Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 37

Albuquerque Journal Sportsline 821-1800 Page 1, Section Sunday, May 3, 1992 Football Player Rowe On Track i j1 Aztecs Sprinter Tunes Up at UNM's Meet By Rick Wright ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Kirby, which combined men's and women's college quadrangulars with a small but star-studded group of unattached entries. Texas-El Paso won the men's meet, with host UNM second. Oregon easily won the women's meet, with the Lobos fourth. Among the unattached competitors was Lithianian middle-distance star Laima good, but it was a little too windy." Albuquerque resident Ken Martin failed to make the U.S. marathon team at the Olympic Trials three weeks ago.

Now hoping to qualify for the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 trials, he eased to victory Saturday in the 1,500 in 3:56.8. "I'm going to concentrate on shorter races for the next 18 months," Martin said, "The marathon is just so unpredictable." Olympic hopeful Nat Page was a predictable winner in the men's 400 intermediate hurdles. An assistant coach at Cal State-Los Angeles, which competed in the men's collegiate meet, Page ran unattached and won in a stadium-record 49.8. Natanya Jones (women's 100), Kwane Stewart (men's 110 high hurdles), Eric r. Lobos Rally In Doubles To Win WAC Tennis Title FROM JOURNAL REPORTS SALT LAKE CITY -New Mexico rallied'-in doubles to defeat top-seeded San Diego State and win the Western Athletic Conference men's tennis championship Saturday.

It was the Lobos' second straight title. They qualify for the NCAA tournament, May 15-24 at Athens, Ga. San Diego State won four of the six singles matches and needed to win just one, of the three doubles matches to claim its first WAC tennis championship. New Mexico swept the doubles matches, however, to win 5-4. 'i "I thought we had about a 10 percent chance or less of winning, being down 4-2 I after the singles matches," New Mexico coach Tim Cass said.

"They swept us in doubles last time we played them, but today MORE: See NEW MEXICO on PAGE D6 'r 4, In previous visits to Albuquerque, Patrick Rowe ran circles around the University of New Mexico football secondary. Saturday, at the Don Kirby Memorial Invitational track and field meet, he showed he can run in a straight line, too. Rowe, San Diego State sprinter-wide receiver and a second-round choice of the Cleveland Browns in last Sunday's National Football League draft, placed third in the 200 meters (21.46 seconds) at UNM Track. Rowe also ran a 47-second leg for the Aztecs' 4x400 relay. Though Rowe has yet to sign with the Browns, it should be noted he ran both of his races without once stopping to phone his agent.

"It's fun, and it's competition," he said. "And I need some speedwork. I've got a (Browns) mini-camp next weekend." Rowe wasn't the only big name in the i IP i r. If Baikauskaite, who set a stadium record of 2:03.8 in the women's 800. Baikauskaite is one of a growing number of international track athletes who've come to train in Albuquerque.

Chip Smith, who attended Sandia High School and now attends Arkansas, flew home this weekend in an attempt to make the 5,000 qualifying time for -the upcoming NCAA championships. His winning time of 14:41.6 set a stadium record, but didn't qualify him for the NCAAs. "I came home during spring break and ran a real good 1,500 meters," Smith said, "so I thought I could qualify here. I felt PAUL BEARCE JOURNAL Smith (men's 400), Wilfred Griego 5,000) and Jon Vigil (men's javelin) won events for UNM. "I got a very good start, and that won the 100 for me," said Jones, who also placed third in the 200.

"This meet had good competition, and that's what we need." Andy Klemas, running unattached, won the Don Kirby Memorial steeplechase in 9:45.7. Arazi Fadeo WWe lee Molls JBy Clark Spencer iia JKNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS LOUISVILLE, Ky. They said Arazi had wings. They said he was nhe second coming of Secretariat. The Kentucky Derby was to be his to conquer.

Then he went out under a gray before 132,543 witnesses at Churchill Downs Saturday and lost. colt from France finished a portal eighth, a solid 8V2 lengths ibehind upset winner Lil E. Tee. "He went by me with what looked like complete authority nearing the quarter pole," winning rider Pat Day said of the dimunitive-size Finally, Day Wins His Elusive Derby THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOUISVILLE, Ky. Pat Day did the unexpected in the Kentucky Derby.

He won. The 39-year-old jockey, who doesn't hesitate to look to the heavens for his remarkable success in racing, finally reached the winner's circle Saturday when he rode lightly regarded Lil E. Tee to victory. "I always stated emphatically that there was a Derby out there with my name on it," Day said. You might have known that when Day's time came, it would be when it was least expected.

After all, he had been expected to win other Derbys. Nine times since 1982 he had Derby mounts. But at Churchill Downs, where Day owns nearly every record and has a legion of adoring fans, the Derby had eluded him. Until Saturday. jur jet f.

VIM I -7 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kentucky Derby on Saturday in Louisville. It was Day's first victory in 10 Derby rides. Jockey Pat Day rides Lil E. Tee across the wire ahead of second-place Casual Lies and Gary Stevens during the 118th giant. "But then he just looked like he didn't have any punch at the end of the stretch." Arazi certainly didn't.

The 4-5 'favorite was slowing to a near stop lby the time he reached the wire; his eighth-place finish was the worst by any odds-on favorite in Derby tory. Lil E. Tee, a 17-1 wagering choice in a field of 18 starters, dispensed of and all the rest to defeat Casual Lies by one length. The time of 2:04 was the slowest Derby clocking on a fast track since Cannonade's 2:04 in "1974, further underscoring the lief that this year's crop of 3-year-1 olds is far short of spectacular. A Pennsylvania-bred, the first from that state to win the Derby, Lil r-'E.

Tee started his inauspicious career at Calder Race Course, he won his first race last October before venturing on to "greater heights. He won the March 28 Jim Beam Stakes at Turf way against lesser opponents but by a neck to Pine Bluff in the rApril 18 Arkansas Derby at Oak- Jawn Park Few figured he would win Amer- er. After Dance Floor had caved in at the top of the lane, Casual Lies took the lead. It was short-lived, however, and Lil E. Tee came flying from the outside and blew past in the final sixteenth of a mile.

"When I put the hammer down on Lil E. Tee, he kicked and made the lead coming to the eighth pole," Day said. "He was really putting forth all of his effort the last part of the race and, as you can imagine, the noise out there is pretty deafening." ica's most notable race. Horses such as A.P. Indy and Technology were given a far better chance to defeat Arazi.

But A.P. Indy was scratched Saturday morning because of a bruised foot, and Technology never seriously threatened and finished 10th. Lil E. Tee? Well, the man who bred him, Lawrence Liftman, said he was once told his colt "wouldn't ever be a racehorse" and sold him at a sale in Florida for the bargain sum of $2,000. it." Arazi, who was taken back to 16th place by Pat Valenzuela during the race's early stages, mounted a charge up the back stretch and started blowing past horses just as he did when he won the Nov.

2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill. "Going into the last turn, I thought there was no way he was going to get beat," Valenzuela said. Arazi loomed up on the outside and started to challenge for the lead With Saturday's victory, Lil E. Tee earned more than $700,000 for owner W. Cal Partee and trainer Lynn Whiting.

And Day, one of the nation's leading jockeys for the past 10 years, finally won the race that had always eluded him. In nine previous Derby mounts, Day had finished second three times. "I'm ecstatic," he said. "I have stated emphatically time and time again that I thought there was a Derby out there with my name on when, suddenly, he simply ran out of steam. "He come by me at the same point last fall in the Breeders' Cup and went on to woo the entire world with his stretch run and his performance that day," Day said.

"I thought maybe I was running for second." But Arazi's charge failed to last. Tired, he wavered from side to side the last eighth of a mile and sputtered under the wire a fallen legend. Lil E. Tee was full of fuel, howev Relievers Struggling for Dukes i Pitching Coach Osteen Wants To Develop 'Finished Product' ft aJT 'm Mr By Barbara Chavez JOURNAL STAFF WRITER 4'' yV ''Af' LI i 1 li ri 4 y. 4 i s.

GREG SORBER JOURNAL Del Worte coach Tom Miller talks to his team season with the Knights, Miller Is caught in a between innings in a recent game. In his 19th controversy about his coaching style. Knightmare at Del Norte, Part II The fear factor. It's what Albuquerque Dukes pitching coach Claude Osteen talks about these days when discussing the team's bullpen. "We don't have a finished product," said Osteen.

"It's different from last year when we had a lot of guys with experience behind them. This year we have young guys who are still finding out what it takes to pitch in the parks in this league. Not to mention the fear factor is still something they have to overcome every night." 1 A core of relief pitchers has had to endure most of the blame for this season's eight losses. In the 12 victories, only three pitchers have saves Jason Brosnan, Mike James and Zak Shinall. The relievers know they are under the microscope, and some even say the criticism is justified.

"We know we're not getting the job done right now," said left-hander Jason Brosnan. "We're not throwing enough strikes, we're getting behind on a lot of batters and we're walking a lot, too. It's not like we're trying to avoid our problems. I think we're all facing them, and we're working hard. That's what we want people to understand." Five relievers Brosnan, James, Pedro Astacio, Hector Berrios, and Mike Wilkins had pitched a combined 28 innings after 20 games.

In that span they were responsible for 35 earned runs and had a combined 11.66 ERA. Only one, the right-handed Shinall, has put together a series of strong outings. He is 5-0 with one save and a 0.00 ERA. Even Shinall sees problems. He credits his success to hard work combined with a lot of luck.

"It's not like all the guys aren't working hard through all this," said Shinall "It's the kind of thing where we're all struggling to find all the problems and work them out. But we'll all get better. We're not worried. "At this point, all we can do individually is go out Longtime Baseball Coach Miller At Odds With Players, Parents By Phill Casaus GREG SORBER JOURNAL Pitchers Brian Holton, Jason Brosnan and Hector Berrios have played a part this season in the Dukes' bullpen. Albuquerque relievers have struggled a bit so far.

every time we're given the chance and just do our job. There's really no advantage in worrying about what the guy ahead of you did or what the guy behind you has to do." Inexperience seems to be one of the biggest problems in the pen. Astacio (13.50 ERA), Wilkins (23.14), Brosnan (9.53) and Berrios (7.11) had no Class AAA experience before this season. Astacio, 22, a right-hander, had been expected to fill the shoes of at least one of last year's top closers, John Wetteland and Mike Christopher. Wetteland was traded last season to Cincinnati and then to Montreal, where he already has a save for the MORE: See DUKES on PAGE i4 1 JOURNAL STAFF WRITER "C'mon over here," Miller tells a visitor when a gust of Northeast Heights grit turns the Knights' empty dugout into a scene from "Lawrence of Arabia." "The dust isn't so bad over here." Sure enough, only a few feet from the turbulence lies a placid springtime day.

It's a telling sign of the times with the Del Norte baseball program. One minute, the Knights situation seems dark and threatening; the it's sunny and hopeful. However, such turbulence isn't usually Tom Miller's way. In his 19 years at the school, the last 18 as head coach, the Knights have won one Class AAAA state championship, been to the finals three other times and stood, Everest-like, as a rock of MORE: see KNIGHTS on PAGE D4 Tom Miller, the longtime baseball coach at Del Norte High School, knows the pretty, jade-green field as if it were his own front lawn. He has tended to this diamond for 19 years.

Happy memories help fertilize the place. So does sweat. When Miller arrives, eyes usually hidden by trademark dark sunglasses, every blade of grass, specie of dusLand whirlwind of emotion seems to bend to its master..