The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • Page 11

Americans Start Triumphantly MONTREAL (UPI) Mike Bruner, a college Both American boxers in action on the first last month, the world record had been 2:00.70, set he wants people to know he'll give up anyth MONTREAL (UPI) Mike Bruner, a college dropout who makes water beds for a hobby, broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly Sunday night and led a 1-2-3 United States sweep of the first swimming medals awarded at the XXI Summer Olympic Games. Bruner's victory, in 1:59.23, capped a day of successes for United States athletes as the Games finally got under way following weeks of political infighting. John Naber, a University of Southern California senior whose easy banter with the crowd is rare among swimmers, returned a second world record to the U.S., 56.19 seconds, in qualifying for Monday night's finals of the 100-meter backstroke. And the U.S. basketball team, whose appearance here can only be described as a crusade to avenge the bitter, controversial and still hotly-disputed last-second loss that cost it the gold medal for the only time at Munich four years ago, rolled to victory in its first game.

The Americans, displaying speed as an Olympic basketball weapon for the first time, crushed Italy-one of the teams expected to provide its toughest Both American boxers day also won. It was a day the athletes finally got center stage, even as confusion still remained over the exact number of nations who will compete in this 15-day festival of fun and games. The list was down to 94 after 15 boycotted opening ceremony, but a boxer from Kenya, one of those countries which had indicated it was pulling out, competed and won Sunday night, and the manager of cyclers kept his team in the competition and said, take the Egypt, which had skipped the ceremony in sympathy with the black African bloc, also competed. But the day clearly belonged to the United States. East Germany has mounted the first serious threat to supremacy in world swimming, and both of the U.S.

records Sunday night came at the expense of the East Germans. Bruner, whose home is in Stockton, was followed by Steve Gregg, a sore-shouldered University of Southern California student, and by Bill Forrester, a recent high school graduate from Birmingham, Ala. All finished in under two minutes, a remarkable performance considering that until last month, I by Mark was one of the television commentators Sunday winning one of his seven gold medals at Munich four years ago. Roger Pyttel of East Germany, who lowered record to 1:59 63 in his nation's Olympic Trials, finished fourth in 2:00.2. Many in the crowd began waving miniature U.S.

flags when the race ended. The shaven-headed Bruner, who had been seeded only sixth among American backstrokers before he won the Olympic Trials, moved 90 minutes away from Stockton to Cupertino, last year to move in with a teammate and work more closely with Bill Rose, his coach at the De Anza Swim Club. He quit Stanford to spend more time training, and in his off time he built 18 water beds for his friends. Bruner sleeps on one of them himself, and came here concened he would be unable to get any rest on the beds provided for athletes in the Olympic Village. His record-setting gold medal performance showed those worries were unfounded one of the most intense human beings ever said Rose.

shaved his head not so much for speed as Ex-East Star Dies In Sleep people to know he'll give up anything if going to help him. performance took the world record away from Roland Matthes, the stolid East German who won a total of four backstroke gold medals at the Olympics in 1968 and 1972. Matthes qualified third Sunday night. About the only satisfaction for the East Germans was a world record of their own, 4:07.95 in in the 4x100 meter medley relay that chopped 5-Vi off their old world mark. The United States won the silver medal.

The U.S. boxing winners were bantamweight Charles Mooney, an Army sergeant stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C., who has been a boxer only three years, and favored lightweight Ray Leonard of Palmer Park, the 1975 Pan American Games champion. They scored unanimous decisions over Mohamed Rais of Morocco and Ulf Carlsson of Sweden, respectively. Nadia Comeneci, the 14-vear-old Romani a pixie, scored a perfect 10.0 in the compulsory exercises on the uneven parallel bars in gymnastics.

Related Stories, Page 12, 13 Olympic Medals THE LINCOLN STAR Sports Monday, July 19, 1976 By RANDY YORK Bill Holmes, who earned a reputation as one of the most intense football competitors in Lincoln prep history and a monster back with bright promise at Nebraska, died in his sleep Sunday moming. Dale Holmes found his 19- vear-old son dead after returning from church Cause of death is unknown, although Holmes had suffered from a form of hypoglycemia, an abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood. was not a true his father said. went through all kinds of tests and doctors never were able to pinpoint the problem. know what to he added came home early from church and were going to grill dinner outside.

Because he had a tendency to get tired, he did sleep in a lot. had watched the Olympics on television Saturday night and he went to bed about 10 30.1 Olympic Schedule 4 8 a United vs pan -wonnen). Ham Canada vi Cuba 2 pm Soviet Union Canada (men), 4 pm. Soviet Union vs Australia (men), 7pm CjechoslovaKia vs Bulgaria Swomen 9 pm vs Japan (men Ail games at Etienne Desmarteau Centre 1 and 7 pm. preliminary bouts at Maunce Richard Arena swimming-V 3U am.

(heats) men's 20b freestyle women 200 butterfly, men 100-mefer breaststroke men I SB- meter freestyle 7 pm men lOO-meter breaststroke semi fmai women's IQO-meter freestyle final, men 100 meter becksfroke final women's 206 meter butterfly final; men's 200 meter freestyle final AH events at the Olympic pool went up to wake him shortly after noon and he was News of his death shocked current and former teammates and coaches as well as his family. just really breaks me said Lee Zentic, who coached Holmes at East High School where he captained the Spartans to a 10-0 record and state championship in 1974 He earned all-state recognition and a Nebraska football scholarship, Bill was such a super kid one of the finrest boys ever been associated Zentic said. know of a classmate, a teacher or a coach who didn't hold him in the highest respect. through the years, there are a few athletes who stand out in your mind, not just for their ability, but for their character and attitude. Bill led hat list for me.

He was just like a son Nebraska coach Tom Osborne, who visited the family Sunday, expressed similar shock. were aware of his medical Osborne said, he appeared to be im- proving and was having difficulty less often Each year there are two or three freshman players who emerge as certain Big Eight performers and he was certainly one of them. would have played for us this he added might not have been a starter, but if we had needed him for a full game. 1 know we could have depended on him to do His father said Bill was counting on playing for the Cornhuskers this fall. been very active all he said, worked full time, ran every day.

lifted weights and played basketball and swam in his spare time, He was really looking forward to fall practice. had a code he Uved by and whatever he achieved was through strong personal his father said, was also a very considerate young man. We feel so blessed to have had him 19 years. just come home to us today. He made an impression with us, with kids his own age and with adults.

We know what took his life, but we have faith that somewhere there is a reason Holmes, a captain for the South team in last Shrine Bowl football game, was to receive the Clayton F. Andrews Trophy in the 18th Shrine game next month. The award is the game top defensive honor. was a very intense Osborne observed. is the most intense competitor ever coached," added tic.

Zentic said Holmes had encountered problems a few times his senior year had been to the best doctors and been through a battery of tests. coontrv East Germany Soviet Union Uni ted States Poland Denmark Austria Canada Hungary Iran gold silver bronie total 3 2 4 1 1 I I I BUI Holmes but 1 think they ever pinpointed the Holmes missed the Nebraska spring game in May after experiencing an attack the night before He was able to control the problem, for the most part, through medication. An autoosy will be performed. He is survived by his father, mother Martha, brother Steven. 26, and sisters Jane, 22.

and Diane, 15. Funeral arrangements are pending at the First United Methodist Church at 50th and St. Paul Sts. Graham Fights Off 'Goliath 1 HARRISON, Y. (UPI) Little David fought off "The Sunday and earned the biggest paycheck of his professional golf career.

Australia's David Graham, holding off the pressure applied by Tom Watson, Ben and Fuzzy Zoeller, posted an even-par 71 and won the $300.000 Westchester Classsic by three strokes with a 72-hole score of 12-under par 272 to pocket a check for $60,000. The slightly built Graham, who led the tournament after each round, watched his lead cut to two strokes on two occasions but maintained his composure down the stretch to win his first tournament on the PGA circuit since 1972 when he captured the Cleveland Open It was only the second PGA tour triumph for Graham, who has made his name and most of his money on the European and Asian circuits. The check boosted his earnings for this year past the $100,000 mark and moved him from 43rd to 14th place on the money list. felt today might be tough what with Tom Watson, Johnny Miller and Ben Cranshaw all chasing me," said Graham. all won big tournaments before.

I thought I'd have to play better than 1 did play round was his worst of the tournament, but it was good enough as none of his closest pursuers could muster a charge down the stretch lassie Results, Page 14 Smith Zips Past Rich To Victory Randy Smith won the Lincoln Soap Box Derby Sunday at 52 and Streets by defeating Bill Rich in a championship final Smith was undefeated and Hich had one loss in the double- ehmination section The first of the three tinal heats was a dead heat and then Smith won the final two to qualify for the National Soap Box Derby Aug 14 in Akron, Karen Smack was third while the junior division was won by Mike Hergenrader Ron Cline was second and Mark Craig third Smith won best design, Blaine Wills was named best construction, Kich won best finish and Bob Potratz won best brake in special awards The event was sponsored by the Lincoln Jaycees and the E. O. Peters Construction Co. It attracted 25 youngsters between the ages of 11 and 15. UK STAFF PHOTO BY DAVE KENNEDY RANDY SMITH enters the vehicle that carried him to victory in the So op Box Derby.

Relaxed' Ward Gains Midwest Win By KEN HAMBLETON Star Sports Writer Two weeks ago. Dean Ward had to drive a wrecked car to his super stock feature race victory Then last week, his pit crew had to replace the A frame in between the heat race and the feature in order to win his second straight feature Then Sunday night Ward was talking with a friend and watching the cars warm up for a race when a crewman realized that Ward was supposed to be on the track. But even the late start hamper the Grand island driver as he collected his third straight feature, fourth of the season, atter taking the lead on the tenth lap from Lmeolmte Truax seem to drive better when I relaxed You have to say 1 was calm before the race because 1 didni even know I was supposed to be on the track said Ward Starting in the 14th position of the 19-car field. Ward quickly jumped to fifth place by the third lap behind leader Itay Lipsey, Denms Parker, Truax and Billy Myers On the second restart of the 25-lap Parker slipped past Lipsey on the second turn while Ward moved into third place But on the next lap, Truax regained third place and. then, both he and Ward Lipsey and started to press Parker Ward zipped by Parker on the 10th lap on the back straight and Truax moved into second on the next circuit, Then with a clear track in front of him, Ward, repeated the same tactics he used the last two weeks, and gained a half lap advantage while five cars battled for second place.

Don Droud passed Parker, who was in third, and Parker and Myers, who was in fifth, hooked bumpers on the straightaway sending Parker's ear into the mud hole in the inside of the first turn Myers came out of the mishap and joined the battle for second between Truax, Droud, Dick Jensen and Craig Lockhart The five cars ran even throughout the back straight and came through the turn three- abreast on the next to last lap. Then on the final turn of the last lap Truax slipped by the other four cars on the inside followed by laxkhart, Jensen and Droud. was a lot pushing going on in the battle lor said Lmeolmte Truax. just figured out late in the race that it I stayed low in the groove 1 could hold my Doug Biggerstaff of Lincoln won his first hobby stock feature race ever when he held off a late charge by point leader Orville Hoffman. Biggerstati led the race alter the third lap and with the exception of Marv Marashak had the race tucked away.

Marashak Uailed Biggerstaff throughout the 15-lap race and appeared to be making a move to pass on the 14th lap in the straightaway But a dirt clod became wedged under the accelerator forcing Maraehsak to kill the engine so he hit the upcoming wall headon, Super stock heat winners included Truax, Lockhart, and Rex Nun Point leader Jensen won U.S.Cagers Pave Way To Gold MONTREAL (UPIl Three hours before the United States basketball team took the court for its opening game of the 1976 Olympics. Yugoslavian coach Mirko Novosel proclaimed that the Yanks are capable of winning the gold medal Four and one-half hours later, the Americans bore him out with an embarrassingly easy 106-66 victory over European champion Italy, the team considered most likely to beat the U.S. if the Americans were to be beaten this year. think only one team here has a shot at the gold medal. Novosel said after his team impressively whipped Puerto Rico, that team is the United States I have not seen the A team, but I have seen their players and that is enough for The Americans hit eight of their first nine shots against the Italians to take an 18-11 lead and never again looked back as coach Dean Smith shuffled players in and out of the lineup as if he were a hockey coach changing players on the fly Three times during the first half the United States built leads of 11 points and held a 56-39 advantage at halftime When Italy pulled to within 10 midway through the second half.

Smith called In the shock troops, sending in Kenny Carr. Tom LeGarde and Ernie Grunteld and the U.S. proceeded to outscore Italy 24-4 over the next seven minutes to take an 89-59 lead. And it was all over was really surprised at the tinal said center Mitch Kupehak, who scored 19 points to finish second on the team behind Adrian Dajitiey 20 I thought it was going to be a game between two evenly matched teams I didn't think there would be any more than a 10-point difference Defensively, the Americans were just as devastating as they outrebounded Italy 41-16 and smoothered the Italian scoring punch of center Dino Meneghm and guard Pier-Luigi Marzorati, who scored just four points between them Meneghm sat out the second half with a knee injury hen asked to compare the Americans with defending gold medalist Soviet Union, Italian coach Primo Giancarlo, whose team beat the Russians for the first time ever three weeks ago, said, "The defense is much better and is much quicker The Americans defense will cause problems for all of the other teams because it is difficult to adjust Earlier the day, Canada ripped Japan 104-76, Yugoslavia defeated Puerto Rico 84-63 and Cuba downed Australia 111-89 The Canadians took advantage of severe Japanese foul problems by hitting 24 of 26 first half free throws to open up a 5238 lead at intermission. Forward Phil Tollestrup topped the Canadians with 26 points as the Japanese players paraded cut of the game on fouls STAFF PHOTO BY DAVE KENNEDY Aaron Drake easily outdistanced all other swimmers to win the 100-meter backstroke in final day of action at the Great Plains Swim Meet.

Drake's Goal Is Making 1980 Trials Italy Jettim 4 0-0 8, Mafioraii 3 0-0 VwUtmtm 2 34 7, Bar I 2-2 4. the trophy dash, edging Ward at Maatgwn oo 4 2 2 i7u 1 2 2 4 Dena on 10 12 Zanatta 0 OO 0, Serafim I 00 2 lition 7 2 2 14 BerfofQtti 3 2 2 I 36 14 the finish Tim Hogge of Beatrice won the hobby stock feature race, while Kick Paulus won his sixth trophy dash of the year Paulus won his heat as did Gerlofi and Biggerstaff. Results, Rage 13 Um tea 194 Ford 4 OO 8 BucKner 2 OO 4 KupchaK I 3-4 18. Dantity WH2 30 May 4 4-4 16. Sheppard 0 OO 0, 2 2-2 4 Gryhteid 3 2 2 I 3 OO 4 Armstrong f-J 3, 4 44 12, HuCbard 2 OO 4 40 26 32 106 Hatfemt Italy U' ted 30 Total touts Italy 32 United 24- Fouiedout Serafim A 4,800 By RYLY JANE HAMBLETON Siar Sports Writer While most people are thinking about the 1976 Olympics Montreal.

Aaron Drake and his coach Ray Huppert have their sights set on the 1980 Olympic Trials "It may be his first really big Huppert said, but he should be able to meet the time standards Drake, primarily a breaststroker, set one record during Sunday session of the 14th annual Great Plains Outdoor Swimming and Diving meet and had another two on Saturday in the 11-12 age group Drake swims for the Lincoln Swim Club look at Aaron as a national caliber Huppert said needs sue and strength, but he beginning to grow now. swam very well last year in the same age group but he was the same situation 11-year-olds are against him Huppert explained younger kids in an age-group usually aren as strong and get all the first places kids who swim best at the top of a group (highest agei and then graduate, don improve sure Aaron will improve when he graduates next year He's already entered some senior events for experience "I stop and talk to the Drake said about his race preparation, 1 have to think about it If 1 get started on my stroke right away. I can keep it tor the rest of the race Drake stressed getting his stroke right at the beginning of the race and Huppert said that was one of the things Drake has had to work on the most was hard for him to change his stroke mechanics at tirst, Huppert said was a winner and understand why he had to change But now he sees why he needed to work on mechanics, His times really reflect the change Ron Dade, his guardian, and his mother help him Dade goes to meets with him and keeps records of Aaron and other age group boys, but always, I do the coaching Huppert said And Drake is a willing student He sets goals lor himself before each race and at the start of each season His season-long goal this year? want to get below the 100 meter breaststroke national record which is 1 17 4 at 1 19 7 now Drake's time the 50 meter breaststroke Sunday was good enough to be considered for top 10 national age-group ranking But Drake was joined by two other Lincoln Swim Club athletes Bob Gustafson clocked in 26 2 the special 50 meter freestyle Larry Charko event which is good enough for top 10 consideration in the 13-14 age group. Barb Harris, who was clocked 27 99 the same ('harko event, will get a national top 10 ranking with that time In the Larry harko event, a 50 meter freestyle special race. Doug Wilnes of LSC won the boys division with a time of 24 91 time of 27 99 was good enough to win the girls division Chuck Sharpe and Cory Schia were named high point senior swimmers for the meet Both swim for the Omaha Westside Swim Club (OWSCi Sharpe set five individual records during the three-day meet and competed on three record-breaking relay teams Schia set two individual records and was on two relay teams setting records George Crandall of Wichita.

Kan, and Theresa Hazuka of OWSC were the 13-14 high points trophy winners In the 11-12 age group, Drake and Julie Green of Bellevue took honors Drake set three meet records and Green set four individual records and was on a record-setting relay. Dennis Fmegold of Shawnee Mission Kan set four raords to pin the boys' 10 and under high point trophy Jill Stuva had three records to highlight her trophy-winning performance Craig Uppel of Ralston set fair ra ords en route to hts eight and under trophy and Nancy Nyhus oi Lakewood, Colo took the age- group trophy for girls OWSC ran away with team trophy honors with 1 points Sa ond-place Lincoln Swim Club had 618 Wichita Neptunes won the team trophy with 412 points During the three-day meet. 60 raords were broken. Swim Results, Rage.