COLLEGES / IRENE GARCIA : Loyola Runner Earns Berth to NCAA Regional

Loyola Marymount cross-country runner Gina Eroen has a long list of athletic achievements, but considering her battles to overcome physical ailments, her recent finish in the West Coast Conference meet two weeks ago seems even more impressive.

Eroen, 21, ran the 5-K course in Belmont, Calif., in 19 minutes 15 seconds two weeks ago to qualify for Saturday’s NCAA Regional meet in Fresno. Her feat is especially notable considering:

* She has epilepsy and has to take medication for the chronic nervous system disease, which is characterized by episodes of convulsions and unconsciousness.

* She suffers from asthma, a chronic breathing disorder that has hampered her athletic performance in the past and also forces her to take medication regularly.

* She has severe arthritis in her feet and back. Eroen says that as a sophomore at Reno’s Bishop Manogue High, the inflammation in her joints was so painful that she could not participate in sports.

* She did not compete in long distances until her freshman year at Loyola. She was one of Nevada’s top 400- and 800-meter runners at Bishop Manogue.

* She missed about half of this season because of a broken toe. She did pool and stationary bike workouts to stay in shape during the five weeks that she could not compete.

Eroen remembers her first race after returning.

“I went to the Pepperdine race just to watch, but I just happened to have my uniform with me,” she said. “So I said ‘I’m feeling better. I can’t just sit here and watch these people run.’ ”

Eroen placed fourth in the Sept. 21 race at Malibu and improved steadily in every meet after that. As a freshman last year, she became the first athlete in Loyola history to qualify for the NCAA cross-country regionals by placing seventh at the WCC meet. Her time was 20:03.

“She’s the hardest-working athlete I’ve ever coached,” Loyola Coach Mike Sheehan said. “It’s an extra effort for her to compete. It takes her a lot longer to prepare. She has to get treatment before workout then she goes to workout and has to go back for treatment after workout.”

Sheehan says the arthritic pain in Eroen’s feet was so bad last year that she couldn’t compete without getting taped. He also said her asthma attacks often strike during workouts.

“At least three or four times I’ve been running with her and she’s had to stop because of an asthma attack,” Sheehan said. “It’s kind of scary for me as a coach.”

Running is only a small part of Eroen’s life. She was married in March and works 30 hours a week at a bank to help pay tuition. Because cross-country is a non-scholarship program at Loyola, Eroen gets no financial help from the athletic department.

But she has maintained a 3.6 grade-point average, which has put her on the dean’s list each semester she has been at Loyola.

“She has all these time commitments, but she budgets her time so well that she’s able to do justice to each aspect of her life,” Sheehan said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but she seems to thrive on that.”

Donovan Gallatin, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound strong safety for El Camino College, has been named the Mission Conference player of the week three times.

Gallatin, a sophomore, leads the Warriors with 88 tackles, including 53 unassisted.

“There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the best defensive players in the country,” El Camino Coach John Featherstone said.

In a 26-20 victory over Pasadena on Nov. 2, Gallatin had 12 tackles, 10 of them unassisted, and an interception. He also forced a fumble.

In the Warriors’ 32-24 loss to Cerritos on Oct. 26, Gallatin made 20 tackles, 15 of them unassisted. In El Camino’s 33-26 loss to Fullerton, Gallatin had 11 tackles and forced two fumbles.

“Donovan has had a tremendous year,” Featherstone said. “He was great last year, but he’s taken it to another level this season. He’s twice as good as he was last year.”

Featherstone says at least 15 major universities have contacted Gallatin. He has narrowed his choices to UCLA and Nebraska, Featherstone said.

Notes

Gerardo Yepez finished the 1991 season as the fourth-leading scorer for the Cal State Dominguez Hills soccer team. He had 14 goals and five assists for 33 points. The junior forward was the Toros’ only All-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. first-team selection . . . Sophomore forward Amy Rubin and junior midfielder Jennifer Womack were selected to the All-CCAA first team . . . Sophomore outside hitter Gale Derricott broke a Dominguez Hills career kill record (424) last week against Grand Canyon University . . . The Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team can surpass the school record for victories in a season if it wins its last two matches. The record of 18 was set by the 1983 team.