Page 14
The Behrend Beacon
Track team shows Division II who’s boss
by Scott Soltis
staff writer
The Lions’ track team traveled
down 1-79 to Slippery Rock
University this past weekend and
competed in a non-scored meet. The
Slippery Rock Invitational was an
excellent chance for the Lions to
display their skills against primarily
Division II opponents. The Lions
broke the constraints of being titled
Division 111 by performing very well
against the Division II schools.
Coach Dave Cooper was very
pleased with how the team fared
against the competition.
“We held our own in nearly all of
PHOTO BY MIKE BELLO / BEHREND BEACON
Freshman Donnie Hackworth goes up and over the bar during pole
vault practice at the Junker Center recently.
This week's 1
I
I mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
\David Ober: Excelling on the track fiel
j is par for the course for 'Crazy Dave'
■ by Kate Levdansky Petrikis
■ assistant sports editor
j Senior David Ober came to Penn
State Behrend to major in plastics
' engineering technology.
I “1 chose this major because 1 knew
I that it would be a challenge and 1
I have always wanted to pursue an
| engineering degree,” said Ober. Af
| ter graduation, he would like to get
I a job working in the Pittsburgh area
| at a plastics facility.
I However, Ober also participates
in track and field. Last season Ober
! won the team’s Most Valuable
Player award, and qualified for the
' ECAC championship in the 400-
I meter dash and the 4 x 400-meter
I relay with teammates Greg Cooper,
I Garrett Arndt, and Jay Davids. Ober
I took 12th in the 400, and his relay
| team took ninth overall at the event
| in Springfield, Mass.
I During this indoor season, Ober
| set school records in the 200 dash,
the 400, and the relay team. The
team has run three meets, and so far
i Ober has won every 400 race that
J he ran. The next meet is Feb. 23 at
' Mount Union.
I Ober did not start track and field
I until his senior year at Baldwin High
I School, but he competed all four
j years at Behrend. This year he runs
j the 200, 400, and is the anchor leg,
j or last leg, on the relay team with
I Keith Cerroni, Billy McKinney, and
| Mike Barlett.
I David’s brother Chris Ober is also
involved in track and field at Penn
State Behrend.
I “It is nice competing with him in
I college,” said David Ober. “He is a
I long jumper and triple jumper, so I
I do not get to run against him at all,
I but we have done sports together all
| of our lives. We both wrestled,
j played soccer, played baseball, and
now we are both doing track to
the events we entered including three
that we won."
Because the invitational was not a
scored meet, it gave individuals a
chance to shine while taking pride in
wearing the Penn State uniform.
There were many athletes who placed
and several set new school records.
At the pace the team is running this
year, no record is safe from week to
week.
Both the men’s and women’s 4 x
400-relay teams were strong, as usual.
The men finished in dramatic fashion,
a mere .01 of a second behind the
Slippery Rock team to capture second
place. Keith Cerroni, Billy
McKinney, Mike Barlett and Dave
senior athletic profile
Dave Ober didn’t start running track until his senior year in high
school. Now he anchors Behrend’s team.
gether.”
Ober’s biggest influence is his par
ents, who have helped him become
the player he is.
“They have supported me through
everything that I have done, and have
been there for me all the time,” he
said.
Ober said his coaches at Behrend
have taught him time management
skills, along with how to compete in
races with the will to win. Former
teammate Greg Cooper is his event
coach, and Ober also does some work
with assistant coach Garrett Arndt.
Dave Cooper is the head coach.
“It has been difficult managing time
between classes and practice, but in a
way it has helped me with school,”
SPOUTS
Friday, February 15, 2002
Ober ran a combined 3:34 to set a new
school record.
The women also captured second
in the relay, running an impressive
4:32.9. The team was comprised of
Marlena McNutt, Amanda Van
Tassel, Suzie Szafran, and Jen
Smialek.
The teams also fared well in the 55
events. In the dash, Lindsay Schulte
placed fourth with a time of 7.89. In
the 55 hurdles, two new school
records were set. Isiah Meek ran an
8.16 to take third. Heather Efaw ran
a 9.36 to set the women’s record, but
did not place due to some great
competition.
The duo of 400 runners on the
men’s team continues to impress
Cooper.
“Dave Ober remains undefeated in
the 400, breaking his record again.
Bill McKinney also broke the 400
record but finished behind Ober.”
Ober ran a 52.1 and McKinney
finished in 52.6.
The men and women set records
and placed in the 800. Jessica Knapp
and Szafran finished fifth and sixth
in the women’s race. Knapp ran a
2:35.9 and Szafran finished eight
tenths of a second behind her. In the
men’s event, Barlett broke his own
record by running a 2:02.8 to finish
fourth.
In the 200, Schulte took her second
place of the day. She finished in
second with a new school record of
28.04. The women’s 500 saw Brandi
Napenas finish fifth with a time of
23:47.8 as she took her first medal
place of the year.
In the endurance events, the teams
performed well. In the mile, both
Jessicas took places to set a new
school record. Jessica Sarver ran a
5:29 to win the event and Knapp ran
5:43.4 to finish fourth. For the men.
said Ober. “I have a set time that I
know when I need to get everything
done so I have time for practice and
classes.”
Practice is 4-6 p.m. everyday with
meets usually on Saturday.
“The meets usually last all day so
it is sometimes tough to get all of my
work done, but I have managed so
far,” said Ober. In his spare time, he
is usually in the computer lab work
ing on projects, or having a good time
with his buddies.
Ober said he prepares himself by
warming up about 45 minutes before
each race, and by having teammates
pump him up.
“I feel like I run better when I am
very pumped up,” said Ober.
Barlett set yet another record with his
4:47.8 mile and finished in sixth.
The longer events saw winners for
both teams as well. In the 3,000, Dan
Croft’s 10:04 was good for a sixth
place. In the 5,000 races, both the
men and women set new school
records. Kevin Ritzert ran a 16:33.3
to come in fifth. Andrea Sanko won
the women’s race with a time of
21:06.
The field aspect of the track and
field team was also successful at
Slippery Rock. Jay Davids came off
his impressive showing at Fredonia
with a high jump of 6-3 for second
and Russell Phillips jumped 6-1 for
third. Capturing a place in a third
event of the day was Schulte who
leaped 32-8 in the triple jump, good
for second. Josh Carmichael finished
in third with a triple jump of 41-1.
Cooper pointed out that there were
also several great pole vaults.
“We had three pole vaulters (Chad
Lindell, Steve Feder and Donnie
Hackworth) clear 13 feet but no place
earned,” said Cooper.
The team does not have a meet this
weekend, so it will continue to train
for improvement. One thing has
become crystal-clear about this young
season. Whenever the team goes to
a competition, no record is safe. The
team continues to demolish its own
bests and shows no signs of slowing
down.
The women’s athletes continue to
place in multiple events despite the
fatigue of running multiple races. On
the men’s side, the team is building
on a core of outstanding older athletes
and younger competitors who are
posting fast times. With all of the
great work ethics, competitive
natures, and talent that already exists
on both teams, Behrend track and
field has a very promising future.
His teammates know him by a dif
ferent name, though. They call him
Crazy Dave.
“I am not sure how that nickname
got started,” said Ober, "but it [was
said by] a few guys on the track team
my freshman year, and it has stuck
with me ever since.”
Ober believes the team will have
many ECAC qualifiers this season,
and possibly a few national qualifi
ers.
“We have some very strong run
ners, jumpers, and throwers this
year,” said Ober. “Last year we took
nine athletes to ECAC, and this year
I think we will be able to get at least
20 athletes. So far this indoor sea
son we have had many top three fin
ishers in many events, and with the
outdoor season still to come, many
of our athletes will improve greatly.”
The athletes have had to endure a
painful early season, but Ober
knows the team will continue to ex
cel through it all.
“The team is running very well so
far this season, even with the extent
of all of the injuries,” he said. “We
do not have an outdoor track to run
on and our indoor track is not suit
able to practice on because of the
size, surface, and usually only three
fourths of the track is opened to us.
We practice on parking lots here on
campus, which is never good for our
legs.
“The training room is usually
filled with the track team before and
after practice, so with all of these
injuries that our team has right now,
we are pushing through them and
still competing to the best of our
ability. My teammates these last
four years have been the greatest
people I have met at Behrend. They
are all a great group of people to
train with, and to have fun with.”
Racqueteers ready to rumble
by Mike Bello
sports editor
After losing only one starter from
last year, the men’s tennis team
knows its chances are as good as ever
for capturing an AMCC title. But
with six seniors - half the roster - on
the team this year, there’s no better
time than the present to bring home
the trophy.
Senior co-captains Brent Carlson
and Dave Cooper will lead the way
for the Lions. Seniors Sundeep
Bhatia, Jacob Cornwell, Steve
Broussard, and Atif Chaudry provide
the depth and experience the team
will rely upon early. Rounding out
the roster are juniors Doug Smith and
Sheel Galliara, and freshmen Drew
Ciccarelli, Jacob Hillman, Adam
Lanier, and Michael Oey.
The younger players are expected
to make an immediate impact for the
Lions, but like every sport, adjusting
to a new setting takes time. With
plenty of experience from the senior
class, the burden will not be placed
on the younger athletes.
“I am quite happy with the play of
the incoming freshmen,” said
Broussard. “They are all very strong
competitors and will prove to be a
great asset to the team. We have to
work on their mental game a little,
but that is what the senior experience
is for.”
The Lions begin their season
Saturday against Allegheny and
Mercyhurst at the Westwood
Racquet Club in Erie. The team will
play Baldwin-Wallace on Feb. 23
before preparing for a trip to sunny
Hilton Head, S.C. over spring break.
The Lions will look to shake the
winter rust from their game at Hilton
Head. The AMCC season starts a
week later.
“Hilton Head is going to be fun as
well as a learning experience,” said
Broussard. “We are going down there
to play a couple of teams that are
bigger than us. If we play well
Beacon: What is the funniest mo
ment you have while being the mas
cot?
Vallor: About a month ago, it was
mascot night at a basketball game,
and there were seven other mascots
plus myself. Unfortunately, three of
the people were unable to fit the cos
tumes for the night, and Pondo asked
three of my teammates from the
swim team to help. They were ex
cited to be part of it, but at half time
of one of the games, we had a 4-on
-4 basketball game with the mascots.
I was the only one to score, but it was
the best moment because I was the
only one [who] could see very well.
Max’s head (from Max and Erma’s)
fell off of one of my teammates, and
the stands just laughed as he ran af-
behrcolls @ aol.com
against those teams, it will raise our
confidence for when we come back
and play some of our difficult
conference matches (Penn State
Altoona and Frostburg).”
Behrend finished in third place last
year behind Altoona and Frostburg,
compiling a 5-8 overall record along
the way. This year the Lions score the
early advantage, as they play the first
eight games after Hilton Head at home.
They then play their last five games
and the AMCC tournament on the
road, but with an abundance of games
at home, Behrend can mature as a team
under familiar surroundings.
The Lions host local rival Edinboro
on April 3 and the Behrend Invitational
on April 6 and Frostburg/Lake Erie the
day after. The home matches will be
important to the Lions for another
reason. All five road matches are
against teams the Lions will have
played at home.
Assessing the team’s strengths and
weaknesses is not an easy task for the
players.
“It is hard to define the strengths and
weaknesses of this type of team,
because each individual’s strengths
and weaknesses are not the same,” said
Carlson. “Most of the members on our
team could use some strengthening of
a second serve.”
“We have more depth in the team
than years past,” said Broussard.
“Sometimes we struggled last year to
have enough people to play a match.
This year we not only have enough
people to play matches, [but] they are
all strong players that will win their
match if they come to play.”
With an early season home schedule
and an abundance of experience, the
Lions know the competition is in for
some surprises.
“We believe with the depth that we
have in the team this year that we can
go a long way into the postseason,”
said Broussard. “If we show up as a
team this year and we bring our ‘A’
game with us, there is no doubt in my
mind that we should win.”
ter his head. It was nice and very funny.
Beacon: Do you feel that this has
been a good experience? Why or why
not?
Vallor: Yes, it has been a very fun
and memorable experience. I don’t
think anyone else from Behrend can
really say they have done this during
college. It is a lot of fun. I get to meet
a lot of people, and I get to be myself.
But, now people will know who it
is...unfortunately. Up until this point,
it has been kind of a secret identity,
like “Who is in that damn suit.” It
seems like they know me, but [they]
don’t know who that person is in there.
Every week, the Beacon will
engage in a little “ask and re
spond” with someone who
doesn’t make the headlines.