UNTLifer

Track & field: Mean Green has finals on mind 05/30/2003 By Ethan B. Szatmary / Staff Writer The North Texas track and field team takes 10 men and 11 women to the NCAA Midwest Region Track and Field Meet Friday, so head coach Rick Watkins said the Mean Green has as good a chance as any team in the region. "We’ve got a really big group going," said Watkins. "We’ve got about as many as any other team, so I’m hoping we can run well and send a few athletes to [NCAA] nationals." With the preliminary races beginning Friday morning at the University of Nebraska’s Ed Weir Track, Watkins said several UNT competitors have strong chances of continuing into Saturdays’ finals, and maybe the Mean Green can qualify its first athlete to nationals since Detron Woodson earned All-American honors in the 100-meter dash in 2001. "I think if we run well, we can qualify several for the finals, and in the finals anything can happen," said Watkins. "Arthur Cox stands a good chance in the 400 meters, Ananka Clark could do it in the 100 meter dash and the 200 meters. Both Jessica Henderson (women’s discus) and Ryan Lancon (men’s pole vault) come in highly ranked, so I’d say they’re both contenders, too." The qualifying rules for this year’s NCAA regional track meet have changed from previous years. This year, the top five athletes in each event in each region make the national meet in Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14. The NCAA also hands out at-large bids, with those bids spread as evenly as possible over all events until the total field for the meet reaches 544. Watkins expects one or two at-large bids per event. In previous years, the NCAA invited the top 16-18 competitors nationwide, without restricting the amount of athletes from any given region. Watkins said that he and many coaches are not pleased with the change. "In the men’s 100-meter dash in the Midwest Region, there are 24 qualifiers. In the West Region, there are seven. Even with the at-large bids, there are going to be some people left out of nationals who should be there, and some people will be there that shouldn’t. "Those are the rules that we have to live by, though. Very few of the coaches like it, but we still have to do the best we can, and that’s what we’re going to try do this weekend."

Yeah, what's up with the response. (Just another blatant attempt to pad my numbers).

UNT finished the first round of the regional in 4th place but fell out of contention after that. We finished in 17th place in the regionals last week. Congrats to the team and Coach Jackson for a great year. It's even more amazing when your home course was the Eagle Point Goat Ranch.

Well, we finished in a tie for 17th place 8 shots out of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. But, we still had a great year, and I am proud of the young men on this team. They did us proud.

I'll pay for your time, the tape, and the shipping. Heck, you could probably make a few extra bucks off this little service if you wanted to.

Come on Chip, lighten up a little! Your awfully sensitive to be one that likes to dish out the jabs so often. Remember, you get what you give.

Why don't you just set a price and sell it through this website? As UNT96 noted, you would save some fees with this process and would probably sell many more copies than you ever would on eBay.

This little test in Mean Green Sociology isn't going to work, because I will be reading all of his posts. Mainly for his warped sense of humor, but also because he has a never say never attitude about UNT athletics. Mr. Spears did a great job for NTSU under Coach Fry, and he still has that passion for his alma mater. Give em' hell GG!

I hope he goes out winning the Sunbelt gold medal in decathlon. One hurdle after another Determination, passion keep decathlete going 05/09/2003 By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer University of North Texas decathlete Lupe Florez barely remembers when he started running as a young boy in West Monroe, La. — just that he wore a pair of work boots that was a couple of sizes too small. DRC/Stacy Cooper North Texas decathlete Lupe Florez will compete for the last time at the Sun Belt Conference track meet at Fouts Field this weekend. Mr. Florez has overcome personal hurdles to compete at the collegiate level. Dee Hogan, a neighbor and the father of one of young Lupe’s friends, saw such passion and dedication in the boy that after a few weeks of watching Lupe jog around town in those boots and greasy blue jeans, he broke down and bought the boy a pair of running shoes. "I’ve been running ever since," said Mr. Florez, a 24-year-old senior who will compete this weekend at the Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Fouts Field. The meet opens with the decathlon at 9:30 a.m. Friday. Mr. Florez was forced to stop running midway through the 1,500 meters — his final event — during last season’s Sun Belt meet but managed to finish the race. He placed fifth in the decathlon, helping the Mean Green win the team title. He had been competing all season with anterior and posterior compartment syndrome, conditions that cause severe pain because muscles become too big for the sheath that surrounds them, in both legs. The pain was so severe that Mr. Florez, who has a tattoo around his left thigh depicting the 10 events of the decathlon, considered dropping every event but the pole vault and javelin. Blood tests, taken as a precautionary measure before he underwent operations on both legs to correct the conditions, revealed that Mr. Florez was chronically anemic. The operations were delayed for a few months, but Mr. Florez’s dedication to return as a decathlete never wavered. "He’s a fighter," said Mr. Florez’s wife, Fawn. "It was very difficult because track is what he loves. He just lives and breathes it." The medical problems were far from the first hurdles Mr. Florez had to overcome to succeed. He grew up dirt poor and without guidance from his parents, who he said had "personal problems." But the self-motivated Mr. Florez managed to become a star in football and track at West Ouachita High School and enrolled in the U.S. Army after graduating. However, Mr. Florez was sent home soon after arriving at boot camp because he couldn’t do a push-up. He broke a bone in his wrist lifting weights as a high school junior, and it never healed properly because his family didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford proper medical treatment. "This is a kid that never caught a break," said Mr. Hogan, the neighbor. "If you ever heard a hard-luck story, this is it." Courtesy photo Lupe Florez and Dr. Fawn Cox were married Aug. 17, 2000. Mr. Florez worked for the next year at his grandfather’s garage, repairing 18-wheelers and scrounging together enough money to enroll at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. He wasn’t academically eligible to run track, but he kept in shape and remained active in the sport by volunteering to help the coach at his high school. Then one weekend that summer, Mr. Florez’s life changed for the better. He took a couple of his students to the Don Hood Pole Vaulting Camp at UNT. While there, he met Bethany College coach Derek Hood, Don’s son. Derek Hood, impressed with Mr. Florez’s work ethic as much as his athletic ability, offered him a scholarship to Bethany College, an NAIA school in Lindsborg, Kan. "I thought about it for about 10 seconds and said, ‘all right,’" Mr. Florez said. Mr. Florez also met a pretty blond woman that weekend named Fawn Cox, a friend of Derek Hood and the aunt of Travis Wilson, one of the boys that Mr. Florez coached. After a visit to Six Flags, Mr. Florez strolled into Dr. Cox’s chiropractic office in Fort Worth and offered her a stuffed dog that he won. Dr. Cox was initially cool to Mr. Florez’s romantic desires because of an age difference — she is a dozen years older than him, though Travis fudged a couple of years on both ends when playing matchmaker. Mr. Florez persisted via the telephone. He also moved in with her brother and Travis’ father, Grant Walker, and won over the rest of the family that summer. By October, Dr. Cox accepted Mr. Florez’s proposal to marry him. "We would have never even clicked if he wasn’t so mature for his age," said Dr. Florez, who still uses her maiden name in her professional life. "He grew up so quick and so fast. He has a lot of character because of what he went through in his upbringing." Mr. Florez moved to Texas, and the couple were married Aug. 17, 2000. He enrolled at UNT and walked on to the track and field team, though he didn’t compete his first year. Dr. Florez has encouraged her husband’s passion for track and field and comforted him last season while he struggled with injuries. "She’s my angel, man," Mr. Florez said. "She’s supported me ever since I’ve been in college — financially and emotionally." This weekend’s meet might be the last for Mr. Florez, who holds the UNT record in the javelin with a throw of 189 feet and 7 inches. He is the fourth-ranked decathlete in the Sun Belt this season. "He’s not extremely talented," said UNT director of track and field Rick Watkins, "but he just works so hard and is so determined that he’s made himself a pretty good decathlete." Mr. Florez said he has completely recovered his endurance after getting through last year’s medical problems and has about 90 percent of his strength and speed back. "I just want to go out there and have fun and be confident the whole meet," Mr. Florez said. "The biggest thing for me is that I want to be able to put my all into it and not have my body hold me back." Mr. Florez is considering trying out for the Mexican Olympic team, for which he is eligible because his grandfather has born in Mexico. However, he has already graduated and wants to take some of the financial burden off his wife. He plans on becoming a high school track coach. "There’s always going to be kids who need a little bit more guidance and support," Dr. Florez said. "Coming from the background that he has, he’s going to be able to help them. He’s going to be able to touch some kids’ lives."

IMHO, he's not ready for the NBA. His offensive output is too shaky with a nonexistent outside shot. He needed at least his junior year to further develop.

We added 4 strokes to our lead heading into the final round today. Golf: UNT men lead by 14 strokes entering final day 04/23/2003 Staff report NICEVILLE, Fla.— For the second consecutive day, the North Texas men’s golf team blistered the course at the Bluewater Bay and Resort to extend their lead at the Sun Belt Conference Championship to 14 strokes after two rounds. The Mean Green fired a three-under par 285, powered by two rounds of 68 from Brad Besler and Zach Atkinson. UNT sits at 566, ten-under par after two rounds of play. The closest competition to the Mean Green is Denver, which has a two-round score of 580. Besler is the overall leader at seven-under par 137 after he followed up his first-round 69 with a tournament-best 68 in the second round. Atkinson jumped to second place with his second-round score of 68 and sits just shots behind Besler for the tournament lead at a five-under par 139. Freddy Espericueta is tied for eighth place at two-over par after firing a second-round 75. Thomas Kulcak and Brad Gibson are also both in the top 20. Kulcak fired a second-round 78 to drop to 15th place, and Gibson shot a second-round 74 to climb to 17th place overall. On the women’s side, Randi Gauthier and Andra Lancaster remain in the top five after the second round of play. Gauthier and Lancaster both fired a second-round score of 75. Lancaster sits in fourth place with a two-round total of 148, just five shots off the lead. Gauthier is at 150 after two rounds and is alone in fifth place, seven shots behind leader Alena Sharp of New Mexico State. The UNT women remains in fourth place after shooting a second-day total of 313, one shot better than the first round. UNT is only two shots behind Denver for third and six shots behind second-place Arkansas-Little Rock. Defending champion New Mexico State is the overall leader after two rounds with a commanding 28-stroke lead heading into the final round. The final round of the conference championship begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday. North Texas Scores Men 1. Brad Besler 69 68 137 -7 2. Zach Atkinson 71 68 139 -5 T8. Freddy Espericueta 71 75 146 +2 15. Thomas Kulcak 70 78 148 +4 T17. Brad Gibson 76 74 150 +6 Women 4. Andra Lancaster 73 75 148 +4 5. Randi Gauthier 75 75 150 +6 27. Laura Rakel 83 81 164 +20 39. Kasey Hardin 89 82 171 +27 T40. Jaclyn Golden 83 90 173 +29

Golf: Mean Green surges to big Sun Belt lead 04/22/2003 Staff report NICEVILLE, Fla. — The North Texas men’s golf team opened the Sun Belt Conference Championship in style by shooting a seven-under par 281 to hold a 10-stroke lead after the first day of competition. The Mean Green had four players shoot under par in the first round paced by Brad Besler, who fired a three-under 69 to end the day tied for the lead. The leaderboard is packed with UNT golfers as the Mean Green have four of the top six after the first round of play. Thomas Kulcak shot an opening-round two-under par 70 thanks in part to a 33 on the back nine to sit in third place. Zach Atkinson and Freddy Espericueta both shot opening rounds of one-under par 71 to sit tied for fourth place. The Denver Pioneers, the second-place team, is at 291 after the first day. The Mean Green are going after their first Sun Belt Conference Championship and their first conference title since 1999. On the women’s side, true freshman Andra Lancaster had a sensational opening round of one-over par 73 to end the day just one shot behind the leader. Lancaster sits in second place alone, while senior Randi Gauthier is very much in the hunt after an opening day 75 to put her tied for sixth place. As a team, UNT shot a first round score of 314 to place it in fourth after the first day. Defending conference champion New Mexico State is the overall team leader with a first-round score of 298. The second round of play continues at 8 a.m. Tuesday at the Bluewater Bay Resort Golf Course. SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIPS North Texas Scores Men Place Golfer Score T1 Brad Besler 35-34 — 69 3 Thomas Kulcak 37-33 — 70 T4 Zach Atkinson 37-34 — 71 T4 Freddy Espericueta 34-37 — 71 T22 Brad Gibson 41-35 — 76 Women T2 Andra Lancaster 36-37 — 73 T6 Randi Gauthier 38-37 — 75 T26 Laura Rakel 39-44 — 83 T26 Jaclyn Golden 45-38 — 83 T41 Kasey Hardin 45-44 — 89

Just prepping the Sooners for future loses to the Mean Green. Way to set the tone Ladies!

Let's see, they lose Michael Pruitt to NORTH Texas and Roy Williams to NORTH Carolina. Coincidence? I think not.

It sure is nice to beat SMU again. Way to go ladies!!!!!

This game is at SMU, so there may be a small admission price.

Here's the full Denton Record Chronicle story: Basketball: UNT’s Trout quits due to injury Guard has degenerative condition in ankle joint 04/11/2003 By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer North Texas shooting guard Heather Trout’s has heeded her doctor’s demand that she quit playing basketball. Heather Trout Trout was diagnosed nearly two years ago with a degenerative condition in her left navicular joint, which is located in the middle of the ankle and controls lateral movement. She played through the pain the last two seasons — often riding the exercise bike during practice to limit the wear and tear on the injury — and averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a junior in 2002-03. According to her doctor, Trout will have to undergo fusion surgery on the joint at some point. Such an operation routinely leads to several other operations. If she continued playing, it would have significantly sped up the timeframe in which surgery was necessary. "Obviously, I’m not happy about it," Trout said. "But I know in the long term it’s going to be a lot better for my health. I want to be able to do everyday activity when I’m 40 without using a cane." Added coach Tina Slinker: "Her doctor couldn’t even believe she’d been playing because of the pain. But you know how tough Heather is." Despite having limited lateral movement, Trout was one of the Lady Eagles’ best perimeter defenders. She also had the best perimeter shooting touch of UNT’s guards. Trout’s toughness, however, was the most impressive attribute in her game. In addition to playing on a chronically sore leg, Trout missed only one game after breaking her nose last season. "She has such passion for the game and loyalty to the program," Slinker said. "Her leadership is going to be something that’s very hard to replace. Her work ethic is one of the best that I’ve ever coached." Slinker said she is searching the junior-college ranks to find a player who can immediately replace Trout’s ability to shoot the ball, something that is in short supply on the Lady Eagles’ roster. Trout, who intends to enter the coaching profession after graduating, will remain involved in the program. Slinker said she wants to treat Trout as much like a player as possible, while Trout said she hopes to gain experience that will be helpful in her career. "It’s going to be difficult watching," Trout said. "But if I think in my mind that I’m doing something that’s going to be in my future, it would be easier than if I’m just there. I’d like to get a jump start on what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life." Two freshman will not return A pair of freshmen — point guard Nahogany Brown and forward Jasmine Williams — have left the UNT women’s basketball program. Brown told coaches she plans to transfer because she was not satisfied with backing up classmate Erika Bobo. "We tried to get her to stay because she’s a great kid," Slinker said. "She said that she was happy with the program, the coaches and her team, but she wanted to be the main point guard." Slinker said Williams was dismissed because of repeated violations of team rules.

I have worked in the private club industry for 12 years, but never for one that didn't allow women or minorities in. In any event, I do understand a private clubs right to choose who to accept and who to turn away. This is what makes these clubs private. Is this right or wrong? I don't really know the right answer on this one, but because these clubs, such as Augusta National are private, they have the right to choose. I have a question for Ms. Burk though. She is the president for the National Organizations for Women, or something to that effect. Do these Women's Organizations allow men in? There are alot of organizations in our nation that cater to specific races, genders, ages, etc... that are not deemed racist or sexist. But, alot of the members of these organizations denounce organizations that may exclude them. I just don't understand the logic sometimes. If the meaning or mission of these organizations is honorable, for lack of a better word, and doesn't "hurt" other groups, then they should be okay. Besides, I really would have rather been in a sorority in college, for selfish reasons, but my gender determined I should be in a fraternity. I didn't denounce sororities for their exclusionary admissions.

Please don't tell me that you would actually compare Wally Szerbiak to Dirk! Dirk has been mentioned as an MVP candidate, can play inside and out, and is widely considered one of the best players in the NBA by NBA personel. Wally is never mentioned in the same breath as Nowitzki. As UNT96 mentions, Dallas, as well as everyone else in the NBA, is looking for that inside presence to counter Shaq. That person isn't out there and isn't coming in the near future. IMHO, Dallas needs a Ben Wallace type to patrol the middle as a defensive presence and an animal on the boards.

I wouldn't leave the team in Van Exel's hands. He runs too hot and cold, plus the Mav's don't need another outside shooter. We need to find a strong inside presence that is good defensively, rebounds, and is a good passer. This team has plenty of scorers. Now, if Minnesota wanted to give up Wally for Van Exel, I would take that offer. I just don't really see that happening though.

Where has he proven he can play point guard, much less against NBA competition? Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to find a method to your madness. Again, Catholic high schools aren't known for prepping NBA players. Also, point guard is probably the most difficult position to play in the NBA. Look at Travis Best, Earl Washington, Phil Ford, Kenny Anderson, etc.. These were all excellent college point guards in power conferences, yet have just been or were servicable point guards. Back to James. Do you really forsee him as a point guard in the NBA? I thought he would be more of a small forward.

I'd take Anthony based on the fact that he has proven himself against tougher competition. LeBron will have a greater learning curve ahead of him.

#1 Pick?: I'd have to go with Anthony. As Michael Jordan said about James, "He's looked great against a bunch of Ohio Catholic high schoolers" or something like that. Anthony has proven himself against a much better class of competition. As for McNamara, he had to be my favorite player on the court last night. Shooting lights out, being a pest on defense, and great hustle. If these guys stay together for a couple of years at Syracuse, they could be awesome. Besides Anthony and McNamara being freshmen, the low post player that made the block at the end, can't recall his name, is only a sophomore. He has unbelievable footwork in the paint!

In my car at this time: Stevie Ray Vaughn Frank Sinatra Earth, Wind and Fire George Strait James Taylor Toby Mac Dave Koz

I hope these quotes aren't too exagerated. The leaping ability is a possibility, but 23 points in 3 minutes!? I hope it is true, but it sounds to good to be.