1998_05 Insight May 1998

              8
May ft 1998
InSports
Track stand-out looks to finish-line
for perfect race every step of way
by John Sanders
Staff Writer
The night before a race he loads up on
carbohydrates before getting to bed early because he knows that he must be rested to run
the •perfect" race.
Sometimes before a race he sits in his lane
and stares all the way down to the finish line.
E.J. Jackson sits there thinking about nothing
more than running the "perfect" race.
"I just sit there and concentrate on what I
need to do like getting out of the blocks and
keeping my technique." Jackson said.
His intensity is evident before his 100
meter race. Jackson climbs into his lane. He
enters the blocks. Sweat trickles down his face
from his intense warm-up. No sign of fear |
crosses Jackson's mind.
"I don't pay attention to anyone else in
my race." Jackson said. "I don't care who they
are or where they're from. It's all about me at
that point."
The enemy is not any one of the other
seven participants in the race. The enemy is
10.15 seconds.
This is the goal that Jackson set for himself at the beginning of the season. He wants
the school record held by Terry Bowen at
10.16.
In only his second year at Fresno State.
Jackson, 20. has already earned All-Ameri-
can honors in the 55 meters this year in Indianapolis. Ind. at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He finished sixth place in the finals at
Indianapolis with a time of 6.28. Jackson defeated arch-nemesis Syan Williams of Texas
Christian University, who had the No. 1 ranked
time in the nation on his way to the finals.
"I thought it was incredible going to nationals." Jackson said. "I had never been to a
big meet like that before with all those big
names. I felt like I was a little person and 1
had to prove something to everyone else and
let them know who E.J. was."
Jackson set a personal record in the 55
meters with 6.15 at the WAC Championships
earlier in the season.
"If I work hard enough and I prepare
myself properly. I feel that I can be in Sydney
[Australia) in 2000 for the Olympics," Jackson
said.
Currently Jackson is competing in the outdoor
season. The first few races he did not run outdoor
because he felt that his body was not prepared just
coming off the indoor season. But since then, Jackson has run three 100 meter races. He holds a personal best this season at a scorching 10.36, with
just a slight tail wind which caused the race to be
declared wind-aided. His first race of the season
at 100 meters, running into a strong wind, he finished first place in 10.66.
Coming out of Beyer High School in Modesto,
Jackson was not heavily recruited by many major
schools like the University of Southern California
or the University of California. Los Angeles. In
fact, the two main schools that recruited him were
Fresno State and Sacramento State.
"I wasn't really recruited by many people
because I didn't go out for track until my junior
year in high school." Jackson said.
In high school, Jackson missed the state meet
by one place his junior year. The following year
he finished sixth in the finals at the state meet.
Fresno Stale track coach Bob Fraley knows
that he found something special in Jackson.
"He was a tremendous surprise." Fraley said.
"1 love having him on my team. I think that he has
great character."
Jackson dedicated this season to his grandmother, Annie Jackson, who passed away earlier
this year.
"We were really close, and she always knew
that 1 could make something out of myself." Jackson said. "She was always proud of mc, and she
has been a big inspiration in my life. I dedicate all
the meets and all my races to her."
Jackson has also been an integral part of the
men's school record-breaking 4x100 relay team.
That team has a best time of 39.59.
When Jackson started running track at the age
of 11, he was mainly a long jumper. In fact, in the
fourth grade. Jackson was ranked first in the nation in the long jump. He jumped over 15 feet, but
because of an ankle injury in football he no longer
long jumps.
He also runs the 200 meters. Jackson has a
personal best time in the 200 meters of 21.30. This
photo by Sports Information
E.J. Jackson has his eyes set on Sydney,
Australia, for the next summer Olympics.
season Jackson has not run that many 200 meter
races because, according to Jackson, the indoor
season didn't really give him the endurance for
the 200 meters.
Jackson's father was a track and field athlete himself. E.J. said he wants to do the thingsr
in track that his father couldn't.
"He never got a chance to get that far in
track because he had to start his life early and
stan working." Jackson said. "I think he sees
me as following in his footsteps. He always
pushes me to be the best.
Following his brief stint at Fresno State,
Jackson hopes to continue his track career.
"Between the Olympics and now I want
to run a 9.90." Jackson said. "This year I think
I can be in the top three or even number one at
the outdoor championships. I want my name
to be recognized in the same category as
Michael Johnson and Carl Lewis."
SportsTalk
Who is the best?
There has been much debate over who is the
best baseball player of all time. Roberto
Clemente and Willie Mays are among the finest that the game has ever produced.
Many have argued oyer who is
the best baseball player of all-time.
After considerable thought, I had to
go with the great Puerto Rican Legend Roberto Clemente.
Clemente. who lived his life by
action once said. "Any time you
have the opportunity to accomplish
something, and you don't, you are
wasting your time on this earth."
This type of statement was exactly
how Clemente lived his life, on and
off the playing field. He broke into
the Major Leagues in 1955 with the
Pirates and stayed with the team for
the duration of his 18-ycar career.
From 1955 to 1972, this franchise player hit a remarkable .317
and collected 3.000 hits, placing
him in the Pirates' Top Ten in virtually every offensive and defensive
category. In the I960 World Series,
he hit safely in all seven games,
only to lose the hard fought series
and be overshadowed by the great
Mickey Mantle.
Clemente's second chance at a
World Series came 11 years later
facing the World Champion Baltimore Orioles. In this series.
Clemente played like a man possessed, fielding superbly, unleashing his rifle arm. hitting .414 with
two doubles, a triple and two home-
runs when they counted. After the
dust settled, it was Clemente who
was left standing at center stage as
the series Most Valuable Player for
his achievements.
On Dec. 31 1972. the all-star
outfielder was killed in a plane
crash as he attempted to deliver aid
to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.
Today. Clemente is an international
hero and the highest award in baseball for sportsmanship and community activism bears his name. Last
year's winner of this prestigious
award was Ken Griffey Jr.
-"Kit* #. Stone
When the question is asked
who is the greatest baseball player
of all time, many great names
come to mind. Legends such as
Hank Aaron. Babe Ruth. Ted Williams. Mickey Mantle or even TV
Cobb are usually mentioned.
Even today's players could be
mentioned like Ken Griffey, Jr.,
Tony Gwynn or Barry Bonds.
But who is the greatest?
There is no question in my
mind that Willie Mays is the
greatest baseball player of all
time.
Mays hit a total of 660 home
runs and he had a lifetime batting
average of .302, including 3,283
hits. Mays won 11 Gold Gloves
in centerfield, he led the league
in stolen bases four times and he
played in 24 All-Star games.
If that's not the best. I don't
know what is.
But as evident Mays was
more than just a home run hitter.
What made him the greatest was
his ability to make over the shoulder catches or to throw out a runner trying to score from third base
or his ability to steal 40 bases a
year. That's what set Mays apart
from all the other players.
The one thing that is most intriguing to me is that Mays spent
two years in the army, which was
right in the prime of his career.
Before and after the army he was
averaging at least 40 home runs a
season. I feel that if Mays would
not have spent those two years in
the army then it would be Mays
on the top of the home run list,
not Hank Aaron with 755 home
runs.
It's obvious that Mays is the
best of all time. There are a handful of players that are in the same
category, but Mays is one step
above all of them. Sorry Griffey,
your time will come.
-fkA« "S. S*Hdc*4,
Redshirts find it hard sitting out
watching teammates compete
Athletes' mentality
remains the same
whether they
participate or not,
which leads to
frustration for most.
by Natalie Driggers
Staff Writer
No one likes to have something
that they like to do taken away from
them. Especially athletes that have
to redshirt. Watching someone else
take your place on the field or on the
court seems to be the hardest thing
an athlete may have to do.
The NCAA gives an athlete five
years of eligibility, and said that athletes can sit out of competition for
one of those years, which is called a
redshirt year. Redshirts can work out
with the team and be involved in all
team functions, but, they can't suit
up for the games. As far as traveling
with the team to away games, that is
the university's decision.
Amber Jacobsen will be a senior
on the field for the upcoming 1998
season for the Fresno State women's
soccer team. There's only one catch
to this. The 1997 season should have
been Jacobsen's senior year, but she
had to redshirt.
"It was hard, extremely hard,"
Jacobsen said. "I had worked up to
being a full-time starter and had finally found my niche."
Jacobsen was in a car accident
anrj%ijured joints in her lower back
as well as her cervical vertebrae. She
shouldn't be training to get in shape
for this fall.
'The worst thing was depression," Jacobsen said. "Nothing
seemed to be working to get me better, I never seemed to feel better."
Laura Paukert, who will be a junior on the Fresno State women's basketball team for the upcoming 1998-
1999 season, said that it was difficult
for her too.
"I felt really prepared for the season. I had a lot of goals." Paukert said.
"Then I got sick and that was a huge
disappointment."
Paukert got a severe case of
mononucleosis and had to redshirt
her sophomore (1996-1997) season.
Medical redshirts. as in
Jacobsen's and Paukert's case, can
work out with the team as soon as
they are cleared to do so by their doctor. When they are cleared, medical
redshirts can begin their rehabilitation and work out as often as they like
to shorten their road to recovery.
There are also other athletes who
redshirt. but ndtfor medical reasons.
Sometimes, a player and a coach sit
down and decided that it would be to
the player's benefit not to compete
in a season. They realize the best
thing to do would be to train and work
on aspects of their game.
This was the case for one Fresno
State women's tennis player in the
1996-1997 season.
"We felt that her best tennis was
ahead of her," said coach Irene Harris. "It has worked out very well for
her."
Women's tennis doesn't redshirt
players very often. But that's not the
case for wrestling.
"I normally redshirt freshmen,"
said Fresno State wrestling coach >
Dennis DeLiddo. "If I can redshirt,
them, 1 redshirt them."
As far as training, both Harris
and DeLiddo require the same thing
of their redshirts as they do of their
competing athletes.
Men's tennis is another sport that
sometimes redshirts players.
"A freshman that wouldn't make
the top six in his freshman year, we'd
redshirt," said coach Michael
Hegarty. "Hopefully then, in his fifth
year, he'd get some of those matches
back."
Volleyball is also a program that
doesn't redshirt players often.
"If a player does redshirt, it's
because they need another year to
develop or because they're hurt." said
coach Lindy Vivas. "We don't
redshirt as much as other sports because we have such small squad numbers."
Fresno State men's track and
field coach Red Estes said that they
have 12 men redshirting by mandate
of Title LX, which requires that there
be a proportionate amount of male
and female athletes competing for the
school at the varsity level.
There are also athletes who have
to sit out a season because of academic reasons, but they don't get to
use it as their redshirt season.
Athletes who are "Prop. 48"
didn't meet the qualifications needed
to play their freshman year of college.
Because they are sitting out for academic reasons, they lose one year of
eligibility. They can, however, apply
to the NCAA to get back that year if
they are on track to graduate in four
years.
It doesn't matter why an athlete
redshirts. they still feel heartache and
disappointment because they have to
sit out a year. Not being able to compete in a season is a difficult thing to
deal with, especially when you are
an athlete that is used to contributing
a great deal to your team's success.
"1 redshirtcd. it sucked, and I'm
glad I'm back." said a former redshirt
athlete who requested anonymity.
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