Tuimoloau’s College Will Be Closer to Home

Dolores Tuimoloau, state shotput champion last season at Channel Islands High, expects to attend Ventura College in the fall because she failed to satisfy NCAA academic requirements.

Tuimoloau said in June that she wanted to attend USC, which had offered a scholarship. But she scored 680 on her only attempt at the Scholastic Aptitude Test, 20 points under the standard required for freshman athletic eligibility at the Division I level.

“I sort of saw that I wasn’t ready to go to a big university so I wasn’t heartbroken or anything,” Tuimoloau said. “A two-year college might be the best place for me to mature for now.”

Ron Allice, USC’s newly appointed director of men’s and women’s track, said the Trojan program would have benefited from Tuimoloau’s talents.

“Any freshman who comes in with a best of 49 feet in the shot is a big-time talent,” Allice said. “With those credentials, she probably would have had a good chance at placing in the NCAA (championships) as a freshman.”

Tuimoloau, whose personal best of 49 feet 2 inches ties her for seventh on the all-time state list, is looking forward to working with Ventura assistant Dave Laut.

Laut was the bronze medalist in the shotput in the 1984 Olympic Games and ranks fourth on the all-time United States list with a best of 72-3.

“I wanted a coach who not only knew a lot about the technical aspects of throwing, but about the mental aspects of competing as well,” Tuimoloau said. “Obviously, he does.”

One of Laut’s first tasks will be to put Tuimoloau on a rigorous weight-lifting program.

Despite her accomplishments in high school career, which also includes a Ventura County record of 145 feet in the discus, Tuimoloau has done very little weight training.

“I lifted some during basketball season, but not at all during track,” she said. “I just worked on my technique.”