Cal State Fullerton Notebook : Gymnasts Poised for Women’s Championships

Lisa Dolan and Stacey Harris, the top performers on the Cal State Fullerton women’s gymnastics team, have more in common than the ability to flip, tumble and twirl.

Both are 19. Both are freshmen. Both say they are enjoying the sport now more than ever.

And both qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. women’s gymnastics national championships, to be held Friday and Saturday at Utah’s Special Events Center at Salt Lake City.

Like many gymnasts, Dolan and Harris began their careers at a young age. Dolan, from Waterloo, Iowa, started the sport at 6 1/2. Harris, from San Diego, was 8 when she began.

Both reached national-class levels in their club competition.

Dolan is a three-time member of the U.S. elite national team. (At the club level, there is a three-class rating scale: elite, class one and class two.) Dolan finished second in the 1986 American Athletic Union national championships.

Harris finished third in the 1986 class one national championships. She was considered one of the top recruits in the state last year out of Torrey Pines High School, although she did not compete there.

This year, Dolan averaged 37.38 points of a possible 40 in the all-around event. She scored a high of 38.15 and set a school record of 9.8 on the balance beam, her strongest event.

Harris averaged 36.99 points and scored a high of 37.80. She received a 9.6 in her best event, the vault, in two home meets this year.

What keeps the two motivated?

“They keep you learning tricks all the time,” Harris said. “Other places (colleges), they just have you come in and do your same routine.

“Here, they treat you like you’re going to keep on learning. That works for me. My bars have improved a lot, and I’m more consistent.”

Said Dolan: “In college gymnastics, there’s a reputation that once you get here, you get worse because you’re older. Like you’re all washed up. I’ve gotten a lot better since I’ve been here.”

Lynn Rogers, Fullerton women’s gymnastics coach, posted his 400th career victory last week at the NCAA Western Regional meet. Rogers is in his 13th year with the Titans. Fullerton finished fourth in the meet with a score of 185.70.

Rogers’ career record is 401-77. Fullerton finished in the top five in the nation 11 consecutive years, and finished in the top three for nine straight years, from 1976-84.

Bill Barham and Amir Kadury finished their collegiate seasons last weekend by earning All-American status at the NCAA men’s gymnastics national championships at Lincoln, Neb.

Barham, a sophomore from Atlanta, placed fifth on the parallel bars and 30th in all-around competition.

Kadury, a freshman from Israel, placed sixth on the horizontal bar and received two standing ovations in the process.

Kadury learned about Cal State Fullerton from fellow Israeli gymnasts who had competed in the United States. Other foreigners on the team are Diego Lopez of Argentina, Svenn Lode of Norway and Rocca Srawy of Cambodia. Former Titan gymnast Li Xiao Ping, now a Fullerton assistant, is from China.

Mike Kelly, Fullerton assistant, said Kadury’s potential has yet to be tapped.

“Amir is really on his way up,” Kelly said. “He didn’t get a lot of coaching before, so he’s really excited about everything.”

Wednesday, Kelly received a call from the Israeli Olympic Committee asking if Kadury might travel to the Canadian Open May 20.

Said Kelly: “They say if he does well, they’ll send him to Italy for another international meet. And if he does well there, they’ll send him as one of their two athletes to Seoul for the Olympics.”

Barham is aiming for the U.S. Gymnastics Federation regional meet, May 21-22, at a site to be determined. Placing well at the USGF regionals may qualify Barham for the U.S. Olympic trials in June.

Jim Thornton, a 6-foot 3-inch, 250-pound tight end who missed the last three games of the season with a knee injury, is Fullerton’s best prospect for the National Football League draft, which begins this Sunday.

“He’ll definitely be drafted,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said, although he would not speculate on the round in which Thornton might be taken.

Other Fullerton players who have been working out in hopes of being drafted are offensive linemen Ed Gillies and Phil Benson, wide receiver Todd White and linebacker Bryan Riggs.

“The other guys have a chance,” Murphy said. “I’ll be surprised if Gillies and White don’t get drafted.”

Thornton, noted for his blocking ability, caught 17 passes for 230 yards in 9 games last season before he was injured. But he boosted his pro chances dramatically, Murphy said, with a good performance in the Hula Bowl, in which he appeared as an alternate after a player ahead of him was injured. Thornton also did well in the NFL’s skill testing session in Indianapolis in February.

Gillies is a 6-foot 5-inch, 260-pound guard, and White is a 6-0 receiver who set Fullerton career records in pass receptions, receiving yardage and punt-return yardage last season. White caught 54 passes for 832 yards last season and finished his career with 1,504 receiving yards.

Benson is a 6-1 center, and pro scouts consider his lack of height to be a liability. Riggs underwent reconstructive knee surgery after an injury in the 1986 season, and although he came back and had a good season last year, the injury is considered a liability.

Fullerton has signed a home-and-home football contract with Colorado State, Athletic Director Ed Carroll has announced.

Fullerton will play at Colorado State in 1989, and Colorado State will play at Fullerton in 1992, by which time Fullerton expects to be playing in an on-campus stadium tentatively scheduled for completion in 1990.

Gina Satterly, a senior at Chino High School and a member of the 1986 senior national gymnastics team, signed a letter of intent with Fullerton Tuesday. Satterly’s best events are the vault and balance beam.

In men’s soccer, the Titans signed Paul Oldham of Mater Dei High School. Oldham, the Times’ 1988 player of the year and a two-time All-Southern-Section first-team selection, scored 41 goals in each of the 1987 and the 1988 seasons.

In women’s basketball, Fullerton signed four athletes: Joanna Ray, a 5-7 guard from Lodi High School; Kim Clark, a 6-1 center from Union City Logan; Kim Hansen, a 6-0 forward from West Covina Edgewood, and Kathy Wirth, a 6-1 forward from Golden West College.

In softball, the Titans signed three players: Joy Tiner, a freshman first baseman from Saddleback College; Debbie Hartwig, a sophomore catcher from Saddleback College, and Nikki Lewis, a second baseman from Canyon High.