2005-06 SEASONS IN REVIEW:Lions’ pride taking strides

Amidst Vanguard men’s athletic programs, the basketball team burst out and separated from the rest of the pack as a program with a strong present and future.

While staking that claim, the basketball team also put past shortcomings behind it. The Lions finished with three straight losing seasons heading into the 2005-06 campaign and had not been to the NAIA Division I Tournament since 1990.

Seniors Levi Seekins and Horace Wormley led the revival. Wormley was the Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.

Wormley, a 5-foot-6 point guard, averaged 14.9 points, 7.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds a game. He was the program’s first first-team All-American since 1980 and finished ranked No. 2 among NAIA Division I players in assists per game.

Seekins, a 6-6 forward, was named first-team All-GSAC. Seekins averaged 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game and received honorable mention in the All-American voting.

In what would be his final season as basketball coach, Bob Wilson, who is also the athletic director, made a key change of his own. On Jan. 5 the Lions had a record of 7-7, 0-2 in conference. Wilson changed the offense from a structured system to more of a read-and-react scheme, which gave players like Wormley and Seekins more opportunities to use their talents.

After the change, the Lions won eight of nine and posted a record of 13-5 the remainder of the season to total 20 wins. It was the program’s first 20-win season since 1996-97.

The Lions finished third in conference and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals, then earned an at-large berth in the NAIA Division I Championship.

The Lions faced the No. 9 seed in Georgetown of Kentucky and lost, 83-80, in overtime in Kansas City, Mo.

Associate Head Coach Fred Litzenberger stepped in to replace Wilson, who resigned after the season.

While the basketball team separated itself, the tennis team continued to show the ability to compete well into the postseason.

The Lions advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals for the second consecutive year and qualified for the national tournament for the fourth straight campaign.

A 5-0 loss to No. 2-seeded Auburn Montgomery, a five-time NAIA champion, ended the Lions’ season at 11-12.

In the school’s 11th NAIA appearance, Vanguard finished fifth in the 24-team tournament.

Individual honors flowed in with the continued stream of success.

Captain Dieter Weislmaier, who finished the season ranked No. 3 in the NAIA, was named first-team All-American for the second time.

Gregory Chevalier, who was ranked No. 25 at the end of the season, garnered first-team All-American honors, while senior Andreas Reckziegel was named second-team All-American.

Weislmaier, a junior, and Chevalier, a freshman, were also all-conference honorees.

Success with the cross country team fell more to the individuals than to the team as a whole.

Junior Humberto Rojas, out of Estancia High, and senior Matt Meyer were the only Vanguard runners to advance to the national championships.

The pair qualified by finishing in the top 10 at the Region II Championships.

Rojas was the GSAC champion.

At nationals, Rojas, who finished behind Meyer at the regional, posted his second-best time of the year (25 minutes, 11 seconds) to finish 26th and earn All-American honors, which go to the top 30 runners.

Meyer finished 63rd in a field of 260 runners with a time of 25:44.

As a team, the Lions finished ranked No. 18 in the country, but missed out on an at-large berth.

Both Rojas and Meyer earned All-GSAC and All-Region II honors.

Meyer finished sixth at the Region II meet.

Meyer was the school’s lone male athlete to advance to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. He qualified in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:50.16.

Meyer finished sixth in his heat to capture the 11th of 12 berths in the final.

He finished 11th in the final.

The Lions’ soccer team fell short of expectations after finishing tied for the GSAC championship in 2004, and qualified for the Region II Tournament for the first time since 2000.

In 2005, the team finished 9-7-2, 5-4-1 in conference and missed the playoffs while finishing sixth.

Vanguard focused on sustained success by naming men’s coach Randy Dodge the director of soccer. The move makes him head coach of both the men’s and women’s programs while also focusing on the development of both.

A four-year starter, Tommaso Bianchi was chosen in the fourth round (23rd overall) by the Sacramento Cougars in the seven-team Major Indoor Soccer League draft.

Senior midfielder Mark Babel earned honorable mention in All-American voting and was joined by senior forward Jimmy Grigas (a team-high eight goals) on the all-conference team. Babel was also named to the All-Region II team.

The baseball team missed the playoffs with a 22-22 record, but the Lions improved on last season’s 13-32 mark.

Further, several Lions garnered postseason honors.

Senior right-hander Clay Brown was named to the All-GSAC team after posting a 2.43 ERA in 89 innings. He had five complete games and 59 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .238 batting average.

Brown was also named the Region II pitcher of the week twice during the season.

Offensively, Isaac Salazar hit .341 to lead the team, while Randy Smith hit .336 and Erik Komatsu and Matt Voorhies both hit .329.

Komatsu had eight homers and 33 RBIs, and 24 of his 44 hits went for extra bases.

Voorhies had eight dingers and 27 RBIs, and 23 of his 50 hits were of the extra-base variety.

dpt-vumen24.IMGGraphicInfoI91T7R8F20060724I91T7R8FCaption: No Caption dpt-24-wormly-mcd-CPhotoInfoPG1T7QVS20060724itu6g4ncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Vanguard senior point guard Horace Wormely, left, became the program’s first first-team All-American since 1980. dpt-24-seekins-mcd-BPhotoInfoPG1T7R6020060724iuteqvncCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Levi Seekins starred for Lions. dpt-24-salcedo-mcd-BPhotoInfoPG1T7R5720060724io2kafknCredit: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Mariano Salcedo (21) helped VU post a winning record. dpt-24-komatsu-dl-BPhotoInfoPG1T7R3320060724iv0i93ncCredit: DON LEACH / DAIY PILOT Caption: (LA)Vanguard’s Erik Komatsu (14) is welcomed by teammates including Isaac Salazar (3) and Randy Smith (19) after hitting home run.