The Scarlet 51 Black, November 11. l977—page 7

 

Pioneer harriers finish

By Tim DeCoster

Grinnell’s cross country team
ended its 1977 campaign on a high
note last Saturday, finishing
second in the Midwest Conference
meet. Powerful Carleton College
took the top position, as it has
every year since 1970, scoring a
remarkable 13 points. The
Pioneers' score of 93 points
comfortably shaded third-place
Lawrence‘s 111.

The five-mile race was won by
Carleton’s incomparable Dale
Kramer. who flew through the
course in an incredible 24:05. Last
year Kramer won the NCAA
Division III National race in ad-
dition to taking the Midwest
Conference title by more than 20
seconds. Grinnell’s top finisher
was Terry Drew, who crossed the
line in seventh place (26:17) to
earn All-Conference distinction

Joining Drew on the All-
Conference squad was fellow
freshman Dick Gilbert, who
finished 13th. Grinnell's other

Tim DeCoster Coach Ray

' Obermiller

point-men were Paul Reich (16th).
Bill Brown (25th) and Tim
DeCoster (32nd). Joe King (35th)

and Kevin Koy (40th) rounded out '

the Pioneer squad.

In View of Grinnell’s season-long
hopes or taking the t' e away from
Carleton, the Pioneers were un~
derstandably disappointed by their
loss. But in light of the Carls’
strong performance (placing all
seven runners in the top ten) and
Grinnell‘s move from a fifth place
finish in 1976, the outcome was far
from disappointing.

For coach Ray Obermiller’s
squad, therefore, the race was a
minor setback following a suc-
cessful season. The Pioneers
captured top team honors at in»
vitational meets hosted by Mon-
mouﬂl, Cornell, Central, and Coe, a
record unequaled in Grinnell cross
country history. The Scarlet and
Black finished the year with an
impressive 4373 overall record and
was undefeated in dual meets. 3‘

,, to

Dick Gilbert

Foes spike netwomen

Disappointment at

By Robert Meyer

Last Friday coach Tom Latimer
entered the Grinnell College
women’s volleyball team into
competition for the small school
state title. Unfortunat’ely, the
Pioneers failed to make it into
Saturday's semifinals.

The volleyball team, which had
compiled a 13-4 regular season
record, entered optimistically, In
order to make Saturday's semi»
finals it had to beat the majority
of the other teams randomly
arranged in its division.

Latimer believed Grinnell was
lucky to have U. of Dubuque, St.
Ambrose, Mt. Mercy and Coe in its
division. Grinnell had previously
beaten all of these teams in regular
season play

The girls, however, as Latimer
stated, ”were not mentally ready."
Latimer said, “We didn't fare very
well because we didn’t play up to
our potential."

After losing their first three
matches, the Pioneers left the state
tournament on a happy note by
defeating U. of Dubuque.

Latimer described this year's
volleyball team as the best in the
short four-year history of Grinnell
volleyball.

The major reasons for the
Pioneers having such a successful ‘
season revolve around the talents
of its three captains, Marnie
Curran, Ann Chasson and Kim
Brydon. Other varsity competitors
include Marian Strunk, Dana
Weaver, Kathy Sessler, Alison
Goodman and Susie Edmonds.

BIKE"
SHOP

are COMMERCIAL sTPEEr

state tourney

The JV squad this year compiled
a H record. Its. leaders were
Edmonds. Weaver, Maggie
Klingle, and Nani Anderson.
Speculating on next year‘s
squad, Latimer is unsure.This
year’s squad was missing seven of
last year’s members, yet it com
piled a better wcnrloss record
than the previous year’s team.
However, with the growth of the
. volleyball program and the return
of a majority of its players (no one
is graduating but some may opt for
ottrcampus study), the 1978
team could conceivably fare better
than this year’s squad.

l

Terry Drew

Bill Brown

Raquetwomen reviewed

By Amy Friedeli

The 1977 women’s tennis teams,
coached by Anna Mae Wack, ended
.its season undefeated in dual
meets. In addition to these meets,
some team members attended the
Central Invitational, the ACM
conference meet, and the State
meet.

At Central. Grinnell beat the
other seven competing teams and
took victory away from Central for
the first time in the Invitational‘s
history. Against tougher ope
position, Grinnell placed fifth in
the ACM conference meet held at
Knox College in Galesburg,
Illinois.

Although only two-thirds of the

F" I

m

Complete car service all
ll Foreign ll American cars

team’s eligible players attended
State, Grinnell did exceptionally
well, taking third place. Susan
Despain played in the number
three spot and won in her division.
Lu Anne Shearer played in the
number six spot and also won her
division. Mary l-lartnett played in
the number five position and won
the consolation round. Amy
Frieden played in the number four
position and contributed points
with her wins.

In doubles, Despain and Shearer
finished second in the number two
position. Frieden and Hartnett lost
in the semifinal round.

Exclusive
Custom
Made Pipe
Bending
Process

Muffler ,& Motor Cllnl

Fred Weaver, owner
52] West 51.

Foreign Car Specialist,
Wah Richardson

second in MWC meet

By Robert Meyer

Saturday's cool and moist
morning weather perfectly fitted
Grinnell’s hosting of the Midwest
Conference (MWC) cross country
finale. Colorfully dressed for this
running pageant, the nine teams
present competed against one
another for less than forty minutes.
Long before the last runner had
crossed the finish line everyone
knew mat Carleton had once again
won the conference title.

The Carleton harriers sped by
their opponents. undaunted by all
competition and perhaps gaining
national ranking. Carleton, whose
final score was 18, just barely
missed the perfect score of 15.

Nevertheless, Grinnell finished
second, 75 points behind Carleton
and ill points ahud of the third
place finisher.

Coach Ray Obermiller, who also
coaches the highly successful
swimming team at Grinnell, has
employed the talents of his many
new recruits to help furnish
Grinnell with a highly talented
cross country squad. Although
many expect Carleton to repeat its
performances of the last seven
years forever, Grinnell will look
toward next season with an-
ticipation as it graduates only one
of its top seven runners, Tim
DeCoster.

Discipline appers to be Oberr
miller’s key to success. The
Wednesday preceding Saturday’s
meet. Ober‘miller confined his
runners within the quarters of
Brown House (the house next to
Younker Hall) so that his runners
would be properly tuned and rested
for me upcoming race.

 

Dbermiller’s housing of his
athletes was disliked by many,
especially the runners women
friends. However, they all
acquiesced to Dbermiller’s dic-
tates because they believed, as did
the runners, that Grinne had an
extremely good possi ility of
winning the conference chamr
pionship.

No one should be disappointed
with Grinnell's second place finish
Beliefs that the Grinnell team
would win were based upon the
hope that Grinnell runners would
follow closely behind the path of
Carleton’s ace runner, Dale
Kramer.

These beliefs were utter
falsehoods. Carleton’s depth and
talent outdid every other team in
an almost humiliating fashion,
However, if the Pioneer runners
accept the fact that Carleton's
running squad outclasses every
small school in the midwest, then
tthey should be proud of their finish.

At present, no amount of luck,
discipline or vigorous training can
win an MWC cross country victory
over Carleton. Carleton's ap-
pearance at the ch meet may
annually thwart every other
team’s chances of winning the
conference championship.
However, the winning or losing of
the conference championship will
not remain the salient thought
among the Grinnell team mem
bers. Instead they will remember
this year’s surprising young
runners who brought Grinnell an
impressive 43-3 regular season
record.

Pioneers in playoffs
Gridders grind 226 yards on ground

By Chris Sodoma

Last Saturday, under poor
playing conditions, Grinnell
downed Carleton 2445, to clinch a
playoff birth against the U. of
Chicago.

After a lackluster first quarter,
the Pioneers got on the scoreboard
midway through the second period
on a oneyard plunge by Fred
McDDugal. Near the end of the first
half, Dave Morote connected on a
34-yard field goal to give the
Scarlet and Black a loo lead.

The Pioneers added another TD
early in the fourth quarter on a 19
yard TD pass from Don Petrich to

Kevin Dakes. Midway through the
fourth quarter, Grinnell iced the
contest when Petrich found Oakes
for a five-yard TD strike, giving
Grinnell a 24-0 lead,

The Carls finally got on the board
on an 87-yard TD Strike from Tim
lFranz to Chuck Pickett.

offensively, the Pioneers were
lead by “Fast Fred" McDougal,
who had 86 yards on the ground,
and the Petrich-Dakes com-
bination. The defense was inspired
by Charlie Gogel and Paul
Matccki, who both made many key
stops.

—Basketball update?

By Russ

Enthusiasm is running high as
the Pioneer cage team conducts
its second week of formal prac-
tices. Several promising
newcomers join a solid group of
returning lettermen to give
Grinnell its deepest squad in recent
years.

Fundamentals and defensive
intensity are being stressed by
coach Art Peterson, who notes that
this team will be bigger, stronger,
quicker, and potentially much

ck
greater consistency are keys to a
turnaround of the basketball
program. The coach and players
are unequivocal in expressing
hopes for a winning record.

The Pioneers will open their
season against North Central
(Illinois) College at the William
Penn Tip-Off Tournament on
Friday, November 25. The first
home game is with Simpson on
Tuesday. November 29. Season
tickets are free. Students desiring

 

better allraround than last season's
unit, Heightened confidence and

box seats are asked to bring their
own boxes.

Female harrier knocked down
Record-breaking pace muddled

By Tim DcCoster

At the women‘s regional cross
country meet in Ames last Friday,
Toni Heiman’s efforts to break the
school three-mile record and
qualify for the Austin, Texas
national meet were thwarted when
she was knocked down by one of
the 150 participants midway
throu h the race.

Heiman was far ahead of the
record pace and was in contention
as a national qualifier when she
was injured and forced to with
draw. On Saturday, November 19,
she will have another Shot at the.
record in an AAU meet in Iowa
City.

 

