Sports Weekend
Friday, February 9,1996
Page 9
Mike Kluck
Invite allows
fans to watch
mini-Olympics
My father once told me that if I
practiced and worked hard every
day —just as they say in the Visa
commercial — I would be able to
compete in the 1996 Olympic
Games in Atlanta.
Those of you who know me can
tell the only competition I could
compete in with any chance of dig
nity is the Budweiser dash or the
Miller mile.
So until the International Olym
pic Committee approves those
sports as legitimate competition, it
looks as if I am going to be confined
to watching the Olympics this year.
Also, since most of my money
has gone to training for the Michelob
marathon, I am going to be limited
to viewing the Olympics from my
nearest sports bar television.
This weekend, however, part of
the Olympics will come to Lincoln
when Nebraska plays host to the
Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational
today and Saturday at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
Since 1975, the Husker Invite
has had more than 50 Olympians
compete, and in 21 years, there
have been four world records set at
the invite.
This year, more than 850 ath
letes from colleges all across the
United States and towns around the
world will compete at the Husker
Invite. The competition for both
men and women will start at 4 p.m.,
on Friday and at noon on Saturday.
“There’s going to be numerous
people in the meet this weekend
that will be in the Olympic Games,”
Nebraska track and field coach Gary
Pepin said. “We’ve always had a
history here of all kinds of Olympi
ans, and that will be the same thing
this year.
“We’ve got people who will be
Olympians, and a lot who will be
contending to try to make our Olym
pic team. And there will be people
that have already qualified for the
Olympic Trials.”
Nebraska’s An gee Henry al
ready has qualified for the Olympic
Trials in the longjump. Henry leads
the nation with a 21-feet, 6 1/4
inches mark.
One of the other Nebraska Olym
pic hopefuls will be senior Kathy
Travis Miiller, a Lincoln native,
who leads the nation in the 55
meter dash.
“Now that doesn’t happen very
often in Lincoln, Neb.,” Pepin said.
So if you don’t have the thou
sands of dollars to get to Atlanta
this summer, head on down to the
Devaney Center today and Satur
day. You’ll see Olympic competi
tion for just a couple of bucks.
And I’m sure if you beg or plead,
the ticket department may take Visa
or American Express. But they
won’t be serving beer at the invite.
Kluck is a Journalism graduate stu
dent and a Daily Nebraskan senior re
porter. _
NU hopes to gain speed on road
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska basketball team
hopes a successful second half at Mis
souri on Wednesday night is a sign
that things are turning around.
Now, after losing four straight
games, the Comhuskers will try to
carry some momentum into Ames,
Iowa, Saturday when they play Iowa
State.
Nebraska, 15-8 overall and 3-5 in
the Big Eight, travels to play the Cy
clones, 16-5 and 5-2, at 12:45 pjn. at
Hilton Coliseum.
Senior guard Erick Strickland, who
was ejected with 14:35 remaining in
the Huskers’ 99-98 loss to the Tigers,
and spent the last 10 minutes of the
game getting the score from a door
man, said Saturday’s game could de
cide the outcome of the season.
“It’s very, very, very important,”
Strickland said. “We’re going to have
to make a run here soon, a long run. I
don’t think we can lose more than one
game.”
He was referring to his team’s
chances at making the NCAA Touma
r
ment for the fifth time in six years. If
Nebraska loses only one of its final six
regular-season games, it will end up
20-10 with a conference record of 8-6,
which should be good enough to get
back to the tournament, Strickland
said.
After Saturday’s game, the Husk
ers have remaining contests at Colo
rado and Kansas in addition to home
games against Kansas State, Okla
homa and Oklahoma State.
Coach Danny Nee said making a
run now would be important for
Nebraska’s postseason chances.
“Now we have six games left, and
our attitude is that we are going to play
the next one just as hard as this,” Nee
said.
After allowing the Tigers to score
61 points in the first half and take a 20
point lead with 12:03 left, the Husk
ers’ confidence began to grow.
Missouri led 79-59 before Ne
braska cut into that lead and went on
top at 98-97 with 12.4 seconds re
maining.
That lead was short-lived as the
Tigers’ Kendrick Moore made two
free throws with seven seconds left,
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Nebraska 15-8,3-5 HL Wt Class PPG RPG
Iowa State 16-5,5-2
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giving them a 99-98 lead and the win.
Getting the lead has been a prob
lem for the Huskers recently. In a span
of 111 minutes and 38 seconds over
the past three games, Nebraska has led
for just over five seconds.
Strickland said that had to be turned
around if Nebraska wanted to make a
late-season run.
But Nebraska must begin that run
against a team that defeated it earlier
this season in Lincoln. Iowa State,
which is in sole possession of second
place in the conference, beat the Husk
See ISU on 11
Scott Bruhn/DN
Nebraska senior gymnast Joy Taylor, a second-team All-American on the uneven bars last
season, will lead the Huskers into action tonight at 7 against Boise State.
NU gymnast leads by example
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Determination is a necessity for
success in any sport.
It comes from the heart, and it
cannot be coached. Joy Taylor has
determination, and over the past
four years, she has used it.
The senior Comhusker gymnast
has earned all-conference honors
in the vault, balance beam and the
all-around while maintaining a per
fect 4.0 grade-point average in bio
logical sciences.
“Sometimes people say I’m too
determined,” Taylor said.
Taylor, who has competed in the
all-around since she was a fresh
man, said this season she was deter
mined to help lead the Huskers to
the NCAA finals and earn first
team All-American honors.
“I try to set my goals a little
higher than I can achieve,” she said.
“It can be disappointing if you lose
perspective, but it’s also better be
cause you push yourself to the max
and see just how far you can go.”
In addition to gymnastics and
going to class, Taylor has applied
to several medical schools this year.
She said she hoped to have her own
family practice someday. Having a
heavy workload makes her com
fortable, she said.
“I really think that it’s easier
sometimes because you’re so busy,
and the discipline you learn in gym
nastics carries over,” she said.
In 1995, Taylor was a second
team All-American in the uneven
bars, scoring a 9.80 at the NCAA
Championships meet.
The senior from New Palestine,
Ind., has finished in the top four of
the all-around in every meet this
season. Last Sunday at Oklahoma,
she scored a season-high 38.80.
Nebraska coach Dan Kendig said
Taylor, along with juniors Shelly
Bartlett and Kim DeHaan, had been
leadingthe Huskers’ four new fresh
men by example.
“The discipline and work ethic
of our upperclassmen has been con
tagious,” Kendig said.
Husker fans will have a chance
to see how Taylor’s determination
has infected die rest of the team
tonight when the seventh-ranked
Huskers (4-2) face No. 19 Boise
State at 7 pm. at the Bob Devaney
Sports Center.
“The discipline and
work ethic of our
upperclassmen has been
contagious©”
DAN KENDIG
NU women’s gymnastics coach
Last Sunday’s 193.875 perfor
mance at Oklahoma was the all
time high in a regular-season meet.
It was also the Huskers ’ fourth-best
total in school history, occurring
almost a month earlier into the sea
son than the top three scores.
But Kendig and Taylor both said
there was still room for improve
ment.
“We’re at a point where we can
start to look at the little things that
we want to add on to our routines,”
Kendig said."
Improvement in confidence and
endurance were the focus of prac
tice this week, Kendig said.
“The more they are able to hit
consistently,” he said, “the more
confidence they will have.”
lracK meet
showcases
55 teams
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
Coming off impressive victories
over Arkansas last weekend, the Ne
braska women ’ s and men ’ s track teams
will compete in the 22nd annual Frank
Sevigne Husker Invite at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center today and Sat
urday.
Competition begins today at 4 p.m.
On Saturday, events will start at noon.
The Comhuskers will be joined by
54 other teams and 850 athletes at a
meet that is regarded around the na
tion as one of the top indoor events of
the year.
iseorasKa coacn uary tiepin saia
that other than the NCAA Champion
ships, this meet may have more talent
than any other meet in the country.
“You might very well see some
athletes this weekend that will be con
tending for medals in this summer’s
Olympics in Atlanta,” Pepin said.
The Huskers boast a few prospec
tive Olympians of their own. Two
time NCAA triple jump champion
Nicola Martial and All-American long
jumper Angee Henry lead the women’s
team into this weekend’smeet. Henry,
a junior from Omaha, is the nation’s
No. 1 long jumper with a season-best
leap of 21 feet, 6 1/4 inches.
In the women’s shot put, Nebraska
has two of the nation’s best in senior
Paulette Mitchell and junior Tressa
Thompson. They will be challenged
by UCLA’s Valeyta Althouse, whom
Pepin said was the best shot putter in
the country.
On the men’s side, the nation’s best
athletes will compete in the mile run.
The first sub-four-minute mile in
Husker Invite history could be re
corded this weekend.
Milers Balazs Tolgyesi from
Szekesfehervar, Hungary, and team
mate Jonah Kipartus should be among.
the leaders, Pepin said. They will take
on conference foe Jon Wild of Okla
homa State, who has broken the four
minute barrier with a personal-best
time of 3 minutes, 59.79 seconds.
Pepin said he and his team were
excited to play host to this meet and
were looking forward to the competi
tion.
“This m$et is important to every
See Track OH 10