MacDougall Hopes to Find the Right Climate for Success

Sarah MacDougall of Cal State Fullerton dreads those hot, dry days when the Santa Ana winds kick up and fill the air with dust.

That’s when her asthma is at its worst.

And that’s why she’s keeping her fingers crossed for favorable conditions Saturday for the Big West Conference cross-country meet at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea.

A year ago, MacDougall was regarded as one of the leading contenders in the conference meet at Boise State, but her chronic asthma flared up and she finished 29th in the women’s division.

“The asthma, combined with the altitude there, was just too much for her last year,” Coach John Elders said. “But we feel she’s a legitimate top-10 finisher this season, and she’s capable of being right in there in the running for the individual title.”

Elders held her out of last Saturday’s meet at Cal Poly Pomona to make sure she is rested for the conference championship meet.

MacDougall says she first became aware of her asthma in high school.

“I would come home coughing and wheezing after running,” MacDougall said. “It’s not real bad, and I have some medication I can take now before I run. That usually helps.”

MacDougall hopes running on the Titans’ home course will help. “We run on it at least every other week, and it will help to know where you can make your moves,” she said.

Fullerton’s chances in the women’s team competition aren’t as good as they would have been if Alison Livermore weren’t sidelined. Livermore hasn’t run for the last three weeks because of mononucleosis, and is not expected to compete this weekend.

Elders hopes for a good showing in the men’s division from Francisco Vazquez, who was fifth in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in last spring’s conference track and field championships.

Vazquez, who ran at Rancho Santiago College (now Santa Ana College) before transferring to Fullerton, had his best time of 25 minutes 43 seconds two weeks ago at the San Diego Invitational.

“He’s been coming around the last few weeks, and I’m excited about his potential for this meet,” Elders said.

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Titan baseball Coach George Horton has mixed emotions after his team’s three-week fall workout session.

“Probably the most exciting thing for us was the pitching staff,” Horton said. “They performed at a consistent and good level throughout the time. But our lack of offense was our big concern.”

The biggest development of the fall is the emergence of two freshmen pitchers, Jon Smith and Adam Johnson.

“If we had to start the season right now, they’d probably be two of our three weekend starters,” Horton said.

Horton says another freshman, Kirk Saarloos, also showed promise. “He looks like he can be one of our best short relievers,” Horton said.

Horton also is counting heavily on seniors Erasmo Ramirez and Benny Flores, the two highly regarded transfers from Cal State Northridge. Flores was slowed by arm trouble in the fall.

Several other newcomers made good first impressions, Horton said.

Among them is Kevin Duck, a junior transfer from Rancho Santiago College, at first base and freshman Chad Olzanski at shortstop. “Olzanski is outstanding defensively, but he still can improve offensively,” Horton said.

Horton also liked the play of freshman Jeremy Weinberg and Ryan Moore, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College, at third base.

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Fullerton’s baseball recruiting this year was ranked 10th-best in the nation by Collegiate Baseball.

UCLA, which reached the College World Series last June, was ranked No. 1.

Texas, coached by former Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido, ranked second even though several of the top players who signed with the Longhorns instead signed pro contracts.

The Titans lost two of their top recruits to the pros. Outfielder Brett Caradonna of San Diego El Capitan signed with the Chicago White Sox and Ryan Lehr of San Diego Grossmont signed with the Atlanta Braves.

Titan Notes

The women’s soccer team (6-10-1) still has a chance to make the Big West postseason playoffs despite losing to UC Irvine Sunday. The Titans, however, will have to win at UC Santa Barbara Nov. 4 to qualify. . . . Brooke Lacey had the best showing by a Fullerton tennis player in last weekend’s Titan Intercollegiate championship. Lacey reached the consolation singles finals before losing to Jil Katzenberger of UC Santa Barbara, 6-4, 6-3. . . . Former Titan baseball player Jerome Alviso was chosen player of the year by the Colorado Rockies’ Class A team in Portland, Ore., and was selected to the Northwest League’s all-star team.

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Coming Attractions

Key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Men’s soccer plays Duke at 5:30 p.m. Friday, and Massachusetts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, both in the MetLife Classic at UCLA. The Titans are coming off a second-place finish in the Titan Classic last weekend.

* Women’s soccer plays at Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. today, and at San Diego State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

* Women’s volleyball hosts Nevada at 7 p.m. Friday, and plays at UC Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Titans are coming off losses at New Mexico State and North Texas.

* Men’s and women’s cross-country play host to the Big West Conference meet at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. Men begin at 9:45 a.m. and women at 10:30 a.m.

* Men’s basketball hosts exhibition game against Adidas All-Stars at 7 p.m. Sunday.