College Division : She Goes Back to School, Right to Head of Class

As freshman cross-country runners go, Sherri Hall of Southern California College in Costa Mesa realizes that she is anything but typical.

It’s not every freshman who wins the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District III meet and qualifies for the national championship meet.

More than that, it’s not every freshman who is 37-years-old and married with two children.

When she attended high school and junior college in the 1960s and ‘70s, Hall never competed in athletics. And it wasn’t until she was 31 that she started running.

“My husband (Terry) was really the one who got me started in the first place,” she said. “He’s not a runner, but he convinced me to run with him (to stay in shape).”

Soon, Hall started competing in 10-kilometer races, again at the urging of her husband, and before long her talent started to emerge.

“(Terry) took me to my first race, and I did real well, and after that he didn’t run with me anymore,” she recalled.

She limited herself to 10k races at first, gradually building to marathons. She has run 2 marathons in the last 2 years.

More recently, she decided to try the shorter distances of cross-country.

That coincided with her decision to change careers. Hall was a registered nurse until recently but said she was suffering from burnout and wanted to change.

So she decided to pursue a psychology degree at Southern California, which is close to her home in Costa Mesa, in hopes of becoming a marriage and family counselor.

Southern California has also been a good place for Hall to continue in running. She is quick to admit, however, that she was a little hesitant about competing against younger runners.

“At first, it made me a little intimidated and a little self-conscious, but my team and my coach have been so supportive,” she said. “I really don’t see any disadvantage of competing at this age.”

Hall said she was surprised by her success.

“I know I had some speed and I had some experience in road races, but I didn’t think I’d do this well,” she said. “I’m really amazed.

“I’ve run faster this year, which surprised me because I thought that at my age I was about as fast as I could be. But I wasn’t. It’s amazing.”

Said her coach, Bryan Wilkins: “It’s somewhat unusual to see someone that age competing successfully. You don’t see too many people that age in college. However, you do see women competing successfully in road races at that age.”

Hall said she was a little unsure about how well she would do this season because Wilkins is only 27 and in his first year as coach of the Vanguards. But it didn’t take him long to set Hall’s mind at ease.

“As it turned out, Bryan’s a wonderful coach,” she said. “He’s turned me into the best athlete I can be. He even runs intervals with me.”

This month, Hall has finished first in the Golden State Athletic Conference meet, 5 kilometers, in 19 minutes 40 seconds, and won the NAIA District III title in 18:24.

That will make her the best hope for District III women at the NAIA national meet Saturday at the University of Wisconsin Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.

She is hoping for the best but says she will not be discouraged if she doesn’t place near the top. After all, she has already surpassed her original expectations.

It is expected to be business as usual for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in women’s cross-country Saturday at the NCAA Division II meet at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss.

That should translate into another NCAA title for the Mustangs, who have had a stranglehold on it since division competition started in 1981.

San Luis Obispo has won the title every year except 1981 and does not appear to be weakening in quest of its seventh straight. Especially not after taking 6 of the the first 7 places at the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 5.

Leading the way for the Mustangs are Noreen DeBettencourt, who won the regional in a 5k time of 17:42, Sherri Minkler and Pauline Stehly.

The picture for California Collegiate Athletic Assn. men’s teams is not quite as rosy. Defending national champion Edinboro State of Pennsylvania is the favorite again but the CCAA has three contenders in Cal State Los Angeles, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Cal State L.A. is the highest ranked of the three at No. 5 and the Golden Eagles have a strong individual contender in junior Jesus Gutierrez, who finished first in the CCAA and regional meets.

In the Division III meet Saturday in St. Louis, Occidental should be among the top contenders in both the men’s and women’s divisions. The Tigers are led by 3-time All-American Michelle Trimble in the women’s division and the men feature Emmet Hogan and Chris Tregillis.

Trimble, a senior who led the Tigers to their fifth Division III regional title in 8 years last week, was undefeated in her career in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams.

After being passed over by the NAIA for a berth in its national tournament, the Westmont women’s volleyball team has its reasons for feeling a little slighted.

First, it marks the first time in the 8-year history of the NAIA tournament that a California school has not been invited. Also, a California team has finished in the top 10 in each year of the tournament.

Westmont posted a 29-7 record, which compares favorably to most of the teams in the 20-team tournament.

College Division Notes

For the third time in 5 years, Westmont has advanced to the NAIA national tournament in men’s soccer. Tournament play starts Monday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Warriors (16-5) defeated Biola, 3-0, in the District III final Saturday for their 14th shutout of the season. Westmont did not allow a goal in 7 Golden State Athletic Conference games and allowed only 1 in 11 district games. . . . UC Riverside’s John Masi can become the school’s leader in coaching wins when the Highlanders open their men’s basketball season against Cal Baptist on Saturday night. Masi, who has a 9-year record of 173-79, is tied with Freddie Goss.

Steve Lazarus, who helped lead Cal State Northridge to its fifth consecutive CCAA men’s soccer title, has been named the conference most valuable player. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which tied Northridge for the CCAA title before losing to the Matadors in a playoff for an NCAA postseason berth last week, placed four players on the All-CCAA first team, including leading scorer Willie Ayala. . . . Senior forward R.J. Romero of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who led the Stags to a share of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s soccer title and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs, has been named conference player of the year. Romero had 12 goals and 10 assists.

In winning 5 straight matches in the SCIAC tournament last week, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps water polo team completed its seventh straight perfect conference season. The Stags have a 70-game SCIAC winning streak.