NCAA Grants Coughran Another Year of Eligibility

Cal State Fullerton wrestler Joey Coughran, an All-American in 1998, has been granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Coughran was granted his fourth season over six years because of hardship reasons, athletic department compliance director June Kearney said Tuesday. Athletes normally have five years to complete their college eligibility.

Coughran, who transferred to Fullerton from Purdue, missed one season while recovering from surgery to remove a benign bone tumor from his head.

Then when Coughran, a former Calvary Chapel wrestler, enrolled as a sophomore at Fullerton in 1997, the NCAA required him to sit out that season to establish residency as a transfer student.

Fullerton’s first request for a waiver was denied, but the school’s appeal was accepted recently. Kearney received the paperwork confirming the decision Tuesday.

“We’re all really excited,” Coach Ardeshir Asgari said. “We think we’re going to have the best team we’ve ever had.” Coughran finished eighth in the 126-pound division in the 1998 NCAA Championships, earning him All-American recognition.

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Duncan Oughton, the leading scorer on the Cal State Fullerton men’s soccer team, underwent surgery on his fractured left forearm Tuesday, leaving his status for the remainder of the season in doubt.

Oughton, a junior forward from New Zealand, was hurt with about eight minutes left in the Titans’ 4-2 victory over Loyola Marymount Sunday.

Oughton will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks, and the injury will then be reevaluated to determine if he can play again this season, an athletic department spokesman said.

Oughton, who has 18 points and eight goals this season, is tied for the scoring lead in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s Pacific Division.