Chargers Sign Three More Free Agents
The Chargers Thursday signed three free agents: wide receiver Bobby Johnson (5-feet 11-inches, 180 pounds), formerly of the New York Giants, and running backs Patrick Franklin (6-1, 233) of Southwest Texas State and Ronnie Williams (6-3, 255) of Oklahoma State.
The Chargers acquired Johnson in a trade with the Giants last year, but he was cut during training camp. Franklin has had tryouts with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay but has no NFL regular-season experience. Williams is a rookie.
The Los Angeles Rams signed former San Diego State University nose tackle Levi Esene Thursday. Esene was one of 10 free agents signed by the Rams.
TRACK AND FIELD
Steve Nuchols of San Diego State finished second in the Western Athletic and High Country Athletic Conference decathlon with 6,975 points. Brigham Young’s Mike Davis won the two-day, 10-event competition with 7,172 points.
GOLF
Scott Almquist (72) of San Diego State University is seven strokes off the pace after the first round of the 26th annual Western Athletic Conference championships at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah. SDSU, with a score of 303, is in seventh place.
John Klein, SDSU director of golf, announced the signing of Vivian Overturf, from Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, to a national letter of intent.
UC San Diego is one of 21 teams that have been named to the field of the 1988 NCAA Division III golf championships. Four-time defending champion Cal State Stanislaus is also among the 21 teams that will compete in the 72-hole event May 17-20 at Bryan Park Golf Course in Greensboro, N.C.
KAYAKING
The two-day Western Regional qualifier for the U.S. Olympic national kayaking championship has been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Lake Miramar.
Competition begins at 9 a.m. Top finishers qualify for the national event June 9-12 at Indianapolis. More than 400 competitors are seeking a spot on the 21-member Olympic team.
Among the entrants Sunday will be Craig Barton of Newport Beach. Barton won the 10,000-meter world championship race last year and is scheduled to compete in an exhibition race Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is free both days.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Junior guard Danny Means was named the most valuable player of the University of San Diego basketball team at Thursday night’s awards banquet.
Means, who averaged 12.1 points per game and hit 45% of his three-point shot tries, also received the Walter Zable Athletic Excellence award.
Teammate Mike Haupt, a junior forward who suffered a season-ending knee injury with about 10 games to play, received the Bugelli leadership award and the student-athlete award. Haupt has a 3.24 grade-point average. He averaged 6.1 rebounds per game. USD (11-17) finished seventh in the West Coast Athletic Conference.
TENNIS
El Cajon’s Georgia Turner won her third-round match to advance to today’s quarterfinals of the National Hardcourt Tennis Championship at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Competing in the 50-and-over division, Turner beat Joan Melahn of McHenry, Ill.