1987_05 The Daily Collegian May 1987

              ! Thursday, May 7,1987 5
Page 7
OSTROM
Continued from page 6 *
UCLA, UC-Berkeley. Oregon. Cornell and
Fresno State.
Ostrom signed a letter of intent to attend
UC-Berkeley. but he failed to meet the 3.8
GPA standard of the university's school of
engineering. Instead of trying another four-year
school, Ostrom chose to attend Diablo Valley
Junior CoIlegeT^
Ostrom's JC best (212) failed to eclipse his
high school zenith and as a result, his stock
went down among universities. Still, one
school as Ostrom puts it, "was always still
interested." This school, of course, was Fresno
State.
A^f About a half dozen years earlier, Ostrom
bacfmet the father of an opponent at a summer
meet and this person kept in touch with him
throughout his high school and junior college
years. This person was FSU coach Red Estes.
'I'd see him at all the meets and he'd send
me postcards from the national championships
and things like that so I had always been aware
of Fresno State's program."
When Ostrom first joined the Bulldog
squad, the coaches were hoping that he could
score points in the javelin. These hopes were
not at all far-fetched—Ostrom fired a 202-7 at
the PCAA meet and became the first FSU
athlete to win the conference title in that
particular event.
What nobody counted on was Ostrom's
throwing the hammer 205-11 and qualifying
• for the NCAA Outdoor Championships — it
was an improvement of some 55 feet over his
JC best He credits this amazing extension of
his personal record to training regimen
("working with the hammer, drilling, being
repetitive and getting familiar with it).
At the same PCAA meet that saw him
capture a javelin championship, Ostrom took
second in the hammer with a 196-5. A month
later in the NCAAs. he finished a
disappointing 19th.
 Jl felt likej' had things under control and
felt hfce-4-wasn't nervous until it was time to
throw. I threw three warmp-up throws into the
cage. Now, I feel I can use that experience of
the big-meet situation, draw from it and learn
from my mistakes."
In January, Ostrom proved his versatility
by winning the Fresno State Weight
Pentathlon. To do so, he had to outscore ex-
FSU great and current New York Athletic
Club standout Matt Mileham. Two,months
later, Ostrom's prowess with the 35-pound
weight gained him fifth place in the NCAA
Indoor Championships.
Ostrom has yet to equal any of his personal
bests this season, but he is still one of FSU's
most consistent scorers. In dual meets, he
usually competes in the hammer, the javelin
and either the shot put or the discus. In the
PCAA Championships this weekend in Irvine,
he will be entered in all four.
"I'd just like to go and compete well in all
of the events," he said, Tn the shot and discus,
I'm not counted on to score, but there's always
that chance. You can't base everything on past
performances. It all comes down to the meet."
Unlike a few standout teammates, Ostrom
does not intend to stay in track and field for
very much longer, opting to get out of school
and get into construction management
"I'll probably compete two more years." he
said, "Unless you're world class, it isn't.the
profession to stay with it Coming out of
college, it's tough to get by "
Chances are, however, that the Bulldogs
will get by in the PCAA meet this weekend
and chances are that a scholar-athlete named
Mike Ostrom will play a major role.
'Tve matured in my attitude to compete in
big meets and in competitive situations," he
* said, "I just want to go out there and compete
well — or try to."
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Continued from page 6
" Whatevers" can receive the outstanding
support Fresno State has enjoyed in a variety
of sports, there is absolutely no doubt a pro
team can make it Highly publicizing this
new team, offering many different and fun
promotional nights, and making pro
basketball a fun thing to attend is important
The new owners of rhe Fresno franchise are
holding a contest for the public. The object is
to come up with a nickname for the new
team. If your selected name is chosen, you
win season tickets for the rest of your life (or
until the team busts — which ever comes
first).
I decided to come up with what I believe is
a list of logical nicknames for the franchise
and here they are:
— Red, Wave. Why not? It might be a
good way of giving FSU's loyal supporters
some national recognition. And also,
hopefully, Red Wavers would be overjoyed by
the selection of this name and feel honored to
root for the latest team to join the San
Joaquin Valley.
— The Wave. If using Red Wave is too (
. much of a copy-cat of the hardcore Bulldog
fans' established name, well then delete the
"Red" and viola. You got yourself a dandy of a
nickname. However, if fans get the wrong idea
and do the "human wave" the entire game.
This name immediatly gets tossed in the
trash.
— Grapemen. A take-off of the
Orangemen from Syracuse except insert grape
for orange. And with Fresno being so
acclaimed for it's agricultural success, using
grapes in some way is quite understandable.
The team could steal away the "grape-" from
the fruit of the loom commercial to be the
mascot
— Ags or Aggies. A little dumb. Little
corny. Again, though, what comes to mind
when you think of Fresno (besides KEVIN
SWEENEY). If, though, Ags was chosen
some smart alec might get the cute idea of
putting an "P in front of the name.
— The Fever. Why the fever you ask?
Just spend a summer month in fabulous warm
Fresno and after the first drops on perspiration
roll .down your forehead, youll know why this
name is fitting.
—The Jets, I know a day doesn't go by
that I don't hear a plane go by (I know jets
don't land in Fresno, but "the airplanes"
sounds awful). Hey, if the name catches on,
maybe they'll be called FAT (Fresno Air
Terminal for short).
— The Stench. Tasteless? Yes.
Unattractive? Yes. A good name for a
basketball team? No. But just drive by parts
of Fresno with your window down and you
will grow to appreciate this name — even if
you don't appreciate the smell.
-; — Tb/ Raisins. I personally feel this is
a dumb nickname and shows no orginaUty, but
think of the gimmicks it would produce. Free
raisins to the first 5,000. If that doesn't work
give them free boxes of Raisin Bran. And the
theme song could be "Heard it through the
Grapevine", with a quartet of dressed up raisins
leading the chant
And just think, Tm saving my better ones
for the contest itself. All you people out there
cleverly thinking you can steal one of these
ideas — go ahead pick one of my names. But
if I see "GRAPEMEN". "FEVER".
"STENCH" or "RAISINS" on Fresno's attire,
I expect at least a dinner of my choice.
Like the league requires players to be under
6-foot-4, Td require the person lb be under 6-
foot-4, have a dark complexion, blonde hair,
blue eyes and most importantly be a female.
California State University, Fresno
UNIVERSITY LECTURE SERIES
presents
TERREL BELL
Excellence in Education      <■
As U.S. Secretary of Education from
1981-84, Terrel Bell made education a
priority national concern. His report,
"A Nation at Risk," awakened the
country to declining standards of
educational achievement. Dr. Bell
recently served as chair of the National
Commission of the Role and Future of
State Colleges and Universities.
Currently a Professor of Education at
the University of Utah, he is the
recipient of 11 honorary doctorates and
the author of six books. Co-sponsored
by the School of Education and Human
Development. TICKETS AVAILABLE
AT THE COLLEGE UNION
INFORMATION DESK.
FOR ADVANCE' TICKET INFORMATION
CALL 294 « 2078
Thursday, May 7^987
at 8pm
Satellite College Union
General Admission $3
Students, Faculty, Staff $2
>
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