,
when Magic announced his retire
ment because he had tested postive
for HIV.
Fans didn’t forget him, however,
and he was voted in as a starter for
Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in
Orlando, Fla.
Magic expressed his desire to re
turn to basketball for that one game to
suit up for the Western Conference.
League Commissioner David Stem
granted him that wish, and let Magic
play.
Although he hadn’t played com
petitively since his retirement, Magic
said he had spent a lot of lime just
shooting baskets, usually by himself.
Sunday, he wasn’t shooting alone.
The televisions of America, if not
tuned IQ the Olympics, were tuned to
NBC to see if Magic still had it.
He still does.
By the end of the game, another
chapter had been added to Magic’s
storybook career. He scored 25 points,
dished out nine assists and was named
the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Rumors of his return to the Lakers
have surfaced, but they should be
treated as just that — rumors.
Magic’s desire to return to the court
is obvious. He already has staled that
he plans to play in the Summer Olym
pics in Barcelona, Spain. Nothing other
than that is known for sure.
One thing was obvious after Sun
day, though — the basketball world
misses Magic.
You can have your Michael Jor
See HYTREK on 8