CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Reaching Into Her Bag of Tricks

The class clown is now the class of the Cal State Fullerton women’s gymnastics team, and Coach Lynn Rogers hopes sophomore Celeste Delia keeps him laughing all the way to the NCAA championships in April.

Delia, designated team goofball, has set school all-around records in her past two meets--including Friday’s 38.90 against UCLA--and, amazingly, she’s done it with a straight face.

That’s what Rogers likes about Delia--she knows when to have fun and when to get serious.

“One time in practice I was getting in someone’s face and out of the corner of my eye I saw Celeste making fun of me,” Rogers said. “I told her, ‘Watch it or I’ll bounce you outta here.’ I go back to yelling at the other girl and see Celeste again in the corner of my eye pretending like she’s bouncing a basketball. I looked at her and she went, ‘Swoosh!’ I couldn’t keep a straight face.

“She’ll do a hard trick on the beam in practice and jump off imitating Hammer, dancing to the music. She’s a real live wire, but when she competes, she changes. It’s like she’s in a tunnel that gets narrower and narrower.”

Delia, who attended Covina Northview High School, credits her boyfriend, Titan wrestler Lyndon Campbell, with helping her refine her tunnel vision.

“He taught me how to focus during competitions,” Delia said. “I go through imaginary routines before I go up on an event and try to block everything out around me. It seems to have made me more consistent.”

Delia’s all-around marks have consistently risen in four meets, from 38.25 to 38.40 to 38.80 to 38.90. The last two marks bettered Stacey Harris’ school record of 38.65, set in 1989.

“And I still have some tricks left in my bag,” Delia said.

Delia plans to add three more difficult moves to her routines, a second double-back flip on floor, a giant full twist on bars and a double-back dismount on the beam. If executed, Rogers believes they could add up to a half-point to her all-around score.

Delia’s current best mark would likely qualify her for the NCAA individual championships. Another half point could elevate her to another level.

“She’s already an All-American, but I think she’d have a chance to win an event at the nationals,” Rogers said. “She’s been very steady and, knock on wood, hasn’t had a major break in four meets. She’s obviously had really good training before she got here.”

Add Gymnast: Delia, a member of the Charter Oak Gliders Club, was academically ineligible under Proposition 48 last season, a year that proved to be very trying for her.

“I kind of got out of shape and there were times I wanted to quit, but I kept going,” the 5-foot-3 gymnast said. “The most difficult part about this season was coming back after a year off.”

Rogers didn’t expect her to be so effective so soon.

“She sat out one year and in gymnastics, that’s unheard of,” Rogers said. “None of us knew what to expect when she came back, but she’s been very impressive. She lost a considerable amount of weight and gained a considerable amount of strength.”

She also has inherited some of her father’s personality, which seems well-suited for a gymnast. Ron Delia is a landscaper whose hobbies include wood carving--he’s currently working on a five-foot replica of The Last Supper--and race-car driving. The combination of artist and daredevil seems to have rubbed off on Celeste.

“She likes to go for it--she’s not afraid of doing the big trick,” Rogers said. “It’s no fluke that she’s artistic and has a lot of guts.”

Takedown: Titan wrestling Coach Dan Lewis didn’t expect this to be a rebuilding year, but that’s basically what the 1991-92 season has boiled down to.

Fullerton sent seven wrestlers to last season’s NCAA meet, where the Titans placed 22nd, and Lewis hoped to either equal or improve on those accomplishments this season.

But after a weekend loss to Brigham Young and a victory over Wyoming, Fullerton is 7-11 and has only three wrestlers--Michael Grubbs (118 pounds), Lyndon Campbell (134) and Laszlo Molnar (167)--whom Lewis considers good enough to qualify for nationals.

“It’s not by design--it just happened,” Lewis said of the regression. “I think we have a better team in the wrestling room.”

That’s because three wrestlers who probably would have helped the Titans considerably--Jeff Maes (126), Christian Holiday (159) and Derrick Brown (190)--are redshirts this season.

Maes, a two-time NCAA qualifier, sat out to train and give his body another year to grow into its weight class. Holiday is a transfer from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., who took this year off to adjust to the Titan system. Brown broke a bone in his hand early in the season and didn’t think he could return in time to have much of an impact.

This, along with a few other injuries, is why Lewis’ recent lineup has included five freshmen, who are talented but are also experiencing growing pains.

“I didn’t plan on starting five freshmen and didn’t plan on this many injuries,” Lewis said. “It’s been frustrating for me and the athletes. It would be nice to continually improve every year, but because of injuries and redshirts, that won’t happen this year.”

Titan Notes

After going 34-8 last season, Lyndon Campbell, Fullerton’s senior 134-pound wrestler, is enjoying another solid season with a 21-4 record entering Saturday’s home match against Arizona State. Campbell is ranked ninth nationally in his weight class by Amateur Wrestling News and already has beaten third-ranked Joey Gilbert of Michigan this season. If he defeats fourth-ranked Marco Sanchez of Arizona State Saturday, Campbell would likely move up in the ratings. . . . The Titan women’s gymnastic team, which already has lost Tammi Bories and Francine Garrett to season-ending injuries, suffered another setback when Heather Okland tore ligaments in her ankle Friday. Okland is expected to sit out about four weeks.