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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 1980)
raye o me DM I I r-u-iv^n THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1980 THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1980 ^ « Agmen's track team reaches pinnacle of great year m-- liHlHI Tim Scott - Curtis Dickey Jimmy Howard Leslie Kerr by MIKE BURRICHTER Battalion Staff While football, basketball, and baseball seem to appeal to the aver age collegiate athletics fan, track and field has taken a back seat. At Texas A&M University, however, that trend may change somewhat, as Coach Charlie Thomas and assistant Ted Nelson proved during the 1980 season. The Aggies, who finished 10th in the nation last year and 11th the year before, completed a sensational sea son in Waco by winning the South west Conference Outdoor Cham pionship. A&M compiled 138 points, 31 points higher than second place Houston. The school also qual ified a record 11 participants for the NCAA’s 59th Annual Track Cham pionship, currently being held through Saturday at Memorial Sta dium in Austiji. Thomas’ strategy this season was simple: keep the team healthy until the season’s zenith; the outdoor league championship. “We got half-way through the con ference meet before we had any in juries this season,” Thomas chuck led. “Steve Willis hurt his leg in the 200, and that hurt our relay teams, but we had enough depth to win. ” Thomas had more than enough depth, as the loss of Willis, one quar ter of two of the nation’s best relay teams, didn’t seem to slow down the Aggie juggernaut. In fact, when James Washington hurt himself in the triple jump, the Ags had only half a mile relay team, and three- quarters of a quarter mile relay team. However, Thomas dug into his bag of reserves, pulled out Billy Busch and Karle Figgs, and the Ags secured third place in both events. “We had more quality athletes this year than ever before, ” Thomas said. “Overall, this team is stronger than the 1978 (SWC champion) team. Our 400-and 1600-meter relay teams set school records and we had several good individuals.” Thomas thoughts are echoed, if not magnified, by Assistant Coach Ted Nelson. Says Nelson, who started coaching in 1967, “This has been the best year’s performance we’ve had since I’ve been here. You don’t expect a team to perform every week like we did this year. We won, week in and week out. We’ve never had this many good athletes. There are six or seven world class athletes on this team. “We could possibly have six NCAA champions on this team; Cur tis (Dickey) in the 100-meters, (Les lie) Kerr in the 400, (Jim) Howard in the high jump, (Tim) Scott in the discus, and both (400-and 1600- meter) relays.” The other five Aggies going to Au stin this weekend are hurdlers Busch and Mike Glaspie, high jumper Chuck Perry, and relay men Vernon Pittman and Washington. Thomas calls this year one of the best he’s ever had. “It’s one of the most enjoyable years I’ve ever coached,” he said. “We won almost every meet we’ve been in. We only lost the meet to Texas by one point. ” The outdoor track season was pre ceded by the indoor season, held in January, February and March. Tho mas doesn’t care much for indoor track, and this feeling is shared by many SWC coaches. In fact, the only indoor track in the SWC is in Ft. Worth, and the Ags entered the in door season this year without an in door championship. Not that Thomas cared. He said he didn’t want to burn his team out by the outdoor season by pushing them too hard during the indoor cam paign. Surprisingly, the lackadaisical Aggie team went to Ft. Worth, and came back with the school’s first in door crown. The team ended up finishing sixth in the nation. Curtis Dickey won his third con secutive 60-yard dash at the NCAA Indoor Championship in Detroit. “The indoor championship really started the ball rolling,” Nelson said. “From there on, we just kept win ning.” Another plus for the team, accord- cash in with a ' " iv ing to Nelson, was the presence of Curtis Dickey. “Curtis really picked this team up emotionally,” Nelson said. “He didn’t have to show up for the confer ence meet. He knew he wasn’t 100 percent. He knew he wasn’t ready or in shape to run. He’d just been through four days at the Baltimore Colts’ training camp and his leg was hurt. He did a heck of a job. Just being there did a lot for the team emotionally. ” As for Dickey’s loss in the 100 meters in Waco, Thomas blamed it on lack of preparation as well as a slight injury. “When your measure of success is determined in hundreths of seconds, a hangnail is crucial,” Thomas said. “He went to that meet not feeling 100 percent and consequently didn’t win.” Dickey finished third in that event, behind Carl Lewis and Greg Illoison of UH. “He was there out of loyalty to Texas A&M and I admire him for that,” Nelson said. The team’s success has created what Nelson calls a “self-imposed pressure” on the coaches, but Nel son said he’s willing to put up with it. “When you have a good team, more emphasis is put on the sport,” Nelson said. “But we’re not going to fold if we don’t win the NCAA’s. A good season does help you get ready for another one though.” TEXAS A&M SPORTS CAR CLUB presents: Summer Day HOT CHALLENGE! Autocross Sunday, June 8 OLSEN FIELD (LOT 63) 9:00 AM Come Race with us! 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