San Diego Sports Et cetera : Cocaine Charge May Be Dismissed : But Walters Must Complete Drug Education Program

A cocaine possession charge brought against San Diego Charger defensive back Danny Walters was suspended by a judge Thursday pending Walters’ completion of a drug education program.

The charge will be dismissed in two years if Walters is not convicted of any drug offense and completes the program by then.

San Diego police officers, who stopped Walters on Sept. 14 because they thought he was driving erratically, allegedly found 1.7 ounces of cocaine in his clothing.

Municipal Judge H. Ronald Domnitz also suspended a six-month jail term and fined Walters $750 for driving under the influence of alcohol when he was stopped. Walters, 27, had pleaded no contest to the drunk driving charge.

Domnitz also ordered Walters to perform 20 hours of community service for the Jackie Robinson YMCA in south San Diego.

Walters, a starter throughout his four-year career with the Chargers, was given until March 1 to complete the volunteer work.

He is eligible for the drug education program because he has never been convicted of a drug offense, Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Preckel said.

Walters underwent drug rehabilitation for a cocaine problem at an Arizona clinic in 1984 under the National Football League’s drug treatment program.

He voluntarily entered the NFL program again after his September arrest and is eligible to play in games only with the approval of doctors who monitor his progress.

SOCCER

The San Diego State men’s soccer team will play one of the best teams in the nation when it plays Southern Methodist in the final of NCAA Division I Midwest Regional at Dallas Saturday at 1 p.m.

SDSU pulled off a major upset last Sunday when it beat host St. Louis, 2-1, in a regional semifinal. St. Louis had won the NCAA title nine times and was ranked 18th in the country.

St. Louis was considered to be especially tough at home. But SMU (13-3-1) will have an even greater home-field advantage.

SMU is 9-1 at home this year, outscoring opponents, 29-6, in those games. The fifth-ranked Mustangs have won 29 of their last 30 home games.

SMU plays on an artificial surface. The Aztecs (17-5) have not played on an artificial surface since 1985 when they lost to Cal at Berkeley, 1-0. Only a few players from this year’s team were on SDSU at that time.

To help adapt to the surface, the Aztecs have practiced all week at an indoor field in El Cajon and left Thursday for Dallas so they could get in three practice sessions on SMU’s field before the game.

The last time the teams met, SDSU beat SMU, 3-0, in a tournament in Las Vegas last season.

Senior Kyle Whittemore, who scored two goals last weekend, has 17 goals this season and 58 in his career, a SDSU record.

BASKETBALL

Kevin Rembert, a 6-foot 4-inch, 200-pound senior forward at Mater Dei High School, has signed a letter of intent to attend San Diego State on a basketball scholarship next fall, SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said.

“He is the kind of player we need to build a solid program,” Brandenburg said. “He can come in here and help us.”

Rembert, who averaged 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds for Mater Dei last season, said he selected SDSU over Cal State Long Beach and San Jose State.

Rembert was the second player to commit to SDSU in the early signing period that ended Wednesday. The Aztecs signed Alex Sund, a 6-8 forward from Golden (Colo.) High School, last week.

Athletes in Action suffered its third straight defeat, losing to the University of Oklahoma, 126-91, in an exhibition game at the Lloyd Noble Arena in Norman, Okla.

Harvey Grant’s 26 points led six Oklahoma players in double figures. Grant was 12 of 16 from the field in Oklahoma’s first exhibition game of the season.

Lorenzo Romar led AIA (12-3) with 20 points.

VOLLEYBALL

Jody Conners had 15 kills to lead the University of San Diego to a 15-7, 7-15, 15-11, 3-15, 15-11 victory over St. Mary’s College in a West Coast Athletic Conference match at the USD Sports Center. USD is 6-18 and 4-8. Carrie Sullivan had 17 kills for St. Mary’s (5-21 overall, 1-11 in conference play).

Outside hitter Janet Hughes and setter Carol Lipson, seniors on the UC San Diego volleyball team, have been named to the NCAA Division III All-America first team by a panel of coaches. Hughes was also named the player of the year.

Hughes was a second team All-American last season. Hughes led the team in hitting percentage (.302) and had a team-high 110 blocks.

This was the second consecutive season that Lipson had been named to the first team. Lipson averaged 10.2 assists per game.

UCSD (29-4) is the top-ranked Division III team. The Tritons will play Illinois Benedictine at Elmhurst College tonight in the Division III semifinals.

WRESTLING

Jim Matthie, Greg Dixon and Steve Smith of San Diego will compete in the Sambo wrestling World Championships next week in Milan, Italy.

Each had to win his division at the National Amateur Athletic Union Championships in Kansas City last March to qualify for the 10-member team that will represent the U.S.

Matthie competes in the 163-pound division, Dixon in the 180-pound class and Smith in the 220-pound division.

This is the first time the three have qualified for the world championships, which is the most prestigious event in the sport. In the 1985 World Games in London, Matthie took third, and Dixon and Smith placed fourth in their divisions.

Sambo is a combination of judo and wrestling. Sambo is not an Olympic sport, but it is recognized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation as the third type of wrestling along with freestyle and Greco-Roman.

GOLF

Joann Walker shot a two-over-par 76 to help lead San Diego State to second place after the first round of the United States International intercollegiate golf tournament at the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Margaret Platt shot a 72 to pace Auburn to the first-round team lead with an overall score of 306. SDSU was second with 311 and USIU was third with 314. There are 11 teams in the 54-hole tournament.

USIU was led by sisters Allison and Susan Shapcott, who were tied for fifth with three other golfers at 77.

Second-round action begins today at 7:20. Admission is free.