Kevin Fiorenzo & Amy Frizzell, sports editors On Deck Behrend Athletic Events Saturday Men’s golf @ Allegheny Invitational Baseball vs. La Roche 1 p.m. TV GAME Softball @ Mount Aloysius 1 p.m. Men’s and Women’s track and field @ lUP Invitational 9 a.m. Men’s & Women’s soccer Alumni Game @ Behrend Fields Sunday Softball @ Bethany 1 p.m. Men’s golf @ Allegheny Invitational TBD Tuesday Softball vs. Grove City 3 p.m. Baseball @ Oberlin 2 p.m. Thursday Women’s water polo Collegiate Championships @ Redlands TBD Friday Women’s water polo Collegiate Championships @ Redlands TBD Baseball @ AMCC Tournament TBD Softball @ AMCC Tournament TBD TBD 5 Reasons Why... Carmelo Anthony should have been NBA Rookie of the Year jnver jggets guard Carmelo Anthony is team . record and a playoff berth against the Minnesota Tlmberwolves, the NBA named Cleveland Cavaliers forward Leßron James, who will be staying home this spring, the Rookie of the Year. 1. The stats - Statistically, Carmelo was better than Leßron in points per game, rebounds per | game, field goal percentage, i free throw percentage, and J turnovers per game. These I are five major areas where I Anthony outperformed James, the winner of the Scott Soltis Rookie of the Year - With these figures alone it is ludicrous that James would get the nod. fill io Granted, they were all tight races (especially the points) but when people look back on who led in the categories there will not be an asterisk saying “Janies also performed well.” 2. The team - Granted James did great things with a historically horrible Cleveland franchise, but Den ver was no dynasty either. While Leßron led the Cavaliers from 17-65 in the 2002-2003 season to 35-47 in the current season, Melo turned the Nug gets from 17-65 to 43-39. Not only did he lead his team to a winning season, but also a playoff berth. 3. The conference - Not only did Anthony have better numbers and lead his team to the playoffs, but he accomplished all of this in the Western Con ference. Not only do his Nuggets play in the West ern Conference, but they play in the Midwest Divi- Track teams compete in Slippery Rock invitational by Justin Bootes staff writer With finals around the comer and the semester coming to an end, the track teams still compete in meets with a sense of perfection. It is still a bit early to hit their peak, however, with two meets left to perform their best on May 2 at Baldwin Wallace and at the ECACs in mid May. The women’s team created two new Behrend records in the Slippery Rock Invitational. With records being broken meet after meet it shows that the teams are building in strength. Jessica Knapp placed first in the 3000 m. Her time of 10 minutes, 48 seconds earned her a spot in the record book. Leslie Gentile ran the 5000 m in 20 minutes, 3 seconds. This time not only earned her the sec ond place spot in the event but also a new Behrend record. Jessica Sarver placed third in the mile with a time of 5 minutes, 30 seconds. With great run ning the women’s team earned several fourth, fifth and sixth- place finishes. McNutt, Nicole Mineweaser, Claire Manelick and Weinheimer competed in the 4x400 relay. Each mnner ran a 400 with the baton. Handing the baton to fellow teammates kept the race in a nonstop relay. With a time of 4 minutes, 32 sec onds the team placed fourth in the event. In the field events, Carinne Knight placed fifth with a jump of 4 feet 6 inches. She also placed sixth in the long jump with a jump of 14 feet 2.5 inches. In the half mile, 800 m, Manelick placed fifth with a time of two minutes 34 seconds. In the 55 meter McNutt placed fifth with a time of 12 sec onds. The women’s team competes in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational on May 2 and the ECAC in SPORTS Friday, April 23, 2004 sion of the Western Conference where six of eight teams made the playoffs, with the Jazz missing by only 1 game. Day in and day out Melo went up against quality teams such as the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Conversely, Leßron took on such powerhouses as the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls. With this type of schedule Leßron should have been a lock for more wins and better stats, but Melo edged him. 4. The hype - Leßron had a great deal of hype surrounding him as well as many expectations as the greatest basketball player to come out of high school. Carmelo also had a great deal of pressure put on him from the beginning of the season as to who would be have a better year. James was sup posed to be the next great player and Anthony was the underdog. 5. The background - Part of what makes Leßron James so popular is that he came straight out of high school. Part of what makes “King” James’ stats so impressive is that he is only 18 years old and had no college basketball experience. When ever these aspects are mentioned, Carmelo Anthony is practically penalized for the fact that he is an old man at age 19. Melo is also essentially criticized because he should have done better due to the fact that he did the right thing and went to college for a year. the middle of May. On the men’s side of competition, there were sev eral placed finishes. Floyd Mattie competed in the half mile and he placed second with a time of 2 minutes, 4 seconds. The 3000 m second-place finisher was Behrend’s Brad Ruffo with a time of 9 minutes 33 seconds. The 4x4 team placed second in the mile relay. Isiah Meek, Clayton Kirschner, Mattie and Mike Barlett worked together to earn a time of 3 min utes, 39 seconds. Barlett competed in the half mile. He ran the two-lap event in 2 minutes, 5 seconds, placing third. In the field events, Jon McKinney jumped the high jump at a height of 5 feet 6 inches. This jump earned a third-place spot. Greg Hackett also com peted in the high jump; with a height of 5 feet 4 inches he earned a fourth-place spot. Jordan Gray long-jumped into fourth-place with a jump of 21 feet. In the 55m high hurdles, Isiah Meek placed fourth with a time of 8 seconds. Jason Kuntz ran the 200 m in 36 seconds. This earned him a fourth place finish. He also ran the 55m in 6.9 seconds. Tim Schultheis placed fifth in both the 3000 m and the 5000 m. In the 3000 m with a time of 9 min utes, 42 seconds and in the 5000 m with a time of 16 minutes, 54 seconds. Craig Davis broke 4 minutes, 50 seconds with a time of 4 minutes, 49 seconds in the mile run. This time earned him sixth place. With the season in full swing and winding down to an end there should be nothing but improvements from both the men’s and women’s track teams. Keep an eye out for a strong finish to this year’s season. The track teams have 13 runners already qualified for the ECAC meet. “We are gearing up for top performances at Baldwin Wallace on May 2, then ECACs in mid May,” said head coach Dave Cooper. The Behrend Beacon Women's water polo team falls short at CWMs JPP'. three of its games this past weekend at the CWPA Western Championships. by Kevin Fiorenzo sports editor The women’s water polo team suffered a frus trating weekend as it dropped all three of its games at the CWPA Western Championship at the University of Michigan. In the team’s opening game on Saturday, the eight seeded Lady Lions took on the ninth seed, Salem Invitational. After three quarters, Behrend was down 6-5. While the Lady Lions seemed to be within strik ing distance, Salem scored three goals in the final quarter to the Behrend’s two, earning the 9-7 win. Scoring goals for Behrend were freshman Cara Ludwig with six and senior Sarah McGarvey with one. In the team’s second game, the Behrend squad took on Slippery Rock. The Lady Lions were unable to contain Slippery Rock’s scor ing frenzy, falling short 12-6 . Behrend’s leading scorers were freshmen Brittany Yost and McGarvey, with two apiece. Also scoring a goal each were freshman Alexis Puhala and Ludwig. Trying to avoid a last place finish in the tour nament, the Lady Lions played their closest game the next day against Grove City. After two quarters, Behrend had fallen be hind 5-2. With three goals in the third, though, the Lady Lions had narrowed the score to a 6- 5 margin. The Behrend squad would once again fall short, though, as each team scored one goal apiece and Grove City got the 7-6 victory. The loss ensured a last place finish in the event and dropped the team’s overall record to 4-22. Golf team tees off at Grove City Invitational by Kevin Fiorenzo sports editor The men’s golf team’s spring season is in full swing as it competed in the Grove City College Invitational on Monday at Grove City Country Club. The team struggled in the tournament, finish ing in fifth place out of six teams with a total score of 337. The individual overall winner of the event was Grove City’s Jeff Mohrman, who won with a score of 77. He finished tied with Thiel’s Lucas Munson, but won because of a scorecard playoff. Behrend’s low golfer was junior Anthony Pagliari with a score of 79. Pagliari shot a 40 on the front nine, 39 on the back. His score was al lowed him to tie for sixth place overall. Along with Pagliari, four other golfers com peted for the Lions. Behrend’s next lowest score came from fresh man Josh Loaney with a finish at 84. Freshman Aaron Becker shot an 86. Freshman Josh Hull shot an 88. Another freshman, Jeremy Smith, had a score of 96. Though it was a rough way to begin the team’s spring season, the event was a good starting point to pick up where the fall season left off. In the fall, the Lions had a string of solid re sults. At the ECAC Championships in October, Behrend finished in third out of five teams. The Lions will next compete in the Allegheny Invitational from April 24-25. Page