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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1997)
y • January 17 ( iors Sports Page 7 Friday • January 1 7, 1997 the ground •, the Thomas A al Engineering, can Society of is achievement! Track and Field warming up for new season, conference i. is field try to cot eased with the ho- ry emotional, to learn of it." te Heat Trans Handing conins :1 through inne h in thermalct ithermodynai By Jeremy Furtick The Battalion lized for his let tion. .'merits the colls dished this year I reputation of) tar,” 11 etcher sat )Ol.” shot tire New conference, new competition, new tra, new faces, but the same success. This is the battle cry of the Texas A&M vlen’s and Women’s Track and Field Teams as the Aggies head into its inau gural Big 12 season. Both the men’s and the women’s teams mi finished second in the final , Southwest Conference 'ai Championships and went on to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The men tied for 19th while the women tied for 25th in the Champi onships, which included over 50 teams from across the country. A&M Head Coach Ted Nelson said the teams will be just as competitive this sea son as they were a year ago. "We really had two outstanding teams last year,” he said. “I felt we “Even though track is mostly an individual sport, it still takes everyone’s contributions to win a meet.” Rosa Jolivet Senior track member id. IS’ "Cosby" wask ; the show is cBride broke tht commander said )oke for about20 ifficulty of coping fa child. McBride Id daughter in i tsgoout id every t such an iccurs to." losby by’s father s wife, Cami aughters — W tis, two oldei- (heir brother, i fa, Erinn, Ensa \ a statement: confidence in earts go out to amily that such irs to. This is a lat is truly diffi- were competitive in every meet. This season our women will be better and will have a lot of success. Our men lost some talented individuals, so we are looking to some underclassmen to step up and fill those holes.” Sophomore sprinter/jumperToya Jones said the freshmen will be able to fill the void on the men’s team. “We got some very good recruits,” Jones said. "I think they’ll step right in and pick up our team.” The men will return seven NCAA quali fiers, including sophomore Michael Price and junior Billy Fobbs, both of whom qual ified for three events. The men will also re turn the 400-meter relay team that won the final SWC Championship. Nelson said his main concern for the men is their middle-distance races. “The last few years, our field events, sprints and the 400 [meter relay] have been strong events for us and I think we’ll con tinue that tradition,” Nelson said. “We’ll need someone to step up in the middle- distance races.” On the women’s side, the expectations are high. The Lady Aggies will re turn to competition with nine 1996 NCAA quali fiers, including four All- Americans: Seniors Rosa Jolivet and Anjanette Kirk land, junior Adrien Sawyer and sophomore April King. Jolivet and Sawyer each competed in four events at the NCAA Champi onships, while sopho mores Detrich Clariett and Stacy Sykora qualified for two apiece. Jolivet said the key to the women’s suc cess is their closeness. “We are a close-knit family,” Jolivet said. “Even though track is mostly an individual sport, it still takes everyone’s contributions to win a meet.” Jolivet said even with the team’s success last year, their performance should improve. “Last year we had a lot of talent and a lot of people competing in different events — that made us tough,” she said. “This year we should be even better because we’ve added depth to our variety.” Nelson said the teams’ goals have re- Tim Moog, The Battalion Members of the Texas A&M Track Team warm up around the track on Wednesday. mained constant with their entrance into the new super-conference. “Our No. 1 goal is to win the first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship,” he said. Nelson also said he feels the talent lev el of the Big 12 will not be any higher than that of last year’s SWC, although the com petition will be tougher. “The old Southwest Conference and the old Big 8 were pretty equal talent-wise,” he said. “I think the difference will be more schools. With 12 teams, there’s going to be more quality participants in every event, so it’s going to take a higher-quality team to win the Big 12.” Jolivet had a unique perspective on the new experience. "Change, to me, is a good thing,” she said. “I think going into a lot of these meets not knowing what to expect will be to our advan tage. We can go out and perform and not wor ry about who we are competing against.” However, the rest of the Big 12 might want to start worrying about the Aggies. Aggies journey to Houston for first meet By Chris Ferrell The Battalion The weather outside has been frightful, but the track should be delightful as the Texas A&M Track and Field Team begins its indoor season at the Houston Invitational Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s teams will look to start the year off on the right foot. Senior All- American Rosa Jolivet, who is the women’s only senior, said the young Aggies will use this weekend to gain valuable indoor experience. “This (meet) is going to be a building point,” Jolivet said. “It’s going to be a good op portunity for some of the younger people who aren’t used to running indoors to come to the older ones for advice.” Sophomore sprinter/jumper Toya Jones agreed. “This is a time for the older guys to help the younger guys out,” Jones said. A&M will compete against the University of Houston, who is hosting the invitational, Rice University, the University of Texas, Louisiana State University, Tulane University, Southern University, and Prairie View A&M University. A&M Flead Coach Ted Nelson said compet ing against some of the nations other premier programs should help the Aggies get to where they need to be. “Right now, I think we’re a little behind where I thought we’d be,” Nelson said. “Th[e weather was not good last week. We’ve only been able to work outdoors twice.” Nelson said A&M, which is traditionally strong in the sprints and hurdles, should be considered among the favorites to place run ners in the 55-meter dash, 55-meter hurdles and relays. • < Price shows old neighborhood how it's done 3 will be a geners international sti :sted Aggies atl 1 For more inforffi : 776-8652. There will be at 7:30 p.m. I Society: Tin Ting of the sf p.m. in 100Bk I be served. F« call Casey Ba ! 'ieland: Sign if* Country Weste® ssons are frofli e MSC Flagrc# on call Eric E 9. Jan. 23 Club: The p Id Comes national Ini ed by TAMU nts at OiSOS 1 n. 24 Club: There# 1 3 p.m. atEas 1 lubhouse. Foe 1 "more info# lion servici student an 1 activity fitted no I advance Applicatio es are a® 1 be run f re any q# i newsroof implete lis 1 ee The BaF http: Tim Moog, The Battalion Sophomore sprinter Michael Price practices his starts at practice on Wednesday. By Dennis Ramirez The Battalion E veryone remembers what it was like own ing the neighborhood bragging rights to be the fastest kid on the block, or at least we re member trying to earn those bragging rights. For Michael Price this was a strong driving force that propelled him to new heights as a track athlete. Price, a sophomore sprinter for the Texas A&M Track and Field Team, has proven he has earned bragging rights in his old neighborhood. “I was in the fifth grade, it was light pole to light pole back then, and there was this guy in the neighborhood who outran everybody,” Price said. “That really motivated me and once we arrived at high school, it was a must to run track once you were in football.” During his years at John Tyler High School Price learned to love the sport of track. On top of earning all-state honors and leading his football team to a state championship, Price earned All-American honors, won two state championship titles, and set new track records. “In high school I learned that I had a talent for the sport and it was at a point where every time I ran. I tried to improve,” Price said. “In the prelims I would set a record and in the fi nals I would try to break that same record.” Price started A&M on a track scholarship, but found himself playing for the A&M football team. Although Price skipped his first fall workouts for track, to play football, he was able to become a competitive sprinter and earn a seat at NCAA Outdoor Meet as a freshman standout. “As a freshman he was able to come in here and compete at the big time level,” A&M Head Coach Ted Nelson said. “He was a pleasant surprise to us and performed ex tremely well last year. This year, I expect him to be stronger and do nothing but improve on last year.” Because Price decided to forgo football this year and concentrate on track, this will be the first complete year of track workouts. Price said participating in fall workouts will make a difference towards the end of the year. “Right now I feel really good,” Price said. “I went through off season and I am in great shape. Because of this I should run better than I ever have and improve throughout the whole season.” Teammate Larry Wade, a hurdler for the team, credits Price with being blessed with speed and talent. “Michael’s mentality to compete and the fact that he went through fall workouts has given him a strong foundation and the stamina needed to be successful later on down the line through the end of the season,” Wade said. “As far as sprinting is concerned he has certainly been blessed and if he can take care of business on and off of the track, he has the ability to become the best sprint er in the world.” Price does not have any big plans for post- collegiate track competition, he is solely con centrating on improvement. As for his neighborhood back in Tyler, Price owns bragging rights — thanks to the motivation given to him by the guy he once could not outrun. Speedy Jolivet breaking records at lightening pace By Nicki Smith The Battalion M any would agree that the word “fast” is an under statement when describ ing Rosa Jolivet, a senior hurdler and relay team member on the Texas A&M Women’s Track Team. Although Jolivet is only in her second sea son at A&M, she already holds A&M in dividual records in the 100-meter and 400-me- ter hurdles, and is a mem ber of the A&M record holding 400- meter, 1,600- meter and shuttle hurdle relay teams. To top off her record-breaking ac complishments, Jolivet competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer, where she set two school records with times of 13 minutes, .02 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 55 minutes, .91 sec onds in the 400 hurdles. In addition to being a school best’s, Tim Moog, The Battalion Senior Rosa Jolivet stretches before practice. Jolivet’s time in the 100 hurdles also edged her into the semifinal round at the trials, while her time of 55.91 earned her eighth place overall. Assistant Coach Abe Brown, who is responsible for men’s and women’s hurdlers and horizontal jumpers for the track team, said Jolivet was a very mature athlete who caught his eye while she was at Forest Brook High School ih Houston. “A good friend of mine pointed her out, so I followed her performance during high school,” Brown said. “I liked h^r humor and poise so I re cruited her for our track team.” While at Odessa Junior College, Jq- livet led the track team to the nation al Junior College indoor title in 1992, was ranked among the top 50 in the U.S. in 1995 in both outdoor hurdles events and 29th in the U.S. in the 400- meter hurdles in 1994. 4 See Jolivet, Page 7 Fogg never moved so fast. for the YOUNG AT ART! kttp://opas.tamu.edu 0& Sunday, January 19,1997 * 2 PM & 4 PM • Rudder Theatre this Theatreworks presentation of Around the World in 80 Days, Phileas Fogg must complete an impossible journey or lose his entire fortune. Traveling by train and ship, on camels and ele phants, in hot air ballons and on rafts, he and his friend Passepartout visit exotic places, rescue an Indian Princess, cross rivers and deserts, all the while being chased by the bumbling Scotland Yard Inspector Fix who believes them to be infamous bank robbers. Along the way Fogg comes to realize that people the world over are, indeed, all linked, and that within each of us is the possibility for a fantastic voyage! Now accepting AggieBucks.™ For tickets, call the MSC Box Office at 845-1234. Persons with disabilities please call 845-8903 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of pur ability. FT..- Stop by and discover “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” at the 1997 MSC Open House Sunday, January 19, 1997 2-6 p.m. For more information, call 845-1515 4v Persons with disabilities please call 845-8903 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our ability. Sponsored by MSC Public Relations