College Notes : El Camino Makes Run at Talented Field in Prestigious Texas Relays

Track Coach Bill Moreno of El Camino College, which generally has a solid team, says he is trying to take his men’s program up to another level of competition. With that in mind, his Warriors will open today in the community college division of the Texas Relays at the University of Texas in Austin.

Moreno said the Warriors will be the first California community college team ever to compete in the prestigious meet, and his competition includes some of the nation’s top teams.

Moreno hopes to make enough impact, especially in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays, to make an impression on potential recruits--and perhaps on the El Camino record book as well.

The Warriors are well-armed for the Texas shoot-out. In the 1,600 relay, the Warriors have recorded a 3:09 this season without putting their top four relay runners together. With Kent Johnson returning from a leg injury, Moreno will finally have his starting lineup intact. The other runners are Marvin Douglas, who placed third in the state last year in the quarter-mile; former Hawthorne High star Robert Carroll and Mike Wilson. “If they put it together they could go 3:06 or 3:05,” Moreno said.

The 400-meter team, which ran a school-record 40.2 Saturday, could be facing Central Arizona, the fastest relay team in the country. Moreno relishes the challenge. “Maybe if we catch their breeze, we could be in the 39s,” he said.

The Warriors will also have Robert Hirschman running the open mile and Carlos Moya in the 1,500, Charles Cooper and Tony Jones in the 400-meter hurdles, Carroll and Robert Barnes in the open 100 and teams in the sprint and distance medleys. The meet concludes Saturday. Other top teams, mostly from the Southwest, include Odessa, Blinn, Ranger and Southwestern Christian, all from Texas, and Barton County from Kansas.

Moreno said he got the idea to compete in the big invitational from Hawthorne Coach Kye Courtney, who takes his talented high school team to meets around the country. “He gave me a lot of the information, in time to raise the necessary money. In a way we’re following in Hawthorne’s footsteps. They ran in the Penn Relays. We’d like to do that next year,” Moreno said.

“I figure if we can have a program that’s run like a Division I, maybe we can keep some of the top talent coming in. So we’re going up against the big guys.”

It may be just as well that Loyola Marymount basketball Coach Paul Westhead is an English professor, because his team spent much of the past season rewriting the West Coast Athletic Conference record book.

According to WCAC Assistant Commissioner Don Ott, 18 conference basketball records were broken, all the meaningful ones by Loyola. Ott noted: “The league office will incur some serious typesetting charges when they print up next year’s record book.”

According to Ott’s notes, Loyola broke six league scoring records, including most points in a season, most in a game (142), most in a half (82), highest league average (114.6) and most games of 100 points or more (23, tying an NCAA record).

Loyola’s conference average broke Nevada-Las Vegas’ 13-year-old WCAC mark by an astonishing 20 points per game.

The Lions also set records for field goals in a season (575) and one game (54) and season and single-game records for three-pointers attempted and made (119 of 275 for the season, 12 of 30 in a game). Their other notable record: most free throws made in a season (335).

Ott also noted that the Lions placed four players on the 10-man All-WCAC team, another first.

And, of course, Loyola was one of three WCAC teams invited to postseason play (Loyola to the NCAA Tournament, Pepperdine and Santa Clara to the NIT), the first time the WCAC has qualified three teams in its 36-year history.

Add WCAC: Conference Commissioner Michael Gilleran and St. Mary’s Coach Lynn Nance are apparently off each other’s party invitation list, at least for now.

Nance’s team, which finished second behind Loyola in the WCAC race, was 19-9 and ranked sixth in the country in defense. After his team was eliminated in the semifinals of the WCAC Tournament, Nance--who has done a notable job turning the St. Mary’s program around in two seasons there--practically pleaded for a shot at the NIT. “We’ll go anywhere and represent the conference well,” he said.

But the NIT selected Santa Clara and Pepperdine, and Nance apparently felt the league office was responsible for pushing the other teams over his. And he said so to the Oakland Tribune. Nance was particularly upset that his team was bypassed for Pepperdine, which finished fourth in the conference and was 17-13 overall. He called that “a slap in the face.”

Gilleran reportedly was irritated that Nance aired his unhappiness with him in the press. In the league’s defense, Pepperdine’s superior schedule and Santa Clara’s victory over St. Mary’s in the conference tournament semifinals and an early season victory over Seton Hall were noted.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball roster continues to change almost daily. The latest shifts are in the pitching staff and infield. Senior left-hander Joe Lacues, the team’s No. 2 starter at 2-3 with a 4.70 earned-run average, missed several practices and was voted off the team by teammates. Lacues becomes the eighth player from the original preseason roster no longer on the team.

In the ever-changing Toro infield, third baseman Jeff Sears--who opened the season at first--will try shortstop, and shortstop Rick Davis is being tested as a pitcher. Dominguez Hills has lost four second basemen to injuries and has new people at every infield position. Catcher Mike McCarthy has seen action lately at first base, with freshman Dwayne Fowler moving in behind the plate.

College Notes

Dominguez Hills infielder Ruben Jauregui is part of a spirited three-way battle for the CCAA batting title. Jauregui came into the week batting .402, just behind San Luis Obispo’s Richard Sheppard at .416 and just ahead of Chapman’s Jeff Kidwiler at .393. Sheppard has surged to .550 in league play. Also in the running are Dave Hajek of Cal Poly Pomona at .383 and four other batters above .370 . . . Toros junior right-hander Dave Haggard has moved into the CCAA lead in earned-run average at 2.52. In 14 games Haggard is 1-1 with 3 saves . . . Tina Babi of the Dominguez Hills softball team has six assists from left field. She is also hitting .323 in league play. Third baseman Lisa Marzlo is hitting .344 in CCAA games.