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Assistant Sports Editor:
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Best Bet
NFL: Buffalo at Jacksonville,
5:30p.m., ESPN
lbursday, October 18,2001
Courtesy of Oregon Media Services
Art Skipper, a former Oregon javelin thrower, was killed Tuesday in a small
plane crash near Sandy, Ore. Skipper won the 1992 NCAA Championship.
Former track star dies in crash
■ Oregon alumnus Art Skipper,
the 1992 NCAA Champion
in the javelin, lost his life
Tuesday in a fatal plane crash
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Former Oregon track and field star
Art Skipper, 31, died Tuesday after
noon in a plane crash near Sandy, Ore.
Skipper, who one friend described as
“fearless” and “invincible," graduated
from the University in 1992, the same
year that he won the NCAA Champi
onship in the javelin.
The small single-engine aircraft
crashed into a rural Clackamas Coun
ty area about 3:55 p.m. Tuesday,
killing Skipper on impact and seri
ously injuring his 37-year-old cousin,
Ted Skipper, who was the only other
passenger.
Alice Lasher, spokeswoman for the
Sandy Fire Department, was first on
the scene and described the area as be
ing “rugged terrain,” making access to
the crash difficult.
“The plane was pretty twisted, so it
was difficult to decide who had been
flying," Lasher said. “It was raining
hard and was foggy and took 15 to 20
minutes to remove (Ted).”
Ted Skipper was transported to Ore
gon Health & Science University,
where he is listed in serious condition.
The cause of the crash remains under
investigation by the FAA, though offi
cials said the 1950 fixed-wing Piper
may have clipped a tree before falling
to the ground.
While at Oregon, Art Skipper won
the NCAA title with a javelin throw
of 251 feet, 8 inches. He was awarded
two All-American awards and placed
at least third in the Pacific-10 Confer
ence all four years of his collegiate ca
reer.
“Art was one of the best athletes
that came through the Oregon
program. He was dedicated
to the team and competed
even when he may have been
injured or not at his best.
Hell be missed by many. ”
Bill Dellinger
retired track coach
“Art was one of the best athletes that
came through the Oregon program,”
said legendary coach Bill Dellinger,
who guided the Ducks men’s track and
field program from 1973 to 1998. “He
was dedicated to the team and compet
ed even when he may have been in
jured or not at his best. He’ll be missed
by many.”
Skipper also still holds the nation
al high school javelin record throw of
259-10, which he set at Sandy High in
1988, the year he was selected as the
National High School Athlete of the
Year by Track and Field News Maga
zine.
But more than his accomplishments,
friends said that it was the way he car
ried himself and how he treated people
that made him stand out.
“Art was larger than life,” said Brian
Juenemann, 31, Skipper’s classmate at
Sandy High and at the University. “He
seemed like an invincible character. He
lived his life fearlessly and always had
you shaking your head in amazement
at some of the stuff he did.
“He wouldn’t think twice about get
ting in that small of an airplane.”
The Skipper family owns the Coun
try Squire Airpark located about one
mile from the crash and 30 miles
from Portland. Skipper’s father and
uncle are also both involved with the
Portland Fire Department, and Skip
per himself had just finished his first
year as a member of the Portland Fire
Bureau.
“We are really grieving,” Deputy
Chief Jim Klum said. “We lost a valued
and loved member of the department.”
Skipper had recently married fellow
former Oregon track and field athlete
Kamala Kohlmeier.
As a prep athlete, Skipper was also a
standout in football and wrestling.
Skipper’s wrestling coach in high
school, Chuck Kearney Sr., is the father
of current Oregon wrestling coach
Chuck Kearney Jr.
Turn to Skipper, page 10
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Ducks’ two newest players have entered
the Pac-10 with a vengeance,
and are showing no signs of letting up
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
When the Chicago Bulls dominated the
NBA in the 1990s, they had the tandem
of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
leading the way. The same went for the
Oakland Athletics and their “Bash Brothers” of
Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Heck, even the
Seattle Mariners haVe Jamie Moyer and Ichiro
Suzuki.
Now, the Oregon Ducks have Closs and Mar
tin. Lindsay Closs and Stephanie Martin, that is.
Martin, a junior transfer from the College of
Southern Idaho, is a middle blocker with a soft
side. Listed as 6-foot-3, but plays much bigger,
Martin is the prototypical volleyball player. Her
arm swing produces shots upward of 100 miles
per hour, forcing those below to cringe and hope
for the best, and her vertical jump is rivaled by
very few in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Closs, on the other hand, is almost the exact
opposite. Her demeanor is vicious on the court,
and her play this season has elevated her to the
top of the conference. While she is not as intimi
dating as Martin, the 6-foot-l transfer from Fres
no State sneaks up on opponents at their worst
moments.
Together, these two make up the core of the
Oregon offense, but more important, they are the
future of Oregon volleyball. And both are ready
to take on No. 7 Arizona when the Wildcats visit
McArthur Court at 7 p.m. tonight.
While both are juniors and just beginning thjejr
Oregon careers, they have already made their
marks. Martin has led the Ducks in kills in the
last four matches, and her 26 kills Sunday
against Idaho State represent the second-most
kills by a Pac-10 player in a match this season.
Closs, while not posting the type of numbers
that Martin has, is also crucial to the Oregon of
fense. But it might be her defense that is her
strongest suit.
At 1.25 blocks per game, she is ranked sixth in
the Pac-10. Her nine total blocks against Idaho
State also tied her season best. And after each
successful block, Closs fills the court with a
scream that deafens the ear and makes her oppo
nent uneasy.
“They’ve been phenomenal,” head coach Carl
Ferreira said. “I don’t know if their shoulders are
sore or not — because they’ve been carrying the
load. I’ve been extremely impressed with them.
I’m extremely impressed with their consistency,
their physicality and their resiliency.”
But it wasn’t always going to be this way for
the duo.
Martin was a highly celebrated player coming
out of Westwood High School in Mesa, Ariz. She
earned all-East Valley and all-state accolades fol
lowing her senior season, but because of aca
demic reasons, she decided to spend two years
at the College of Southern Idaho.
After an outstanding sophomore year for the
Golden Eagles, Martin received national honors
after taking the squad to the NjCAA National
Turn to Volleyball, page 10
3
Junior
Lindsay Closs
has come
in strong
in her first
season,
and has
helped give
the Oregon
offense
a presence
in the middle.
In her first
full season
as a Duck,
junior
Stephanie
Martin
has shown off
the prowess
that made her
the National
Junior College
Player of
the Year
last season.
m
I
Photos by Adam Amato Emerald