Varsity Sports

Three weeks ago, there was little excitement in the Appalachian State University men's basketball team.

The team had a bad losing streak and had lost several players. But with a three-game winning streak, most recently a 63-59 victory over Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, things are looking much more optimistic, especially as far as post-season chances.

Noah Brown's 20 points and Donald Payne and Josh ShehanÕs double-doubles proved too much for the Catamounts (4-20, 2-9 in Southern Conference play) to bear even after Western Carolina cut a 13-point Appalachian State lead to two points, 56-54, with a little over three minutes to play.

Payne finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shehan added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Leading the Catamounts was Willie Freeman with 14 points and eight rebounds, Cory Largent with 13 points and seven rebounds and Casey Rogers who added 12 points and three assists. Western CarolinaÕs largest and last lead came with 14:42 left in the first half, 11-8.

The Mountaineers (9-15, 6-5 in SoCon) battled back and led by as much as six points in the first half before taking a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Appalachian State exploded out of the gates in the second half, grabbing a 13-point lead, 42-29, after a 14-4 run to start the half.

The Catamounts then went on an 11-0 run and cut the Western Carolina deficit to two, 42-40, in the middle of the second half.

After the Mountaineers took a six-point lead nearing the end of the game, the Catamounts collapsed, missing four out of their last five shots in the final two and a half minutes.

The late collapse sent the Catamounts to their ninth conference loss of the year, putting them in last place in the SoCon North Division and sending Appalachian State to victory.

The win gives the Mountaineers a strong lock on third place in the SoCon North Division, a spot they can strengthen further when they meet fourth-place Davidson College Saturday.

Also, the victory is the Mountaineers' fifth victory in their last six games.

The Davidson game will be played in Holmes Convocation Center with a 1 p.m. tipoff.

The Mountaineer women competed in a total of three indoor track and field meets this weekend that propelled them to the number ten ranking in the nation among NCAA's schools.

Appalachian's women squad started the weekend at the Millrose Games where senior Mary Jayne Harrelson earned a NCAA qualifying mark in the 800 meters.

Her time is the second fastest in the nation this winter and she is ranked as the number one female 800-meter runner in the nation by Trackwire.

Saturday morning the rest of the Mountaineer team competed at the Golden Flash Open at Kent State University. The team sprinted, ran, jumped, and threw to their best meet of the season.

The team earned nearly twenty Southern Conference (SoCon) top-ten ranked performances. Next up for the weekend of Feb. 2-4 was the New Balance Invitational.

Harrelson hopped a plane down to Boston to compete in the mile this time around the track.

Again Harrelson ran to a national qualifying mark in a event she is also ranked number one in the nation in by Trackwire.

Her mile time is the fourth fastest in the nation this year.

She has only competed twice this indoor season, so there is much more to come from this Mountaineer. Harrelson is not the only star of the Mountaineer track and field program.

Harrelson has a strong supporting class of senior Shonte' Pinkston, senior Kirsten Bowden and many others.

The Mountaineer women have earned over thirty top-ten ranked performances in the SoCon this winter.

Track and field members honored

Compiled from ASUtrackandfield.com

A total of 109 students from the Appalachian State University Athletic Department made the academic honor roll for the fall semester of 2000, according to statistics released by Coordinator of Academic Services for Athletes Mary Quinn.

Six student athletes, three male and three female, from Appalachian State received perfect grade point averages of 4.0.

The men's track and field and cross country programs registered all three of the men's sportsÕ 4.0 grade point averages.

Cross country and track distance runners junior Alan Marion, junior James Slagle and freshman Matt Stuart all recorded unblemished grade point averages during the fall semester.

The men's cross country team has made Academic All-American status for the last three straight years under head cross country coach Mike Curcio.

Judo Club looks to expand

Club Sports

Judo is a sport that has a rich history and is full of tradition, but recently it has elevated to a more competitive nature. Appalachian State University has had a judo club for some time, but it has never been very big.

Last year, Judo Black Belt Anthony DeBetta revived the club and now he looks to take it to the next level with the Club Sports program.

With Club Sports, the club will be funded by the school, which will allow the club to enter its members into competitions and make it stronger.

"In order to go to a tournament you have to join the United States Judo Association (USJA) and that costs about $30 a year," said Debetta. "If we got funding, that's what we would do.Ó

Currently, many universities have judo clubs, and some even have a varsity team. These clubs meet in tournaments, something DeBetta would like ASU to do.

"Coming up, there are about five-dozen tournaments between now and next September," said DeBetta. "We want to get in a lot of those."

Aside from the USJA membership fees, there are entry fees to tournaments. These range about $20 a tournament. Funding from Club Sports would help give more students the ability to compete.

"Right now, I think a lot of students into judo donÕt go to tournaments just because itÕs not feasible," said ASU alumnus James Heaton, who works out with the club.

"Funding would really help us out and make us a much stronger presence on the Eastern seaboard." If the club does become a Club Sport, Heaton looks to help out as an assistant coach. "I'd like to come in and just keep an eye on whatÕs being taught," said Heaton.

"I do enjoying helping out. We've got some strong guys here and I'll love to get them ready for competitions." In order to join the Club Sports program, according to Club Sports coordinator David Hutchinson, the Judo Club would have to put together an argument on the competitive outlet the club looks to take.

This would then be presented before the Club Council, and the council would vote them in. Hopefully, the club will soon be admitted to the Club Sports program so they may start competing seriously.

Currently, the club is under the Club Wrestling but hopes to branch out on its own. "Right now, we're a part of the wrestling club," said DeBetta. "They're courteous enough to let us use their wrestling room, but weÕre looking to start our own thing.Ó

As for right now, the club is just trying to promote Judo on the ASU campus. The Judo Club is not solely about competition, however. Judo means "The gentle way" and that is exactly what DeBetta and others want ASU students to see. "We just want people around campus to be aware," said DeBetta. "This is a college campus where lots of incidents happen."

Judo is basically the art of manipulating an attacker's energy against him. By doing this, the defender is able to either get away from danger or pin his or her opponent. It is common for police officers and army rangers to train in judo, since it helps teach confidence and control. By using judo, one is likely to walk away from a fight unharmed and without throwing a punch.

Bouncers at clubs often train in judo as well. If something goes wrong at a club, the bouncer is able to take control of the situation with out harming the disturbed individual. The same is true among two friends. In an example DeBetta gave, if two friends are at a bar and one gets drunk, the other could pin his or her friend unharmed until they get control.

"Judo is very practical," said DeBetta.

For those interested in judo but not competing, the Judo Club offers simple techniques in self defense. Anyone can learn self-defense through judo.

Sensei Smith, who helps out with the judo club, explained that he teaches all types of people, from those in wheelchairs to overweight people. Anyone can benefit from the use of Judo in self defense.

Judo also offers a new sense of confidence to those who use it. For those who are interested in competing, Judo can look very complex. It is not, however. "There are 69 recognized judo throws in the USJA," said Heaton. "The individual normally only uses about five or six of those."

If the club is not accepted into the Club Sports program anytime soon, they would continue to work at bringing in more people to see what they are all about.

"We're trying to promote judo as a club at ASU," said DeBetta. "If you want self-defense, that's what we would train you for; if you want competition, that's what we would train you for. "We tailor it to studentÕs needs."

For more information about the Judo Club, please contact Anthony DeBetta at 264-1317.ASU womenÕs track excels in NCAA

Appalachian State's Mary Jayne Harrelson finished fourth in a field of three Olympians at the 94th annual Millrose Games held in Madison Square Garden on Friday.

Harrelson, a four-time All-American finished 2.95 seconds behind the winner, Olympian Jearles Miles-Clark, with a time of 2:08.37.

On Sunday, Harrelson continued her incredible running, finishing fifth in the New Balance Invitational indoor mile race with a time of 4:40.98.

The two performances qualify Harrelson into the NCAA Indoor Championships to be held March 9-10 at the University of Arkansas.

Mountaineer track and field rocks Golden Flash

Compiled from ASU trackandfield.com

Appalachian's performances at the Golden Flash Open at Kent State University proved to be worth the ten hour bus ride. Many Mountaineers earned season and personal best against the northeast competition.Ê

Many of those season and personal best also translate into Southern Conference (SoCon) leading marks.ÊOn the menÕs side 23 SonCon top-ten marks were earned. On the womenÕs side 15 top-ten marks were earned.

With less than a month to go until the SoCon Championships both the menÕs and the women's squads are starting to look like teams that can challenge for the championships.

Next up for the Mountaineers is the Pepsi Invite at Virginia Tech University Feb. 9 in Blacksburg, Va.