Emperor Tom Seeks 100th Straight Conquest

The word dynasty is often used pretty loosely, but that seems to be the only way to describe what Tom McMurray has built at Glendale College.

The Glendale men’s track and field team will chase its 100th consecutive dual-meet victory Saturday afternoon when it plays host to Valley College.

The Vacqueros’ winning streak stretches over 12 years--making it the longest streak in the nation among junior colleges. San Jose City College has 118 consecutive wins, but has accomplished them over 11 years.

McMurray attributes his success to a number of factors.

“We get good student athletes,” he said. “They are people who have goals and stay with the program. We have a small school, so they don’t get lost in the shuffle. We have time to work with them. Also, our staff has been together for a number of years. It’s not a revolving door.”

Dave Appleton, McMurray’s coach for jumping events, is one staffer who entered the 7,500-student school through a one-way door. He’s been with the team for nine years. McMurray’s coach for weight events, Dave Rider, has been there four years.

And, of course, there are the athletes.

Alonzo McGee, Joe Richardson, Antonio Dobbins, Jantz Fitzgerald and Ron Gaskill are among Glendale’s best this season.

McGee, the team’s top sprinter, has top marks of 10.4 in the 100 meters, 21.2 in the 200 and 47.4 in the 400.

Richardson, from Pasadena High, set a national prep record of 53-6 in the triple jump, earning a state championship in the process. He was state champion in the long jump with a best of 26-2.

Richardson, who has run in relays this season, has not yet competed in jumping events for Glendale after touring briefly on the indoor track circuit. McMurray figured he needed a rest. Richardson will make his debut in the triple jump and the long jump against Valley.

Dobbins, from Burroughs High in Ridgecrest, was a two-time prep state champion in the discus. His best of 168-0 this season is the top mark among junior college athletes in the state. He was fourth in the state for Glendale last year.

Fitzgerald, a sophomore from Burroughs High in Burbank, is also among the state JC leaders with a best of 51-6.

Gaskill holds the Glendale record in the 110-meter high hurdles with a mark of 14.4.

Glendale also has three outstanding high jumpers in Ron Lee, Brian Patchett and Mike Anderson.

Lee has a top mark of 6-11, while Patchett and Anderson both have bests of 6-10 3/4.

Who said it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game?

Pierce College won the consolation championship of the Southern California Collegiate Hockey Assn. tournament last weekend at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank--much to the displeasure of coach Al Gross.

Gross says that Pierce would have been playing for the championship on Sunday if it had not been for the generosity of the USC team in its game with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night.

According to Gross, USC would have had to beat Fullerton by at least eight goals for Pierce to advance to the championship game against the Trojans. USC led Fullerton, 9-2, with one period to play, but didn’t score again and won by only seven goals.

Gross says USC purposely did not score against Fullerton because the Trojans did not want to Pierce in the championship game.

“They figured they’d have an easier time playing Fullerton again than playing us,” Gross said. “It was bush. That was Fullerton’s third game of the day. Are you telling me a powerhouse team like USC can’t score a goal in a period against a team as tired as Fullerton? If Fullerton was rested it probably couldn’t have held a powerhouse like USC to nine goals.”

USC defeated Fullerton again to win the tournament championship, while Pierce defeated UCLA, 4-3, for the consolation crown.

In the West Regional championship, USC was eliminated by Western Washington.

Several proposals that could change the format of the state community college basketball tournament will be considered by the California Commission on Athletics in a Los Angeles meeting April 17-19.

Likely to receive considerable attention is a plan that would combine the men’s and women’s tournament. Another proposal would create a 64-team tournament featuring more regional games. Both ideas are designed to help sagging attendance figures.

Under the current JC men’s 32-team tournament format, first-round games are played at the home courts of the top-seeded teams. The final 16 are matched at a predetermined site--this year at Selland Arena in Fresno.

Notes

Valley College guard Larry Middleton was a first-team all-state selection by the State Basketball Coaches Assn. . . . College of the Canyons forward Pete Coeler was given honorable mention. . . .

Former Canyon High standout Matt Michelson, a sophomore at the University of Redlands, was selected to the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. basketball team. Redlands won the SCIAC title and advanced to the Division III West Regionals before losing to Central College of Iowa. Michelson was an All-Golden League selection in basketball and football as a senior at Canyon High. . . .

Former Redlands soccer Coach Gary Jensen has been hired as the soccer coach at Cal Lutheran. He replaces Chris Doheny, who resigned in January. Jensen will coach at Cal Lutheran during the fall and at Pasadena High during the spring. . . .

Jeff Logsdon, the Tri-Valley League Player of the Year, has signed a letter of intent to attend Cal Lutheran. Logsdon, a 6-foot guard, averaged 22.3 points a game in leading Santa Ynez High to a 11-1 record and league championship. . . .

In the most recent JC Athletic Bureau polls, Moorpark College is ranked No. 10 in softball, while College of the Canyons is No. 9 in baseball.