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USTCA revamps
competition for
Tar Heel meet
■ Unlike other track
meets, the Regional Cup
will keep team scores.
BYT. NOLAN HAYES
STAFF WRITER
Americans want action, and they
don’t want to wait for it.
The United State'. Track toaches
Association realized this fact and devel
oped anew way to promote collegiate
track and field throughout the nation.
In order to fit an entire meet into just
three hours, the USTCA made several
changes. Men’s and women’s field
events will take
place simultane
ously, and athletes
will take four
attempts instead
of the customary
six tries.
In addition, all
events are finals,
and only three
athletes from each
team are permit
ted to compete in
a given event.
The USTCA
will put its new
product on display
Saturday in the
Regional Cup at
■ ■ -
UNC sprinter
MILTON CAMPBELL
finished second in the
200 meters and
fourth in the 400 at
the NCAA Indoor
Championships.
North Carolina as Georgetown, N.C.
State, Penn State and St. Augustine’s
visit the Tar Heels. As part of the 20-
meet U.S. Collegiate Track & Field
Series, the competition at Belk Track
and Fetzer Field will start at 1 p.m. and
conclude by 4. Admission is free.
The meet will be televised on espn2
and will air Monday at 12:30 a.m. on
delay.
“We’re trying to show people that
they can enjoy a good track meet in
three hours just like a baseball game or
a basketball game," UNC coach Dennis
Craddock said. “Track meets don’t
always have to be a 10-hour marathon.”
There is another fundamental differ
ence between Saturday’s action and
standard regular-season meets score
will be kept. The top-10 finishers in
each event will earn points based on a
sliding scale that gives 12 points for a
first-place finish and one point for a
lOth-place finish. Only two competitors
from a team may score in a single eveiSt/'
“I’m one of the coaches who’s been
pushing hard for scored meets and com
plete teams," Craddock said.
“So many college teams just have all
distance runners or all sprinters not a
complete team. I believe track and field
is supposed to be a complete team sport,
so I’m happy to see every event scored.”
UNC’s teams will look to show the
home crowd and national TV audience
just how complete they are. Several of
the most talented Tar Heels will make
their season home debuts in the meet.
Among those is senior Milton
Campbell, one of the nation’s fastest
men. Campbell finished second in the
200-meter dash and fourth in the 400 at
this year’s NCAA Indoor
Championships. He holds the collegiate
record in the indoor 200.
He suffered a sprained ankle early
last week and missed the Texas Relays
but expects to compete Saturday in both
the 200 and 400.
“I won’t be 100 percent, but I’ll be 80
to 85 percent, which is good enough
right now,” Campbell said. “I still
expect to run fast and qualify for
NCAAs.”
Campbell will be challenged by St.
Augustine’s Jerome Young, who
clocked 44.50 seconds in the 400 at last
year’s World Championships. N.C.
State senior Alvis Whitted, who owns
school records in the 100,200 and 400,
is also expected to compete.
UNC senior Eric Bishop, a two-time
national champion, is the meet’s big
name performer in the high jump.
On the women’s side, seniors
LaTasha Colander and Monique
Hennagan lead UNC in the track
events. Hennagan, returning to compe
tition after a bout with mononucleosis,
is one of the nation’s top runners in the
400 and 800. Colander has won three
consecutive ACC Most Valuable
Performer awards while specializing in
hurdles.
The record-setting jump trio of
LaShonda Christopher, DeAnne Davis
and Nicole Gamble should produce
high point totals for the Tar Heels in the
field events.
Both Georgetown and N.C. State fig
ure to challenge the Tar Heels. NCSU’s
men won the ACC outdoor title in
1996, and its women have a strong dis
tance core. The Hoyas finished fourth in
the NCAA women’s indoor meet this
year. The men rank top-20 annually.
Although the Regional Cup boasts
many great athletes, it is not strictly a
track meet. The East Coast Bicycle
Stunt Team will perform ramp jumps,
and door prizes will be awarded
throughout the day.
UNC Olympians Allen Johnson and
Tisha Waller will be available 30 min
utes prior to the meet for autographs.
“It’s going to be very interesting,”
Campbell said. "I’m anxious to see this
happen, and I really hope it works.”
Wake Forest’s Odom mentioned for Texas coaching job
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN, Texas The search for a
basketball coach at the University of
Texas may be expanded, a high-ranking
university source said Wednesday.
The search, which has included
Utah’s Rick Majerus, Oklahoma’s
Kelvin Sampson and then centered on
Washington coach Bob Bender, could be
expanded to include Wake Forest’s Dave
Odom, said the source, who spoke to
The Associated Press on the condition
of anonymity.
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On Tuesday, members of the Texas
screening committee had focused their
attention on Bender.
Longhorns athletic director DeLoss
Dodds had indicated he wanted to hire
someone by Wednesday, if possible,
because it marked the first day of the
national signing period for high school
recruits.
But a group of UT officials on
Wednesday pushed for an interview
with Odom, who has been at Wake
Forest for nine years and took the
SPORTS
Demon Deacons to seven consecutive
NCAA tournaments before narrowly
failing to make the tournament this year,
the source said.
Odom is a proven coach of big men,
having been credited with developing
former star center Tim Duncan, now
with the San AnVmio Spurs. The
Longhorns’ offen'c figures to form
around 7-foot center Chris Mihm over
the next few seasons.
UT officials, however, were unclear if
Odom would agree to meet with them.
Odom has expressed that he’s happy at
Wake Forest idler signing anew contract
two years ago. He is a native of North
Carolina and also has two sons who
coach in the area at East Carolina
and at Furman.
Odom’s secretary said the coach was
out of the office Wednesday, Wake
Forest athletic director Ron Wellman
also was out of the office and didn’t
return a message left by the AP.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Bender held a
news conference to say that he hadn’t
Thursday, April 9, 1998
been offered the job at Texas and didn’t
know that he would take it if offered.
“I would hope this is decided as
quickly as possible," Bender said. “But
I don’t think this is something that’s
going to happen in 24 hours. They’re
going to need some time.
“They have not offered me anything
and I don’t know what my final decision
would be," he said. “Texas is a place
where you can win a national champi
onship and Washington is a place where
you can win a national championship.”
9