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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1999)
Sports Page 8 _ . _Friday, October 8,1999 Brandon Schulte Concussions shouldn’t be taken lightly There was linebacker Tony Ortiz leading the Nebraska football team on its tunnel walk prior to the Washington game last year. As the fans cheered, Ortiz - lacking pads or a helmet - led the team onto Tom Osborne Field. Ortiz wasn’t in his usual game garb because he had suffered a slight concussion in practice the week before. He said it didn’t affect him other than missing the one game, but he understands that multiple concussions are scary. “I’m glad I’m not like Steve Young (the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback who has had several concussions in his career) or any thing,” Ortiz said. “Somebody in his condition, I’m pretty sure, they must think about (concussions) every time that they get hit.” The Nebraska medical staff didn’t take any chances with Ortiz, but how many times have you heard of an athlete overcoming a concussion to play a starring role in leading the team to victory? Everyone knows that playing with an injured hand or foot may not be the best thing, but it can, at least, be considered noble. The same isn’t true of playing with a concussion. It is stupid, and has the chance to be deadly. That’s because an athlete can experience second-impact syn drome, which means that if a sec ond concussion is sustained'before the first has subsided, the resulting blow can lead to brain injury or death. The effects of a single severe concussion can have lasting conse quences for up to a month after wards. While second-impact syn drome is rare, the NCAA Injury Surveillance system estimates that more than 1,500 concussions occur in college football each year. And nine out of every 10 reported head injuries in sports are determined to be concussions. Nebraska director of athletic medicine, Lonnie Albers M.D., estimates that one NU football player suffers a concussion every three Comhusker contests. NCAA literature on concus sions states that: “A student-athlete rendered unconscious for any peri od of time should not be permitted to return to the practice or game in which the head injury occurred. In addition, no student-athlete should be allowed to return to athletics while symptomatic.” With no other set guidelines on •ithe subject, The American Academy of Neurology offers a standardized test for physicians and trainers to evaluate the severity of a concussion to an athlete. The exam is used by the NU « Please see SCHULTE on 11 •••• .. ...... . _ Nate Wagner/DN NU SOPHOMORE RUNNER Marcus Witter has grown from a pretty pathetic” runner in high school to a Husker leader. Witter makes move to front By Jason Merrihew Staff Writer While most students are nestled in their warm beds at 6:30 in the morning, sophomore Marcus Witter is running toward his goals. Along with teammates Todd Tripple and Aaron Carrizales, Witter decided to step up his performance from last year by dedicating himself to early morning runs. “It helps - the whole committing to the team concept,” Witter said. “You get to bed early because you have to get up early to run. You know the guys who want to run by who shows up.” The Nebraska men’s cross coun try team is gelling as a unit heading into the heart of the season, Witter said. The growth of maturity by Witter, the feature runner for NU, has aided the growth of unity on the team. Witter’s race time has stayed about the same from last year, but this year he has been racing stronger. “Last year’s times are about the same as this year, but I’m not strug gling this year,” Witter said. Witter attributes the work sched ule that Head Coach Jay Dirksen gave him over the summer for his improve ment. “It’s been kind of hard for me - I don’t why,” Witter said. “I just didn’t get the job done. This summer, I did n’t really think about it, I just woke up and ran.” Dirksen can see the effect that Witter’s summer training has had on the Nebraska runner. “His consistency of training and his maturity level was not like any thing it is now,” Dirksen said. “He has really made a step up from last year.” This season, Witter has run well for the young Cornhuskers. The Woody Greeno Invitational, which was held in Lincoln, was the first race Witter ran this year. He was the first Husker to finish, placing fifth in 25 minutes, 34 seconds. With Witter’s strong run and a solid performance by his teammates, NU was able to secure a first-place tie with the Air Force Academy. The following weekend. Witter once again led the Huskers at the Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis. With a time of 25:11, Witter placed 27th. The Roy Griak Invitational was a good measuring stick for the team because it was loaded with the best Please see WITTER on 11 Stopping the run key for NU By Joshua Camenzind Staff writer Saturday’s 6 p.m. matchup between fourth-ranked Nebraska and Iowa State pits the No. 1 ranked rush ing attack in the country against one of the best defenses in the nation. Iowa State Coach Dan McCamey said that for his team to be successful, it would have to run the ball effective ly Nebraska players said that stop ping ISU’s Darren Davis will be the key. The Cyclones are rushing for 252 more yards per game than Nebraska is giving.up on average. Something has to give. . NU defense and rover Mike Brown want to make sure that Davis enjoys lit tle success. “This defense is always ready,” Brown said, “no matter who we are playing. “We just want to come in every game and establish that you are not Alexander going to be able to run on us. That is what we pride ourselves on - stopping the run. Brown said that the defense’s goal this Saturday is to stop the run and make the Cyclones one dimensional. The Huskers are No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference in pass efficien cy defense, while the Cyclones are dead last in passing offense. McCamey said that the Cyclones must establish the run to have success in Lincoln. Success is not something that ISU has seen much of when visiting Memorial Stadium. Iowa State has not won in Lincoln since 1977, and the last two meetings have produced a combined score of 150-28 in favor of NU. McCamey said that those two games were “complete misery.” But Iowa State is 3-1 this season, and the Cyclones are thinking upset. The matchup will be televised by the Fox Sports Network. “It is a great opportunity for this football team,” McCamey said. “It will be our third televised game and fourth night game.” Iowa State opened up the season with wins over Indiana State, Iowa and UNLV before losing by seven points to Kansas State. The KSU game is a sore subject to both McCarney and his players, as they led 28-7 at the half. “We have to stay focused and con centrate,” sophomore defensive end Kevin DeRonde said. “We have to come into the game with the mentality that the game is four quarters - not two.” Though Iowa State is coming off a loss, Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch is not overlooking the Cyclones. “You cannot take Iowa State lightly at all,” Crouch said. “They are going to be a great team, and they are going to be physical. “They have proven that they can stop teams rushing the ball and throw ing the ball. So we have to come out and play our best game.”' NU has shown signs in the last two games of being able to run the ball. Crouch said that he attributes that to running a crisper option. Nebraska rushed for 240 yards against Oklahoma State and also showed signs of mixing up the play caHing a little bit. Please see RUN on 11