Keter’s Success Made Waiting Worthwhile

Jim Crakes, cross-country coach at Point Loma Nazarene, waited a year for Robert Keter and another year for him to get in shape, physically and mentally.

But Crakes’ patience is paying dividends this season. Barely a factor on last year’s PLNC team, Keter has developed into one of the top NAIA runners in the country.

Keter won the Aztec Invitational, finished second last weekend at Stanford and 10th at Riverside. He has helped lead the 12th-ranked Crusader team to easy victories at all three meets.

All this from a 27-year-old junior who had never run much before last year. While growing up in Kenya, Keter stuck mainly with soccer.

Crakes said one of his former runners saw Keter running two years ago in Bulgaria, where Keter was attending college. After corresponding for a year, Crakes finally convinced Keter to run cross-country and track at PLNC.

But most of last year, Keter was the sixth- or seventh-best runner at PLNC.

“He was not in the greatest shape and he really struggled,” Crakes said. “It was a mental thing too. His mind wasn’t set to run more than 1,500 meters.”

But Keter began to come on during track season, when he finished third at 800 meters in the NAIA national meet. His confidence grew during the summer while working out at PLNC with Crakes.

Now, Crakes said Keter believes he can win every race.

“He has one of the most amazing kicks I’ve ever seen,” he said. “He never feels like he’s out of a race, no matter how far back he is.”

In the Aztec Invitational, Keter came from 75 yards back in the last 500 yards to win.

With Keter’s kick and the Crusaders’ overall depth, Crakes said, this year’s team could be the first PLNC men’s team to break into the top 10 at the NAIA nationals in Kenosha, Wis. “It’s always different in Wisconsin, the weather and the time change always seems to affect us,” he said. “But this year, we’ve got a close group. We have seven runners who have great potential.”

The Crusaders illustrated their closeness at the Stanford Invitational last weekend by placing four runners--Scott Lardner, Bryan Wallbank, Kenneth Jansson and Gus Arce--within 53 seconds of Keter’s second-place time.

In winning the open division at Stanford, PLNC defeated Division I opponents Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton and USC. The Crusaders finished with 44 points; Occidental was second with 108.

Touchdown Tommy: Stanford fullback Tommy Vardell, a former Granite Hills player, went touchdown crazy against Notre Dame for the second consecutive year. After scoring four touchdowns in Stanford’s upset victory against the Irish last year, Vardell scored three more Saturday in a 42-26 loss.

Touchdowns are nothing new to Vardell, who scored 14 last season and already has nine in Stanford’s four games. But this season Vardell is also piling up some impressive rushing statistics.

He has already run for 413 yards--four less than he had all last year--and is averaging five yards a carry. He averaged 3.7 last season.

With his career-high 140-yard performance against Notre Dame, Vardell became the first Stanford back in history to put together three consecutive 100-yard games.

Averaging 103.25 yards rushing a game, Vardell is third in the Pac-10 and 21st in the nation. His 13.50 scoring average places him first in the Pac-10 and third in the NCAA.

With 26 rushing touchdowns, Vardell is only one shy of Brad Muster’s school record.

Switching sides: John Lynch, a former Torrey Pines High quarterback also at Stanford, couldn’t stand playing behind starting quarterback Jason Palumbis so he asked to be switched to the secondary during fall practice.

The move has paid off. Lynch, a redshirt sophomore, is getting a lot of work as a nickel back and as a backup strong safety. He played the entire fourth quarter against Notre Dame.

Tritons get defensive: The UC San Diego women’s soccer team, ranked third in Division III, has allowed only three goals in nine games. The Tritons (8-0-1) have six shutouts and have outscored their opponents 36-3. Their only blemish was a 1-1 tie at Cal State San Bernardino.

The defense has been so outstanding that goalkeeper Janelle Welling has had to make only seven saves. Sally Weigand, a senior from University of San Diego High, and Danielle Placek, a senior from Madison, key the defense.

Cheryl Parker, a senior from Serra, leads the offense with eight goals and three assists.

Obiekea finds a home: Uzoma Obiekea, a forward with USIU’s defunct basketball program, has transferred to UC Irvine and will be eligible immediately. Obiekea, 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds from Oguta, Nigeria, averaged two points and four rebounds last season for the Gulls, mostly as a reserve.