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Tebr^ury 24, 2005
The Blue Banner
Page 5
Sports
^jTrack team captures three events at ASU meet
by Tracy Horne
Staff Reporter
The UNCA track and field team partici-
Ipated in three events at the Mountaineer
Ivalentine Indoor Track Meet at
■Appalachian State University on Feb. 11.
* “The main reason we took people to this
laeet was to get seed times for the Big
South Conference Meet,” said coach Dean
Duncan. “With certain times you get into
Ihe better heats.”
The standouts on the women’s side were
K istance runners Emily Mase and Elsa
ilstaedt, according to Duncan.
Mase won the mile
t n with a time of 5
inutes, 20 seconds.
Allstaedt captured
first place in the
3,000-meter race
with a time of 11:15.
Teammate Kimberly
Worland, distance,
:arae in second place
ivith a time of 5:33
and Michelle Ziegler,
listance, came in
13th with a time of
5:59.
“These were the two standout perform
ances,” said Duncan. “I was really happy
Ivith their results.”
With Mase being a freshman, this was a
lood time for her to step up and achieve a
■really good time, according to Duncan.
“My time will get me in the fast heat for
I he mile at the conference meet,” said
dase.
Allstaedt’s time also qualifies her for
I he fast heat at the conference meet,
iccording to Duncan.
Loring Watkins, distance, finished in
bird place with a time of 11:36.
The women also did well in the 800
with four runners finishing 13th place or
fetter.
Tiffany Carberry, long distance, fin
ished third in the 800 meters with a time
)f 2:25. Ingrid Allstaedt, distance, fin-
shed right behind in fourth with a time of
!:26. Rebecca Cashion, distance, finished
n 2:40 taking ninth place, and Elizabeth
Duncan, distance, came in 13th place with
a time of 2:46.
The women’s team also took first place
in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of
4:17.
“The distance runners are doing really
well this year and are expected to help out
a lot at the conference meet to get both
, individual awards and put up points for
the team,” said Duncan.
On the men’s side, seven Bulldog run
ners placed in the top 14 for their individ
ual events.
Troy Young, decathlon, captured fifth
place in the 55-meter dash with a time of
2:02, and Ivan Scott, with a time of 6:71,
finished just two places behind Young in
seventh.
In the 800, Jason
Jackson, middle dis
tance, finished in
fifth place with a
time of 2:02. Nick
Barrier, distance, fin
ished in sixth place
posting a time of
2:04, and Sam
Roberts, distance,
finished in 10th
place at 2:09.
Joel Quirk, dis
tance, finished 13th in the mile with a
time of 5:02.72, and Nick Christian, dis
tance, took 14th place with a time of
5:02.97.
“The men’s 4x400 team had another
chance to fine tune their skills before the
conference meet,” said Duncan.
The small meet was only a running com
petition. Most of the teams there wanted
to improve times, just as the Bulldogs
wanted better times, according to Duncan.
ASU hosted the meet in their Holmes
Convocation Center. Virginia Intermont,
Mars Hill, Lees-McRae and King College
competed in the meet, along with SoCon
members East Tennessee State, UNC-
Greensboro and Wofford.
“The meet was small but served its pur
pose,” said Mase. “It was sort of a last
chance for those to run fast before confer
ence.”
The Bulldogs start their outdoor season
with the 49er Classic in Charlotte on
March 18.
‘The distance runners
are doing really well
this year.”
Dean Duncan'
track andfield coach
I- ^ ’■* • » ■»..
i yy
■I-
CHARLOTTE CLAYPOOLE/ staff photographer/reporter
Senior Troy Young practices his long jump. The UNCA track and field team
starts their outdoor season at the 49er Classic in Charlotte on March 18.
‘Dogs drop two games in a row, first time since November
by Ben Walsh
Staff Reporter
I The women’s basketball team
(ost on the road to Liberty
University on Feb. 12 and
Radford University on Feb. 15.
The Bulldogs lost 74-62 to
lirst place Liberty in a hard-
jfought game, according to coach
netsy Blose.
“1 thought it was a great effort
I 'y our team,” said Blose. “I felt
ike we just didn’t sustain it at
he end and kind of ran out of
team.”
The Bulldogs sank six 3-point-
in the first half, keeping
Asheville close to Liberty.
An off-balance, 3-point sbot
l>y Kristal Hood, sophomore
pard, brought UNCA within
pne point (34-33) at halftime.
The second half started off
pomising, and Velinda
Auncannon, senior guard, tied
jhe game on a 3-pointer with
|16:31 left.
Liberty came back on a 10-2
run to lead 50-42 with 10:32 left.
The Bulldogs came as close as
six points before Liberty pulled
away lead by Katie Feenstra’s
play.
Feenstra scored 13 of Liberty’s
[final 16 points, finishing with a
pme-high 31 points.
Even though the team lost, it
■vas a well-played game, accord-
fng to Blose.
“I think it’s the best effort
Ye’ve had since I’ve been here
against them,” said Blose. “I
fhink we gained some confi-
tience.”
Katie Baldwin, junior ^uard,
recorded a career-high 15 points
m 15 minutes coming off the
f’unch. She also added six
rebounds.
Hood finished with a team-
^igh 20 points.
T think the first time around.
maybe we weren’t as mentally
focused in the game,” said
Lindsey Roche, senior guard.
In the first game against
Liberty, UNCA shot only 18 per
cent. This time the team shot 34
percent from the floor and 80
percent from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs also hit 47 per
cent of their 3-pointers.
The team played hard and
attacked the basket, according to
Blose.
“We just get killed in the
paint,” said Blose. “Their
rebounding, their dominance
inside'just wore us down.”
Feenstra, Liberty’s 6-foot-8
center, was a large part of the
problem in the paint, grabbing
19 rebounds in the game.
Liberty out-rebounded
Asheville 50-22 in the game.
The team is optimistic about
their chances after the game,
according to Blose.
“We walked out of there with
our heads high,” said Blose.
“We’re getting there.”
The Bulldogs then traveled to
Radford where they lost 79-69 in
overtime Feb. 15.
The game was close last time
and the team anticipated a tough
game, according to Blose.
The teams battled back and
forth throughout the game.
Radford built a 13-4 lead to
begin the game, but Asheville
came back on a 7-2 run making
the score 15-11 with 13:51 left.
Radford then increased their
lead to 25-17 before Asheville
went on another run.
The Bulldogs’ 12-1 run gave
them their first lead, 29-26, with
4:17 left in the half.
Hood’s layup to end the half
put the Bulldogs up 39-32.
The Bulldogs built a 57-43
lead in the second half on a 3-
pointer by Roche. Roche
matched a season-high 11 points
in the game.
Like in the first half, Radford
“You have got to
win your home
games and steal a
couple on the
road.”
Betsy Blose
women’s basketball coach
lyMMt
then came back on a run of their
own.
Midway through the second
half, Radford took the lead, 60-
57, with 6:40 to play on a 16-0
run.
“You have got to win your
home games and steal a couple
on the road,” said Blose.
Radford literally stole the
game away.
With the score tied, UNCA had
a chance to win with the last
shot of the game, but Taryn
Causey stole the ball from Hood,
and Radford missed the last shot
sending the game into overtime.
Radford began overtime hit
ting back-to-back 3-pointers to
set up a 8-0 run.
UNCA hit only one shot in the
overtime and Radford pulled
away.
Radford also hit six free
throws to secure the victory.
Hood played an outstanding
game, but she can’t do it all her
self, according to Blose.
Hood shot 10 of 18 from the
field and finished with 28
points.
She now has three 20-plus
point games in conference play
and five such games overall.
It was the first time Asheville
dropped back-to-back games
since losing the first four games
of the season.
tmii
OlFTHif " i
t
ir«
DUSTIN JORDAN/ staff photographer/reporter
Junior guard Katie Baldwin takes a shot for the Bulldogs.
UNCA plays next at Coastal Carolina on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.
The game moved Radford into
a three-way tie for third place in
the Big South Conference with
Asheville and Charleston
Southern.
It was a big game, like all the
games are at this point in the
season, according to Blose.
MLB needs
to clean up
its act
by Dustin Jordan
Staff Reporter/ Photographer
The Bulldogs could still finish
anywhere between second and
sixth place in the conference
depending on how the team
plays, according to Blose.
“We’re all fighting for that top
four seed (in the conference),”
said Blose. “It’ll be a battle.”
There is no room for substance
abuse in professional sports. Major
League Baseball has lost its edge
because of its reported accept;uice
of steroid users and substance
abusers.
With the surge of steroid accusa
tions, most notably through the
work of Jose Canseco’s book,
“Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant
‘Roids, Smash Hits & How
Baseball Got Big,” America’s pas
time is now nothing more than a
joke.
Some argue Canseco should
shut his mouth and not ruin the
reputations of MLB superstars.
■il'Jl.TITM
what should
have been done years ago.
Canseco and other players were
using illegal anabolic steroids 10
years ago. He reportedly told base
ball security chief Kevin Hallinan
his findings and nothing was ever
done, according to FBI special
agent Greg Stejskal.
Ten years and no action has
finally led to a new MLB steroid
testing program that will randomly
test players year-round. First time
offenders will be suspended for 10
days
But, is that enough? Baseball
needs to be cleaned up, and a 10-
day vacation is too weak.
Strip Barry Bonds of his accom
plishments. Erase the record
bcxrks. He is a fraud.
Not so fast. Consider this, cer
tain steroids and growth hormones
were not considered banned sub
stances in the league during the
‘80s and mid ‘90s. So, erasing past
records during the steroid hay day
is useless. Instead, these players’
records coinciding with their sub
stance abuse should be considered
when they are up for Hall of Fame
voting.
This list could easily include
Mark McGwire, Juan Gonzalez,
Rafael Palmeiro, and Ivan
Rodriguez - all of whom have
denied using steroids in the past.
But, since there is no way to check
if these guys were using illegal
substances, it is a battle of “he said,
he said,” according to Canseco.
So, why is it conceivable that
baseball pros would succumb to
steroid usage?
“Steroids can make an average
athlete a super athlete. It can make
a super athlete incredible. Just leg
endary,” said Canseco in his book.
In Canseco’s book, the 1988
MVP said, “I was hands down the
best player in the world,” he wrote.
“I had it all: The body, the person
ality, everything. I was
Hollywood.”
Some say Mr. Hollywood is
now low on funds and his accusa
tions could be a ploy to make a
quick buck. He reportedly owes
the state of Massachusetts
$32,783, and releasing a book
right before spring training could
prove to be quite lucrative.
But, what if his accusations are
bogus? Serious falsities will have
players defending themselves for
things they did not do.
And what if he isn’t lying? If
that’s the case, Canseco is not only
a strong hitter, but also a vengeful
writer reaping the benefits of oth
ers’ misfortunes.
Either way, the moral of the
story is this: If you did it, you don’t
deserve your awards. If you are
doing it, you might want to stop. If
you’re caught, I hope you are
made to be a disgrace to the sport
and a cheater in every sense of the
word.
So, professional baseball, it
looks like you have struck out with
fans yet again. Good luck with the
ensuing cover-up scandals. But, let
me m^e an injection, I mean,
interjection, try to conceal the nee
dles. I hear they’ve been sticking
around the league for at least
decade or so.