COLLEGE YEAR IN REVIEW : THE NAMES

Dondre Bausley of Valley College rushed for 316 yards on 18 carries in a 47-14 victory over Antelope Valley in November. The same week, Jim Bittner Jr., son of the Moorpark College football coach, rushed for 236 yards on 31 carries.

Mike Bible of College of the Canyons was one of the state’s most feared junior college hitters. The freshman catcher was voted the player of the year in the Western State Conference after batting .520 in conference games. Bible and third baseman Andy Cutchall made the all-state team.

Tom Bonds of Cal Lutheran broke NAIA and Division II passing records for completions in a game (44) and set a Western Football Conference single-game record for passing yards (434) in the Kingsmen’s season-ending loss to St. Mary’s.

Todd Bowser, CSUN’s 6-7, 275-pound freshman basketball center, picked a good time to play his best game of the season. He scored 25 points as Northridge upset 13th-ranked UC Riverside, 81-75, in a CCAA game at CSUN in February. Said Paul Kapturkiewicz, Riverside’s 6-10, all-conference center: “He drove me into the dirt. He made me look bad.”

Coach Bob Burt was given much of the credit for the Northridge football team improving from 4-7 to 8-3. Said Bob Hiegert, CSUN athletic director, of Burt: “He created a nice, congenial atmosphere which was a welcome change. The kids knew where the line was and that they’d better not cross it. He has given us respectability.” Seven months later, that respectability was tarnished when it was discovered that a CSUN assistant had made loans to Eric Staggs, a 6-7, 280-pound offensive tackle who was transferring from Sierra College.

Pete Cassidy was dead set against the NCAA’s adoption of the 3-point shot. He called the rule, among other things, “ridiculous” and “not real basketball.” But after Paul Drecksel scored 23 points in a 58-55 win over Cal Poly Pomona--15 of which came on 3-pointers--the Northridge coach changed his tune. “I think it’s wonderful,” he said. He changed his mind again a few weeks later after John Nojima of Cal State Dominguez Hills made eight 3-pointers for 24 points in a 70-50 decision over CSUN.

Art Castle, a Cal Lutheran cross-country runner, won four races in 1986 and finished 64th at the NAIA nationals. Don Price, Anthony Hardy, Todd Leavens and Troy Kuretich, Cal Lutheran’s 4 x 100 relay team, finished sixth in the NAIA track championships in May. The four runners were named All-Americans.

Jimmy Daniels was kicked off the Northridge basketball team during the off-season, but he showed up for fall practice anyway and became the Matadors’ most valuable player and first-team All-CCAA.

Steve deLaveaga, a guard on Cal Lutheran’s basketball team, was named to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference first team. He was the top scorer in the GSAC. Despite being double-teamed most of the year, DeLaveaga figured prominently in CLU’s season. He led the team in scoring, field goals and attempts, 3-pointers and attempts, free throws and attempts, free-throw percentage, assists and turnovers.

Tony Ellis of The Master’s baseball team had the highest batting average (.342) for the Mustangs in 1987. Pitcher Kevin Taylor had the best record (8-2) and lowest earned-run average (3.84) on the staff.

Mike Gillespie was honored for the third time as National Community College Baseball Coach of the Year. Gillespie left College of the Canyons after leading the Cougars to their third state title in six years to become baseball coach at USC. Len Mohney, who replaced Gillespie, guided Canyons to the Western State Conference title and a berth in the state tournament. Mohney later was named Western State Conference Coach of the Year.

Barry Hanks, Valley College quarterback, led the state in passing efficiency, completing 92 of 160 passes for 160 yards and 11 touchdowns. The freshman from L.A. Baptist had a passing efficiency rating of 159.955, more than 14 points better than CSUN-bound Robb Huffman, who was an All-American at Glendale.

Barbara Jordan finished second in the voting for CCAA Women’s Athlete of the Year. Jordan was a three-time softball All-American. Teammates Priscilla Rouse, Lori Shelly, Debbie Dickman and Kelly Winn also were selected to the All-American team.

Beth Onestinghel, who didn’t make the team because of a rule that limits coaches to five nominations, headed CSUN’s selections to the all-tournament team as CSUN won another national championship. Jordan, Rouse, Winn, Shelly and Dickman also made the team. Onestinghel, who batted .379 and had a school-record 39 runs batted in, was also MVP of the CCAA. Delanee Anderson, CSUN’s No. 2 pitcher behind Dickman, was named the pitcher of the year. She was 6-0 and didn’t allow an earned run in 40 innings during conference games.

Mike Kane made a habit of making himself--and opponents--sick. Kane, the Cal State Northridge running back who sometimes felt nauseated after scoring a touchdown, led the Western Football Conference in scoring with 16 touchdowns. He became Northridge’s all-time leading rusher, finishing his career with 3,572 yards. It took only seven games for Kane to eclipse the previous school record for rushing yards in a season. He finished with 1,565 yards in 11 games.

Kane was a first-team All-American and finished fourth in regional balloting by sports information directors for the Harlon Hill award, which is given to the top player in Division II. Mike Doan, CSUN’s placekicker, was selected to the second-team.

Joey Kirk of Cal State Northridge was selected as the player of the year by soccer coaches in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. after leading the Matadors to a conference championship. Kirk sat out the 1985 season to recuperate after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his leg.

Jeff Kubiak of Northridge swam to victories in the 100 and 200 breaststroke races and finished second in the 200 individual medley at the Division II national championships. He won seven national titles in three years at CSUN.

Denise Sitton, a forward on the Northridge women’s basketball team, finished the season with school career records in points (1,467), field goals (588), field-goal attempts (1,380), free throws (291), free-throw attempts (465), and rebounds (923). She was an All-District 8 selection by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Assn.

Jim Stephens, who coached the Valley College women’s basketball team to a 25-5 record and its first appearance in the state postseason tournament, switched from women’s basketball coach to men’s coach at the school. He previously was men’s coach from 1974-82.

Coach Don Strametz revived a struggling Northridge men’s track and field program and was voted CCAA Coach of the Year. Northridge finished second behind Cal State Los Angeles at the CCAA championships in May.

John Tronson of the CSUN soccer team was credited with a school record on a day the team was idle. In going over NCAA rules for scoring, a CSUN sports information assistant discovered Tronson should have been credited with two assists in a 3-2 win over Cal Poly Pomona. That gave him 25 points for the season and a record 109 for his career. He finished the season two shy of the school record of 45 career goals.

Jim Vatcher, Northridge’s diminutive center fielder, posted some big numbers for the Matadors and was named an All-American. He batted .354 and had 87 hits, 15 home runs, 72 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. CSUN first baseman John Balfanz, who hit 16 home runs, joined Vatcher on the All-CCAA team as did third baseman Tim Rapp and pitcher Dan Penner.

Dave Walsh became the first Northridge cross-country runner in 10 years to win the CCAA’s individual title.