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Wanted: DfI1llR IliItII:I Sports writers TilffjJr and photogra- phers Call x8600 Volume XXI, Number 5 Western Maryland College Thursday, April 13, 2000 Student-athletes showcase hidden talents and abilities as they participate in the first ever NCAA "Athletes' Day" GREG LEDERER Conditions weren't great and many where the speed and quickness of sucked it down you could say. It teams received all kinds of prizes SlujjWriler athletes were not present at the the WMC athletes was put on dis- was key because we needed the such as t-shins, Baltimore Ravens event, but from the start the partici- play. The winner in a tight finish points to win" said a member of the On April 2, athletes from many pants were having fun. was team orange whose members winning team, Tim Youngblood. gear, and fruit drinks. champions sports teams at western Maryland "It is fun, but it would have been celebrated their victory in jubilant A wet event was the water bal- were The the white team of the event who all re- College got together for fun and nice to sleep longer," said freshman form. loon contest where athletes tossed ceived Athlete's Day trophies and games during Athletes' Day. Colby Cook. Another fun event in the com- water balloons to each other while envy from the other participants. The event was planned to have In one of the first events of the petition was the hula-hoop contest trying to avoid them from explod- ten or so teams competing in events day, the athletes competed in the where people had fun laughing at ing. Annie "It was great" said freshman the com- Linz on winning ranging from the football throw to football toss where there was a big each other's attempts to go the The competition saw many ath- petition. a jello-eating contest. board with holes that counted for a longest time without stopping. letes getting wet and dirty to win The day was marked by gloomy T-shirts were sold ccmmemo- certain number of points. While people proved very good the event. ln the final event of the clouds, but almost all of the athletes at balancing the hoop, others took day, the teams went to tug of war were able to have fun and excite- their failure in good humor and with the championship on the line. ment throughout the competition. people had fun in the process. "It With the rain starting to come There were many people who were was funny to watch" said spectator down the field, it was difficult for not present for the event, but the David Johnson people to get a good grip without athletes still seemed to enjoy them- The event that drew much ex- slipping on the wet grass. The ath-, citement and laughter was the ob- letes were pushed on by their peers selves despite the lack of partici- stacle course. throughout the event and every per- patic;v~r:~, ~a;:~s~~~Lday for In the event, athletes showed son gave it everything they had left the athletes to compete again~n_ many talents including doing a in the competition. other and hang out with friends and somersault, riding a bike, jumping When the events were over and look forward to much of the same over hurdles, and kicking soccer the final scores were tallied up, the in the future. balls into a net. From the begin- ning, people were able to have fun and laugh at each others mishaps through the course. "It was exhila- rating" said swimmer Sumeer Chadha. Many athletes had fun while doing the obstacles and cheering on their fellow teammates. A truly funny, while sometimes called dis- gusting event, was the jello-eating rating the event and prizes were to The team with the most points contest. be given out to the worst through won the event and many of the men Each team picked about five the best team of the day. and woman were able to show off people to run up to an table and It was a planned day offun and their quarterbacking skills for their with their hands behind their back, competition where the athletes peers. Laughter and applause were and eat some jello out of bowls. could relax and play with their shared by everyone as they cheered The teams made fun of each other peers. on their team members throughout and applauded their teams effort On a gloomy Sunday morning, the event. throughout the sticky event. the athletes met in back of the gym In the next event, the teams "It was awesome because we for the start of the competition competed in a 4xl00 meter relay won our second event and we just The Hula-hoop contest was one of the popular "Athletes' Day" events Baseball breaks out of early slump; defeats Gettysburg GREG LEDERER pivotal 6th inning with the game In their next game on March track. desperate situation, WMC man- Staff wruer tied at 7-7, the team was ignited by 29th, the team played host to an- The Green Terror looked to ager called for a rare relief ap- After a hot start in Florida, the junior Paul Oakes's two run homer other non-conference opponent, turn around their recent woes in a pearance from senior staff ace Western Maryland College base- and had a five run rally to take a Catholic. March 31, non-league game against Brent Fuchs. ball team (11-9, 3-2) has cooled 12-7 lead. Unfortunately, the oppo- In a tightly contested pitching Lebanon Valley. The very next batter slapped off lately over their last few nent responded with four runs in duel, Catholic freshman pitcher In the first inning, the team used the ball right at shortstop Greg games. Despite some injuries and the bottom of the sixth and added Adam Weiss shut down the WMC a Jenkins's 2-run single to grab a Shelton who made a incr~dible pitching problems, many players another five in the seventh en route attack by yielding only three hits early 2-0 lead and extended that play by gunning down the oppos- have stepped up their perter- to a 16-12. over eight innings. lead in the fourth with another 2- ing runner at the plate for the sec- mance as the team continues Despite designated hitter Down only 2-1 after seven in- run base hit by senior catcher Jon and out of the inning. their pursuit of the Centennial Oakes's career high four hits in- ning, the Green Terror were struck Vandernat. After walking the next hitter, Conference title. eluding two doubles and homer, the with a late four run eighth inning Down 4-0, Lebanon Valley Fuchs got the following batter to On March 28, the team expe- pitching fell short on this night. in route to a 6-1 defeat. Senior first didn't go away and rallied with hit a ground ball right at third rienced a heartbreaking loss at a Senior centerfielder Sean Giblin basemen Kacy Jenkins went 2 for three runs in the seventh inning to basemen Guy Sheetz who tagged non-conference foe, Messiah. went 3-4 with 3 RBIs and sopho- 3 and drove in the teams only run. close the gap to a one run contest. out the runner for the third out In a slugfest, the Green Ter- more third basemen Guy Sheetz In the midst of a four game los- In the ninth, the opposition struck and a spectacular finish. ror used nineteen hits to grab a was 2-5 with 2 RBIs in a losing ef- ing streak, the team was determined again by putting runners on first The home crowd went crazy 12-7 in the sixth inning. In the fort. to fight to get back on the winning and third with only one out. In a Continued on page J 3