Grayle Howlett’s Death Hits Hard

The California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference lost a friend on Dec. 12 when Grayle Howlett, a veteran sports information director at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College, died.

Howlett, 49, who served as SID for both conferences, was found dead in his Claremont apartment. According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, Howlett died of natural causes.

“I was in total shock when I first heard,” said Ron Fremont, Cal Poly Pomona’s sports information director. “It took a while for it to set in. I had developed a close relationship with Grayle over the last 13 years.”

Howlett not only was the contact person for the CCAA and SCIAC, but he also served as assistant athletic director and golf coach at Claremont. Howlett had previously worked as sports information director at Cal Poly Pomona, assistant SID at Michigan and sports director at KVI radio in Seattle.

“I’ve known Grayle for five years and he was a very, very good friend,” said Kathy Traxel, Claremont athletic secretary. “Not only could you count on him for anything to do with sports, but he was someone you could always talk with about anything in life.”

Added Gary Pine, SID at Azusa Pacific, “We talked frequently on the phone. Grayle had to be the most pleasant, nicest SID in the Southland. No matter how overloaded he might have been, he never let on. He always had a great story to tell. I was very, very heartbroken when I heard last week. He was the guy all sports information directors looked up to.”

According to friends, Howlett had battled several ailments, among them diabetes and gout.

“Grayle had been sick for most of his life, always battling some illness or another,” Fremont said. “But, the thing is that he never let you dwell on it. He never felt sorry for himself nor did he let you feel sorry for him. He influenced a lot of people that knew him.”

*

Basketball standout Lamont Riley of Cal State San Bernardino returned to the team last week, a day after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault against his former girlfriend. Riley was given a 120-day suspended sentence and put on three years’ probation.

In an interview with the San Bernardino Sun, Riley’s former girlfriend, Claudia Wilson, was upset with school’s decision.

“I thought the school would act morally right, but they didn’t,” said Wilson, who said she suffered a fractured skull and separated shoulder when Riley attacked her on Sept. 26. “[Riley] is out playing and I’m upset about that. The way the coaches see it, if it isn’t a felony, it didn’t really happen. I can’t believe it. It was just a slap on the wrist.”

Riley, the top junior-college scorer in the state last season, was arrested on a felony assault charge on Nov. 21 and held 17 days at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

His charge was reduced to a misdemeanor at the request of Wilson, who sought $4,000 in a civil claim.

*

Cal Poly Pomona will rename its gym the Darlene May Gymnasium on Jan. 27, in honor of the school’s former women’s basketball coach. May served as coach for 20 years and won three NCAA titles before retiring in 1994 to battle breast cancer. She will be honored before Cal Poly Pomona plays UC Riverside that night.

May, who is in remission, remains the winningest coach in Division II with a 519-119 record. Details: (909) 869-2812.

College Notes

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ Burnell Roques was named NCAA Division III college football player of the year by CNN sports. Roques, a senior wide receiver, caught 64 passes for 1,210 yards and 14 touchdowns this season for the Stags. In his best game, a victory over Occidental, he caught eight passes and scored five touchdowns.