1995_05 The Daily Collegian May 1995

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8—The Daily Collegian     Wednesday, May 3,1995
Bulldog men pull off win at
Cal/Nevada championships
Ken Koller/The Daily Collegian
Fresno State's Jason Taylor lets fly with a hammer toss during the Cal/Nevada championships
Sunday afternoon.    "
By Adam Brady
Staffwriter
In what was dubbed the West
Coast's premier collegiate track
meet, the Fresno State men came
out of a pack of 30 teams to prove
they were one of the West Coast's
premier teams.
The Bulldog men upset Cal.to
win the team tide at last weekend's
second annual Cal /Nevada Track
and Fielcl Championships at
RatdiffcrStadlUm. Fresno Slate
posted a total of 137 team points at
the two-day meet, but did not
have a victory sealed up until the
final two events on Sunday.
The Dogs were able to beat the
Golden Bears in the 4x400 relay
by less than assecond, finishing
third, and me rugh'jump which
lasted about arrnour after the rest
of the day's events were wrapped
up. In the end, Bulldog Moses
Kearney finished second with a
best leap of 7-01 /Z That sealed it
for Fresno State, who teat out
Cal's 127 points and third-place
Stanford's 93.
The Bulldog women took third
at the meet, as UCLA easily won
the title and Cal toe k second again.
Fresno State's win-in the cham¬
pionship was helped by a variety
ol sources, most notably from
sophomore Derrick MitchelL who
won the long jump with a clutch
leap of 25 feet, eight inches.
Mitchell's mark was a meet
record, which isnot too impres¬
sive considering the meet was
only a year old. Buf what was
impressive is the fact that
Mitchell's jump was almost a foot
better than his previous best and
is the fifth-longest in Fresno State
history ."Mitchell was also second
in his specialty, the triple jump,
with a top mark of 50-3.
In addition to Mitchell's feats,
the Bulldogs also had a solid
showing from Jason Dossey, who
won the discus (164-9) and took
second in the shot put (54-71 /2).
Fresno State's women also had
their share of stars at the meet
Senior AnnBurris continued what
has turned into an outstanding
season in the distance events.
Burris won the only final on a
rain-soaked Saturday filled with
preliminary events, taking first in
the 5,000 meters With a blazing
time of 1650.6. The mark is the,
second-fastest all time at Fresno
State, trailing only Renee Qrtiz'
16:26.4 in 1984. In addition, it was
a personal best, beating her old
best by 28 seconds, and it provi¬
sionally qualified her for the
NCAA Championship^
But the win was not enough
for Burris, as she also set a per¬
sonal record in the 3,000 meters,
where she was third. Her time of
953.71 moved her from nkvth to
Sports Information
Sophomore Derrick Mitchell soared to a career-best 25-8 to
win the long jump at the Cal/Nevada Track and Field
Championships.
third on the Fresno State all-time
list. This season, Burris has placed
herself among the school's alK
time top ten in four different
events.
Overall, the meet was a thrill¬
ing one in which 13 meet records •
were broken and 12 athletes es¬
tablished NCAA-provisional
qualifying marks. Humboldt
State's Juan Ball continued-her
dominance of the RafelitteSta/
dium track. Ball swept the 100
and 200* meters at the Fresno Re¬
lays a month ago and did it again
last weekend with times of 11.47
and 2357. v i',.
Also, UCLA's Amy Acuff
shewed why she is one of the
nation's best in the high jump,   *y».
tyingher career best with a jump
of 6-4 and just missing at 6-6 to .
become only the fifth American
female to clear that height   '
Long Beach State's Le'Gretta
Hinds cruised to a win in the 400
meters, clocking 57.7 seconds,
third-best in the country this year.
Parity plays grime part in NBA playoff picture
The balance of power in the
playoffs lies not in the East or the
West but within the balance it¬
self. It tilts in no particular direc¬
tion. There is no perfect team, no
title favorite, no dynasty-in-the-
making. Everyone sports a
pimple. Even MichaoJ Jordan, still
hopelessly unable to,fly the
rriemiry sides of the United Cen¬
ter.
The parity is such that no one is
assured of reaching the confer¬
ence finals. Therefore/ we give
reasons each playoff team can
travel far —and reasons it won't
San Antonio Spurs: Last sea-'
eaplaymaker
or a complementary scorer to
David Robinson. Now they have
Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott
But do they have Dennis Rod¬
man? After returning from his
motorcycle accident Rodman has
been surprisirigly meek around
the glass. The Spurs hope it's be¬
cause of his shoulder, which can
heal andnot because of his head,
which is liable to go in any direc¬
tion.
Orlando Magic: Shaquille
OTMeal is determined not to be
stopped by someone like Rik
Smits this time. A more mature
Fenny Hardaway is around to
lend support, ditto for Horace
Grant In fact, Orlando may have
the most formidable starting five
in the game. But have you seen its
free-throw shooting lately? Dur¬
ing one stretch this spring, Shaq
rrussed 50 of 80. That may haunt
the Magic, especially if teams start
playing Hack-A-Shaq in the
fourth quarter.
Phoer ux Suns: Charles Barkley
started playing playoff basketball
right around April Fool's Day He
shagged rebounds, hit jumpers
and brought the Suns back from a
spring collapse. Now the Suns
hope for the same from Kevin
Johnson; back in the starting
lineupWter serving time on Paul
Westphal's bench "I didn't nec¬
essarily agree with it" K.J, said of
the reserve role. "It was one of the
biggest challenges I've had to take
on." Now comes another.
Utah Jazz: Karl Malone, John
Stockton, Jeff Homacek. Utah
knows what to expect from them.
They'll show up. ihe Jazz will get
inside scoring and traffic re¬
bounds from Malone, deft pass¬
ing and poise from Stockton, and
3-point missiles from Homacek.
Now, what else from who else?
Seattle SuperSonics: Nine-
deep. The Sorties''playing rota¬
tion stretches to Tacoma. Now all
they have to do is find the shooter
amortg themselves.
Indiana Pacers: They're com¬
ing off the high of a 50-plus vic¬
tory season, the first in their NBA
history. They've taken comfort in
knowing that they beat the Magic
last season and came within 15
seconds of eliminating the New
York Knicks. They'd just like to
see larger numbers next to Reggie
Miller's name in the Vox score.
"You know I rum into a different
person once the playoffs come,"
said Miller, who averages 20
points yet is capable of producing
much more. *   ;
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