Azusa Pacific Drops Stars for NAIA Meet

Since the early 1980s, the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics men’s track and field championships have been a showcase for Azusa Pacific University.

Under Coach Terry Franson, the Cougars have won an unprecedented seven consecutive NAIA national outdoor titles--one of the longest streaks of any college in any sport.

But Azusa Pacific’s reign appears to be in jeopardy going into the 1990 NAIA national championships Thursday through Saturday at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Tex.

That’s because three of the school’s top performers are not expected to participate.

Sprinters Felix Sandy and Francis Dove-Edwin have been dropped from the team for missing classes and practices, and hurdler Ike Mbadugha has been suspended for similar reasons.

Sandy, a junior from Sierra Leone, finished second in the NAIA in the 400-meter run last year and ranked among the NAIA leaders in the 200 and 400 meters this season; Dove-Edwin, a sophomore from Sierra Leone, was listed among the national leaders in the 100 and 200 meters; and senior Mbadugha from Nigeria ranked among the top hurdlers in the NAIA.

They also competed for Azusa Pacific’s relay teams that had produced marks of 41.40 seconds in the 400 relay and 3:11.50 in the 1,600 relay.

Franson said the situation has been a distraction for his team as it prepares for the national meet, but he added he is certain he made the right decision.

All things considered, he says, the team is entering the national meet in the proper frame of mind.

“We realize that our backs will be against the wall, but we expect some of our other people to really perform well,” Franson said. “It will be a little more difficult. But psychologically we’re in good shape and we’re ready to compete.”

The coach said he is well aware of the impact that the three athletes would have had on the meet.

“I would say we would’ve been a dominant team going in before this happened,” Franson said. “We were capable of scoring 120 (points), but that’s in the past. Right now I’d say we’re right in the pack.”

He said there are about four teams, including the Cougars, with legitimate shots at the title. The others are Adams State of Colorado, Prairie View of Texas and Oklahoma Baptist.

“I think 80 points will win it,” Franson said. “Seventy points could win it, but 80 is just to be on the safe side.”

With the sprint corps depleted, much of the burden will fall on the team’s weight throwers and decathletes.

Azusa Pacific will be counting on a big effort from Ade Olukoju, a 6-foot-1, 255-pound senior from Nigeria and the NAIA leader in the shotput, discus and hammer throw. He has top marks of 63 feet 9 1/2 inches in the shot, 211-3 in the discus and 196-3 in the hammer and has won 12 NAIA indoor and outdoor titles.

Several other weight throwers who could score for the Cougars are Tommy Daniel and Brad Bowden in the hammer and Clint Gertenrich in the javelin. Azusa Pacific also has three strong contenders in the decathlon in Brian Chapman, Vaughn Mealey and Pat Shaughnessy.

In addition, the Cougars should score in the pole vault with Vince Beresford and Eric Whitcomb, and Eddie Carbin is one of the NAIA leaders in the 110-meter high hurdles and the long jump.

“I think we can still do (it),” Franson said. “We just don’t have as much margin for error. If we get a couple of good surprises and everyone else is steady I think we’ll be fine.”

Although he doesn’t expect the team’s success to last forever, Franson said he is thankful for what the program has already accomplished.

“I look back over it and it just boggles my mind,” he said. “I realize there will come a day that we don’t win a title. But regardless of what happens, we’re happy with what we’ve already accomplished over the years. We never envisioned that we’d win seven national titles in a row and, to be honest, I’m not afraid of the day we don’t win.”

Franson is simply hoping that day doesn’t arrive this week.

Two College Division baseball teams from the Southland have advanced to the NCAA championship tournaments in their respective levels.

Cal State Northridge has advanced to the eight-team Division II College World Series that starts Saturday at Paterson Field in Montgomery, Ala., and Cal State San Bernardino has reached the six-team Division III World Series that starts Friday at C.O. Brown Field in Battle Creek, Mich.

Northridge, competing in its final season in Division II before moving up to Division I, defeated UC Riverside, its California Collegiate Athletic Assn. rival, 2-0, Sunday for the Division II West Regional title. The Matadors, ranked No. 8 in the division with a 36-21 record, will meet either Lewis (47-12) of Illinois or Mankato State (35-8-1) of Minnesota in their tournament opener Sunday.

The double-elimination tournament also includes Jacksonville State of Alabama, Columbus College of Georgia, Central Missouri, Tampa, New Haven and Philadelphia Textile.

The Matadors advanced to the championship series behind Scott Sharts, who pitched a two-hit shutout and also hit his 26th home run in the victory over Riverside. Sharts has 66 RBIs and a 5-2 pitching record. Northridge is also led by Craig Clayton, who has a 12-6 pitching record and is batting .386 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs.

Northridge is making its seventh appearance in the Division II World Series. The Matadors won the title in their last appearance in 1984.

San Bernardino will make its first appearance in the Division III finals.

The Coyotes advanced by defeating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in three consecutive games last week. It was San Bernardino’s first appearance in the Division III playoffs in its four-year history.

San Bernardino, which has won nine in a row and has a 28-12 record, will face Eastern Connecticut State in its tournament opener Friday. In the other first-round games in the double-elimination tournament, Aurora of Illinois will meet Montclair State of New Jersey and North Carolina Wesleyan will play Wisconsin Oshkosh.

The Coyotes have been led offensively by first baseman Paul Gonzalez with a .371 batting average, second baseman Ryan Love at .347 and outfielder Jeff Brennan at .345 with five home runs and 44 RBIs. The top pitcher has been Jon Glasscock with a 5-2 record and 2.56 earned-run average.

College Division Notes

In addition to the Azusa Pacific men, several other Southland athletes are in good position for individual titles at the NAIA track meet. Sprinter Oliver Daniels of Biola has top qualifying times of 10.43 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.04 in the 200, and Latrese Johnson of Azusa Pacific is favored in the women’s high jump with a best of 6-2.

Two longtime Biola coaches have announced their retirements. Betty Norman, women’s basketball coach, and Charlie Sarver, the men’s baseball coach, are stepping down after 23 seasons. Norman’s record at Biola was 419-175. She was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Sarver posted a 374-528-6 record in 23 seasons with the Eagles. His team’s best finish was 28-14 in 1969. The Eagles were 13-29 this season.

Tim Worrell, a 6-4 senior pitcher from Biola, has signed a pro contract with the San Diego Padres. Worrell, whose brother Todd pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been assigned to San Diego’s Class A team in Charleston, S.C. As a senior this season, Worrell set Biola’s single-season record for strikeouts, 147.