Published: April 20, 2008 12:11 am            

Hughes News & Views: Rose senior caps home career with victory

Earthquakes in the daytime.

Sprinkles increasing to a steady drizzle in the evening.

Despite these obstacles, nothing was going to negatively impact the fifth annual Rose-Hulman Twilight Meet on Friday at the William M. Welch Track and Field Complex.

The non-scored meet ended after 10 p.m., but every scheduled event took place.

“This is a good meet for us,” Rose track coach Larry Cole said late Friday night. “We’ve got 10 different schools represented … and no earthquakes.”

Yes, the ground shaking occurred earlier Friday. That’s something Rose-Hulman senior Sue Nickol of Solon, Ohio, won’t soon forget. But there’s a significant personal event she’ll remember even longer — a victory in the women’s 1,500-meter run in her final home meet.

“It was pretty awesome,” Nickol admitted. “I was really excited… I was in third most of the race. With about 800 [meters] left, me and the DePauw girl [Julie Theibert] passed the Franklin girl [Kristi Brown]. At 300, I started kicking and I ended up beating the DePauw girl.”

Nickol’s time was 5 minutes, 0.17 seconds, just missing her goal of breaking the 5-minute mark.

“It gives me a goal for next week, I guess,” Nickol said, maintaining an upbeat mood.

Nickol was referring to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships next Friday and Saturday at Anderson.

“That [victory] was great for Sue,” Cole emphasized. “She’s worked hard her whole career and she ran her best race in her final home meet. I’m really proud of her.”

Nickol wasn’t the only Rose-Hulman winner Friday. Others were sophomore Tyler Kreipke (men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase), sophomore Travis Vanderberg (men’s javelin), sophomore Katie Moorhead (women’s javelin) and freshman Anastasia Tarpeh (women’s 200 meters).

Runner-up finishers for Rose were freshman Donna Marsh (women’s triple jump), Tarpeh (women’s 100), senior Janel Belton (women’s discus) and sophomore Jared Stermole (men’s shot put).

A few Indiana State athletes competed unattached. Among those winners were Major Clay (men’s high jump) and Jon Lautzenheiser (men’s long jump).

The top-five places in each event appeared in Saturday’s Tribune-Star.

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• Boxing note — The Indiana Junior Olympic amateur boxing tournament will take place next weekend inside Ryves Youth Center at Etling Hall, 1356 Locust St.

Matches will start at 4 p.m. Saturday (doors open at 3 p.m.) and noon next Sunday (doors open at 11 a.m.).

Two-day adult general-admission tickets cost $15 each, while two-day tickets for children under 12 are $7.50. One-day adult tickets are $10 and one-day children tickets are $5.

For ticket and additional information, call Ryves Youth Center director Jim Edwards at (812) 235-1265 in the daytime Monday through Friday.



David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by fax at (812) 231-4321; or by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com.

        

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