SIX The Gazette-Times, Heppner, Ore., Thursday, March 10, 1977
ComMim wants
Six returning lettermen and
13 others have responded to
Dale Conklin's call to the
cinders this spring, but if the
coach has his druthers,
another handful of upperclass
men will be called again.
Conklin is eyeing a potential
group of about 20 thinclads as
the first week of conditioning
workouts begins at Heppner
High School. Track began
Monday in preparation for an
eleven meet schedule that
starts Apr. 2 with the Willam
ette Relays in Salem.
Conklin, in an interview
Ki nil
Golf is 90
concentration
A treat for every English teacher in America. We present,
with much hesitation and idle stupidity, the first and
hopefully last uncensored edition of the Wil Phinney golf
dictionary.
It is very possible that only my golfing audience will
appreciate and enjoy this bit of links humor. It is also very
possible that even my own partisan players will not enjoy it.
So first, let's be serious. Golf
is a fascinating game, even to
many who think they may not .
enjoy "hitting a little white
ball around till you get to the
hole."
A "sissy sport"? It's been
called that. But I've never
looked at Jack Nicklaus or Lee
Trevino or Charles Moody or
even Johnny Miller as a
"sissy." That foursome could
whip about anyone and could
be seen at the bank for hours
after the match.
Myself, golfing all through high school, I find golf
challenging and a competitive sport. Those golfers who say
they walk onto the course just for the exercise are dealing
with the man who carries the shovel.
I've yet to play with a person who does not have some
competition in mind as he plays; whether he is trying to beat
his partner or trying to beat himself.
Golf is a unique game. You can play alone or with a group.
You do gain exercise and walking is considered one of the
best exercises known to man. And you are able to test
yourself.
Playing against himself is probably what most golfers
would like to do. A player must play his own game, in any
situation, match play or medal. When he begins to play his
opponent's game, he rattles, loses concentration. And that is
the whole key.
Concentration. It has been said that golf is 10 per cent
physical and 90 per cent mental. You don't have to be King
Kong or Charles Atlas to hit a golf ball 250 yards at a poke.
You do not have to jump in astounding bounds or lift
hundreds of pounds over your head. You don't have to run
fast or be quick.
But you have to have willpower and concentration power.
It's a good sport that all can enjoy, young and old.
Like track and even baseball, golf has its record book. And
if you think about these records, they are pretty phenomenal.
When Jack Nicklaus was 23 in 1963, he hit a golf ball 341
yards, but the record long ball is owned by Tommie
Campbell, an Irish golfer who smacked the little white
sphere 392 yards.
The greatest recorded drive is 515 yards. Michael Hoke hit
it on a par five, 450 yard hole. Aided by 35 mile per hour
winds, Hoke's shot landed about a yard in front of the green
and rolled 65 yards past the green.
The greatest amount ever won in official golf prizes is
$3,548,394 by Nicklaus to Dec. 31, 1975. Not bad for a "sissy
sport."
The longest putt on record in a major tourney is 86 feet by
Cary Middlecoff in the 1955 Masters.
Norman Manley holed out on back-to-back par fours, 330
and 290 yard holes, in 1964. The longest ace is 444 yards by
Robert Mitera, who stood 5-6 at the time and weighed 165
pounds!
To prove a point, the youngest ace hitter was six and the
oldest on record is 93, a span of 87 years.
The dictionary must go on. So, here we go.
ACE. From tee to green, taking just one shot on any given
hole. One of many Bicycle cards that lie waiting on card
tables in clubhouses.
BABY IT. Opposite of ram it. To barely touch the ball with
the putter head, many times on downhill lies. Also can
happen with a wedge, which sometimes results in fried eggs.
(See fried eggs.)
BANANA BALL. Describes one of many wierd shots. To
most clubbers, this shot appears with the basic inside-out
swing. The ball goes left with a pull and then right with a
bend like a banana, sometimes traveling further sideways
than front.
BIRDIE. Such fun. A birdie is one less stroke than a par. A
birdie always makes up for a bogey but comes never so
often.
BOGEY. Too bad. Not as nice as a birdie or a par. One
stroke more than the allotted par, putting a person one over
par. Bogeys occur more than not with a hole having at least
one bad shot. (See banana ball.)
DOUBLE BOGEY. Describes a person's inner feelings on
Sunday morning after a Saturday night at the clubhouse.
(Continued on page 7)
Monday, said a small group of
upperclass at '?tes had not
yet turned out. :'e would not
make public th names, but
said he would work to per
suade them to compete. With
them, Conklin said, "we could
have a district championship
team."
As far as numbers, Conklin
said the group was the best
turnout he's ever had. Four of
his tracksters will don the
Blue and Gold during basket
ball, too.
Youth and inexperience will
dominate the spring with the
things jJj
around
1- y
u -
WIL PHINNEY
so
Mustangs, Conklin said. There
are just two seniors and a lone
junior on the squad, but for
Conklin, optimism abounds.
"One has to be optimistic,"
Conklin explained. "First we
are getting a new facility and
secondly, the interest shown
by freshmen and sophomores.
That has got to enhance our
program."
Heppner's silk laden run
ners and field event personnel
will have the benefits of a 400
meter track this season, due to
volunteer labor and time
headed up by the Heppner
Lions Club. The new track
facility will turn the old 330
yard oval into a granite-sand
track.
Conklin's roster is dotted
with talent. Steve McLaughlin
and Dave Allstott (both play
ing baseball as their first
choice), are the seniors on the
group. McLaughlin competed
with the 440 relay team at the
state meet last year and is
also a hurdler.
Allstott was clearing the bar
at six feet last year when a
baseball injury thwarted his
spring slate. As a sophomore
the year before, he established
the school record in the triple
Begins
Holland looks for
century mark at HHS
"Defense keeps you in the ball game and
offense will win it for you." So goes the basic
philosophy of Dale Holland, Heppner High
School's diamond nine mentor who will look
for his 100th win at Heppner in their first clash
on Mar. 18.
Holland, who has compiled a 99-86 record at
HHS and a 17 year mark of 208-129, is in his
18th year of high school coaching and his 11th
year at Heppner.
Holland's background in the sport is im
pressive. A graduate of Linfield College,
Holland played four years of collegiate
baseball. Following that, he was head
baseball coach at Huntington for three years,
a team that the Mustangs face in early April.
After three years at Huntington, Holland
returned to his high school alma mater at
Crow and took over the head tasks in baseball
there.
While at Crow, Holland won a state
championship in 1963. During a three year
stint at Crow, his record was an inspiring
58-12. His championship squad of '63 had a
19-2 mark and defeated Wasco County for the
title, 9-1.
..Holland has been coaching at Heppner for
he last 11 years and has come up with a
eague champ one time, in 1973, when his John
'oyer-led Mustangs earned a 16-4 mark. They
Unm&rred Eckmsm wins
Sands
Jim Lankford and Dave
McLachlan combined for 28
points Sunday night to lead
Eckman's city league team to
the first annual, city league
tournament championship.
Eckman bounced Forest Ser
vice in a rowdy, see-saw
battle, 58-48.
Pilot
Vernonia's boys and Knap
pa's girls earned state cham
pionship honors last week in
the state "A" basketball tour
nament in Pendleton.
Columbia Basin Conference
representatives fared well,
also. Sherman County's boys
fell to Chiloquin, 83-78, in their
bid for the consolation title
and Pilot Rock girls bounced
Elgin, 59-57, for third place.
Vernonia won the title with a
52-50 overtime victory over
wpperclassmem turnout
jump.
The only junior on the team
is Marty Smith, who placed
third in district in the shot and
fifth in discus last year. His
put of 46-10' in the shot was
the best sophomore toss
among "A" competitions in
the state.
Great things are expected of
two sophomores, David Piper
and Bryan Marlin. Both prov
ed effective as quick and
speedy roundballers in the
winter.
Piper high jumped 5-10 last
year for a third in district and
ranks high in the state among
X
11th year at Heppner
escapes wit
remaining to escape with a
67-66 win for third place over
Ball.
In the title tilt, Jim Lank
ford poured in 16 points, many
on put up shots under the
bucket. The lanky scorer also
jerked down plenty of re
bounds. McLachlan, a stand
out at Heppner High School
last year, had 12 points and
Rock
Jefferson. Crow took third
place with a 59-58 overtime
triumph over Western Men
nonite. In the girls' bracket, Knap
pa took Mapleton to the clean
ers, 40-39, for first place. Pilot
Rock bested Elgin, 59-57, for
third, and St. Paul beat Bo
nanza, 54-36, for the consola
tion title.
Cindy Hamilton hit a jump
er in overtime to put Pilot
Rock ahead for good Saturday
Sophomore Mark Jr y
Piper works on bar I
during early workout V I
Tuesday. . 1
(G-T Photo) yjj )
fell to Weston-McEwen in the district title tilt,
8-7, in eight innings.
Long-time Mustang baseball fans probably
have noticed Holland's aggressive, offensive
attitude as the most noticeable of his traits.
Holland's teams have a history of running,
"doing a lot of things with the bat." He calls
his offense an "aggressive" and an "attack
ing" system.
Along with offense, a team must have
defense and Holland realizes that. In a
practice Monday, the first for players who
aren't batteries, Holland was hitting flies and
grounders to a group of about ten, while
assistant coach George Koffler was working
the pitching machine.
Holland is in love with baseball and he
doesn't deny it. It's a fact he's proud of.
"Baseball is the best sport for combining
individual sport and team sport," Holland
said. "There is nobody out there to help you
ground a ball or hit it.. .it combines the two
better than any other sport as far as I'm
concerned."
Holland called baseball his "first love" as
he remembered a time when he faced a
16-year-old Micky Lolich when the Detroit
star was playing semi-pro baseball. "Nothing
else compares with baseball in my opinion,"
Holland said.
worked the board convincing
ly. Mike Schwartz was the
game's leading scorer. The
floor general for the Forest
Service hit from the outside
and drove the key for 24
points. Rdger Henry added 14.
Forest Service broke out
with a lead early in the game
and increased a couple buck
girls take third
in Pendleton. It was Janis
Weinke who paced the Rock
ets, producing 20 points in the
contest.
Other Pilot Rock scorers
wereTeri Connor 10, Hamilton
11, and Cathy Ward 10. Elgin's
Shellie Bechtel had 23.
In the Rockets' loss in
consolation, Dave Simantel
poured in 34 points, garnering
22 in the first half. That total
topped all single game scoring
for the tourney.
" Ml
1
freshmen jumpers. He was a
member of the 440 relay team
to., that competed at state, too.
ets to a six point edge in the
early going. But by halftime,
Eckman, the only undefeated
team in the six team league,
had erased the margin and
hung onto a 22-22 intermission
knot.
Eckman, working the inside
with McLachlan and Berg
strom, slowly pulled away in
the second half.
Simantel was a second team
all tourney pick, the only CBC
star. In the girls' division, Teri
Connor and Janis Weinke
made the first team.
Awards went to Sherman for
their rally squad and to
Oregon Trail cheerleaders for
their popular halftime rou
tines. Pilot Rock's rally squad
in the girls' division was tops.
Scoring leaders in the boys'
division listed Simantel num
ber six with a 19.3 average.
h
third.
Marlin's 40-8 leap in the
triple jump earned him a
bronze in district last year and
was the second best jump in
the state among freshmen. It
is also a school record. Marlin
ran on the 440 relay squad and
also threw the javelin and long
jumped.
The remaining letterman is
sophomore Bryce Powell. He
is a hurdler who excelled last
season in the 120 yard highs.
This year, he and McLaughlin
will be making a transition to
the 330 yard intermediate
hurdles, a new event for "A"
schools. The 120 yard highs
will stay, but the 180 yard lows
will be replaced by the IMs.
Distance runners turned out
in force this year, too. From
the 880 yard run to the two
mile, running in the blue and
gold will be sophomore Jeff
Fortenbury and freshmen
Danny Nix, Dale Holland,
Lerry Palmer, Garth Powell
and Troy Borst.
The real strength of the
Mustangs will lie in the field
events. Adding depth to the
returningnucleus will be Mike
Jones, Richard Schmidt, Jim
Parker, Steve Marlatt and
Eric Gow. A California trans
fer, Alan Terpening could
v'-
tourney.
67-66
The game was marred by a
few incidents that left men
laying on the ground, one with
an injury. One of the Eckman
players wrenched a knee in a
board clash.
The battle for third was the
more exciting of the two. con
tests. With less than a minute to
go, Ball's Laverne Van Marter
Doug Kalista was number four
in rebounding with a 12 carom
average and Skiles and Col
quitt were listed nine and ten
with 8 and 7.7 averages.
In the girls' class, Weinke
was second in scoring with a
16 point average while Connor
was fourth with a 14.3 mark.
In rebounds, Doherty, Withers
and Ward were listed number
five, six and seven with 11.7,
11.7 and 11.3 carom averages,
respectively.
prove beneficial.
All will be competing in
jumping events and also will
participate in other events.
Jones and Schmidt are po
tential sprinters; Parker and
Marlatt will throw and Clow
will hurdle. Terpening lists his
specialty as pole vaulter.
Last, but not least, is Reid
Miller, a transfer who will eye
the quarter mile as his favor
ite. "The apparent weakness
now is lack of sprinters and
especially experienced sprint
ers," Conklin said. "We'll
compete in the sprint relay,
but what happens in the
dashes is a guess."
Conklin said "there are a
couple of guys in high school
right now that could be good
sprinters who haven't turned
out. I certainly would like to
have them."
Conklin listed upperclass
men who would be district
contenders in the pole vault,
sprints and distance races, but
who have failed to turn out for
the squad yet.
"They would really add to
overall team strength," Conk
lin said, "but that's their
decision."
Sands used two Gary Wat
kins' free throws with no time
hit four of four free throws to
give Ball a three point edge.
George Koffler hit one of his
seven buckets to pull Sands to
within one.
Gary Watkins drew a foul
and went to the line for Sands
with about seven seconds
remaining. Watkins missed
both shots. Sands' players
grabbed the rebound and put
up three shots under the
cylinder that wouldn't go. Van
Marter jerked down the re
bound, but a foul was called
under the bucket and Watkins
went to the line with no time
left on the clock. "
Watkins sunk both ends of a
one-for-one situation and gave
the win for third to Sands.
John McCabe was the win
ner's leader with 22 points.
Watkins followed with 16,
Koffler had 14 and Jamie
Sands 11.
For Ball, Van Marter topped
all scorers for the night with
27. Mike Rowell popped 25.