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Softball coach quits
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Ron Wol forth, who has been coach
of the Comhusker softball team since
1987, announced his resignation
Monday, Athletic Director Bob De
vancy said.
Wolforth’s resignation will take
effect at the end of this season.
Dcvancy said the decision was based
on Wolforth’s desire to enter private
business and not because of any re
sentment toward his team or the
Nebraska Athletic Dp.narimpnt
Dcvancy said
that as of Monday
afternoon, he had
not yet spoken
personally with
Wolforth.Hcsaid
he had heard of
his intentions to
resign on Saturday
from Barb Hibner,
assistant athletic Wolforth
director in charge of women’s athlet
ics.
“I know that Ron had not been
satisfied with what his softball team
has been doing this season, and that
he blamed himself for it,” Devaney
said. “I know he wasn ’ t having a great
year, and he was a little low about
that.”
Wolforth said in a prepared state
ment that he had enjoyed his time as
Nebraska’s coach.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed every
season here, including this season,”
the statement said. “I am not leaving
frustrated or angry. I just believe that
I have overstayed my purpose. I owe
it to myself and my daughter, Saman
tha, to make more than $26,000 a
year and be gone six months out of the
year.
“I love Coach Devaney and the
University of Nebraska. They have
been wonderful to me.”
Wolforth is leaving Nebraska af
ter compiling a 165-96 record in his
first five seasons. His team is 10-19
so far this season.
During his interim season in 1987,
Wolforth guided Nebraska to a Big
Eight championship and an appear
ance in the NCAA College Softball
World Series in Omaha where the
Huskers finished third.
Nebraska earned a 41-11 record
that season.
The next season, Wolforth again
coached the Huskers to a conference
championship, and Nebraska placed
fifth in the World Series, finishing the
year with a 39-20 record.
In 1989 and 1990, Wolforth’s teams
finished second in the Big Eight. Last
season, the Huskers were fifth.
Wolforth served one year as an
assistant coach before taking over the
team. He graduated from Sam Hous
ton State University in 1983 with
honors in physical education.
He also played four years of base
ball, including seasons at Nebraska
and then Kearney State University.
Devaney said he had no immedi
ate preference for a replacement,
because he and Wolforth hadn’t dis
cussed the matter.
“Of course, I want to find a re
placement with the least problems
possible,” Devaney said. “I want a
good team here, and we’ve had them
in the past. We need to find someone
who can do that and not appoint a
coach just for the sake of appointing a
coach.”
NU softball team loses
momentum on Sunday
By Susie Arth
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska softball team stuck
to its plans Friday and Saturday,
but Sunday came and so did a loss.
The Huskers, who hoped to win
six games this weekend to increase
their winning streak to eight, lost
to Depaul Sunday aftera two-game
sweep of Colorado State Univer
sity Friday. They also defeated the
University of Missouri at Kansas
City and Notre Dame Saturday.
Coach Ron Wolforth said he
was pleased with his team’s play
against Colorado Slate, but he said
he thought it lacked intensity in the
Creighton Tournament Saturday and
Sunday.
“We played at a lower level this
weekend than we did against Colo
rado State,” Wolforth said. “We
didn’t do ourselves much of a favor
by playing ihc way we did.”
Wolforth said he was disap
pointed in the Huskers’ offensive
output because the pitching they
faced was not that tough.
“We hit mediocrely,” he said,
“and that’s being kind.”
Wolforth said freshman pitcher
Lisa Shandy, who picked up the 5
2 loss against Dcpaul, had a diffi
cult time Sunday.
“They hit her pretty hard,” he
said.
But Wolforth said he still was
pleased that the Huskers were able
to win six games in a row before
the loss to Dcpaul, and he said he
believed the Huskers were the bet
ter team.
“We won six in a row, which is
nice,” he said. “I thought we had
something going. Now we have to
rebuild and start over.”
Da coach
Mike Ditka head coach of the Chicago Bears, talks to the media Monday at South Stadium. Ditka was in Lincoln to speak
at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes^ function. Ditka spoke about his religious beliefs with young people.
NU women
golfers lead
invitational
From Staff Reports
The Nebraska women’s golf team
leads a seven-team field in the 1992
Husker Women’s Golf Invitational
being held at Pioneers Golf Course.
The Comhuskers lead Iowa Slate
636-639 after 36 holes. Memphis Slate
is four shots off the team score with
640.
Wisconsin’s Erica Narowctz leads
the individual standings with a score
of 152 after 36 holes.
Nebraska’s Stephanie Flood is tied
for second with Kim Hodge of North
ern Illinois with a score of 153.
Husker Ann Guiberson’s score of
156 is good enough for fifth place.
Guiberson is being chased by team
mate Joanne Brooks, who posted a
157. .
Other Nebraska golfers include
Stephanie Hupp, who is in a three
way tie for 16th place with a score of
171.
Husker Rochelle Brotsky rounded
off the lop five Nebraska scorers with
a 175, which put her in a two-way tie
for 19th.
The tournament, which also in
cludes Missouri-Kansas City and
Creighton will conclude with one 18
hole round that will be played today.
Cornhusker ‘Skid’ dashing toward records, Olympics
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter
The outdoor track and field season
is but two weeks young, but Nebraska
sprinter Travis Grant has set his sights
on something really big.
Grant, just a sophomore, is eyeing
the school records in both the 100
and 200-meter dashes. The record in
the 100 is 10.35 seconds, achieved by
Bill Troll in 1987. Grant ran a 10.37
last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
‘‘I just barely missed the record
last week, so I’m pretty sure it will
fall this year,” Grain said.
In the 200, Grant is merely tenths
of a second away from former Ne
braska standout Tamas Molnar’s rec
ord of 20.64. Grant’s personal best is
20.80.
He also hopes to grab the school
record of 21.21 in the indoor 200,
held by Bobby Jelks.
“I just missed Jclks’ indoor record
because the track I ran on was slightly
oversized,” he said. “I did beat his
record, but it didn’t count because
times arc converted on these types of
tracks.”
Grant was referring to the Big Eight
Championship where he ran the 200
in 21.20 on Kansas’ oversized track
of 252 meters.
Grant has already played a part in
two other school records, the indoor
1,600 relay and the outdoor 400 re
lay.
At a Last Chance Qualifier meet at
Iowa State last month, Grant filled in
for Molnar, who left school and the
team to return to his native Hungary,
in the 1,600 relay. He wasn’t sure he
belonged, though.
“Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I was
capable of running a fast enough 400
split to get the guys where they needed
to be,” Grant said. “I was instantly
down on myself before we even ran
the race. I knew this was the last
chance for Mark (Jackson) and Ken
(Waller) to gain All-American status
because they were seniors.
“But coach (Dave) Harris got us
together as a team and said there was
no doubt in his mind that we could
qualify and that we were one of the
lop three relays in the nation, which
we were and didn’t realize it.”
Grant helped his team achieve an
All-Time Big Eight Conference and
Nebraska school-record time of 3:07.64
at Iowa Stale. The team eventually
placed fifth at the NCAA Champion
ships with a time of 3:09.42.
He said that experience changed
his outlook on track.
“Situations like that make you aware
of your abilities,” Grant said. “I don’t
think you’re ever truly aware of your
abilities until you're forced into a
situation where you have to do some
thing. Now I expect more of myself
because I know there’s a lot more in
me yet to come out.
“I think the coaches do as well.”
Grant also ran the anchor leg on
last season’s record-selling relay team
that ran a 39.65 — twice.
All this aside, Grant said, he wasn’t
really that fast in high school.
The main reason for that was his
unusually young age as an athlete at
Daniel High School in Clcmson, S.C.
Grant began school when he was four
years old.
“I actually wasn’t very well-de
veloped in high school,” Grant said.
“I was only 15 years old my senior
year of competition, basically just a
little pipsqueak.
“But what captured the interests of
all the schools was the fact I was
competing against guys who were 18
or 19 years old when I was barely 15.
They figured that with a little weight
training and natural maturity, I was
going to blossom into something good.”
Grant said that was the main rea
son former coach Glen Stone recruited
him in the first place. Stone now
coaches at Oklahoma Baptist Univer
sity.
Grant chose Nebraska over home
town Clcmson, North Carolina State,
Georgia and Arizona. He said Clcmson
was not for him.
“Clcmson was too close to home,”
he said. “Also, my high school coach
didn’t like the Clcmson coach too
much, so he didn’t recommend going
there.”
Several factors led to Grant’s final
choice to come to Lincoln.
“When I came to Nebraska, I was
really impressed with the academic
side of it, with the Hewitt Center and
the tutoring services,” he said. “And
See GRANT on 8