Emporia State’s cross country teams got off to a running start last Friday when they hosted Newman in the ESU Intersquad/Open.

The women ran a 3200 meter race with a total of 16 runners competing, and started the season off on the right track as they had the top four finishers. Kathryn Davison, a senior from Topeka, won her first race with a time of 12:16.

“It felt great to just get out there and compete again,” Davison said. “Sydney (Oltjen) got her second wind, and I just tried to stick with her. With the four of us sticking together, I think that it really broke down our opponents.”

ESU had only six of the 16 runners, but five of them would crack the top 10 for the women.

Freshman runner Sydney Oltjen finished second with a time of 12:18 to start her collegiate career.

“I felt good all day, didn’t really know anything about Newman, and just wanted to run a good race,” Oltjen said.

Amy Feldkamp and Courtney Maddux rounded out the top five for the women’s team, finishing five seconds ahead of fifth place Taylor Carlson of Newman.

The ESU men also showed a strong debut in the 5K. Of the 29 runners, junior Asher Delmott led the way with a time of 15:45. The Hornets were able to place nine of the top 15 runners.

“I felt good the whole course, really pushed the pace, and my only thought was when I got to the final stretch was that the wind was going to be at my back the rest of the way,” Delmott said. “We really had some freshmen that stepped up today.”

Freshman Jacob Bull had a finishing time of 16:20 for his first collegiate meet, while William Hohmeier, Marcus Portofee and Skyler Delmott rounded out the top five with times of 16:24, 16:26 and 16:29 respectively.

Head Coach Dave Harris was very pleased out of what he saw out of both teams.

“This was a perfect way to start the season, with a low-key meet here at home to see where our runners are right now,” Harris said. “We have only been together about three weeks, and it is only going to get tougher, so we need to raise the intensity. This race was used as a measuring stick, and we really had people in both races step up.”

Chris Hopkins/The Bulletin

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Delmott

If anyone on the Emporia State cross country squad knows how to balance work and play, it’s senior ecology and biodiversity major Skyler Delmott.

“He’s really been known to pull off some pranks,” said Cross Country Head Coach David Harris. “He’s good natured, but also terrifically serious about his running and his performances.”

Delmott, an Emporia native, has been the team’s leader and overall best runner this season. His leadership abilities have been an integral part of the Hornets’ success.

“Skyler has some strong values, and he’s got the determination to be the best that he can be – that’s why he is the leader of our distance group, for the most part,” Harris said. “I think people look at Skyler as the hardest worker on our team. I think that helps everybody on our team say, ‘I want to be like him. I want to be at the front of the races just like he is.’ I think the ability for him to lead by example is tremendous for our program.”

Harris strongly believes that Delmott’s leadership skills are a big part of who he is and what his future will entail.

“He has the qualities of a leader, and that’s helped him in everything that he’s done, whether it’s school or it’s running or his personal life,” Harris said. “He has goals and he continues to go after those goals.”

Delmott stated that going to ESU for college seemed like the best fit for him because of the importance of both athletics and academics.

“I chose Emporia State because it was the best option for me, money-wise and major-wise,” Delmott said. “I came in as a freshman and fit right in with the team. The older guys showed me the way, and after they graduated, I was able to impart their knowledge onto the new guys coming in… It’s been a great experience.”

On Oct. 13, the ESU men’s cross country squad squeezed into the South Central Region rakings, earning the number nine spot on the list. While this would be of importance to most, Delmott has taken it in stride.

“I’m not too concerned with the rankings right now,” Delmott said. ”When we go down and run at regionals, those rankings will mean nothing on race day. It is nice to be recognized as a school that is in the top ten.

“We (the team) made it a goal to try and knock some of the other teams off to get back on there, which we’ve succeeded at so far.”

Delmott said several people helped contribute to his success.

“Probably my parents for their support throughout my high school and college career, my high school coach because he really helped get me started and of course Coach Harris and all of the assistant coaches here at Emporia State because they’ve all trained me throughout my college career,” Delmott said.

Junior business administration major and teammate Adam McGovern attested to the presence Delmott brings to the team.

“Skyler’s pretty energetic before practice and whatnot, and during practice, especially on workout days, he’s up there leading and he’s pretty serious,” McGovern said. “He’s there to get the job done – he’s probably one of the hardest working guys on the team.”

While participating in cross country at a high level, Delmott also takes part in a rigorous and successful academic course schedule.

“He’s a good student…he is truly a student-athlete,” Harris said. “He has some tough classes, but he works hard at those classes.”

Harris, along with Delmott himself, has high expectations for the senior runner this season.

“Last year he made the Nationals in track and field, this year he’ll go back and have an excellent shot at being an All-American,” Harris said.

Delmott said he would like to go to Nationals and do well at conference.

Harris said that during the recruiting process, high character, high dedication guys are the ones that he tries to bring in to run for his program. According to Harris, Delmott fits the bill.

“He’s just a good natured guy – he’s a good guy to be around,” Harris said.

Shane Wilson/The Bulletin

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Senior track multi-event athlete Craig Saalfeld qualified for the World Games for the Deaf earlier this month.

In the world of international sports, there are the Olympic Games and competitions for disabled athletes, such as the Paralympics Games, World Games for the Deaf and the Special Olympics.

The World Games for the Deaf were founded in 1924 and have been around ever since.

Saalfeld qualified for the games in the Decathlon and the High Jump.

“I had to send in a proof of performance,” Saalfeld said. “They want three performances from your event. Otherwise you need to show them that you competed.”

Track has been a part of Saalfeld’s life for eight years.

“I have been doing track since my freshman year in high school and I just recently picked up the Decathlon last year,” Saalfeld said.

Aside from having won enough times to be in the ranks of the best in the nation, certain criterion has to be met in order to be eligible for the games.

“You have to have so much hearing loss and I happened to fall in that rank,” Saalfeld said. “You have to have 55 percent hearing loss and I am like 60 percent hearing loss in both ears.”

Saalfeld said he has had hearing problems for the majority of his life.

“I was born with it,” he said. “They first noticed it when I was in kindergarten. The teachers started to notice something so I went and got some tests done and I have been wearing (hearing aids) ever since.”

According to fellow teammate Douglas Marshall, Saalfeld’s hearing problem does not seem to get in his way of his dedication.

“Craig has a real strong work ethic,” Marshall said. “He stays focused and he still has fun in practice but he knows when to be focused and get his work done. He is a good teammate.”

Although Saalfeld is dealing with a recent injury, his teammates say it won’t hold him back.

“I know Craig and I have seen him get injured and come back quick,” Marshall said. “Craig is a fast healer so I think he will be ready.”

“It is pretty big for the program to have someone from Emporia State representing for the Olympics, let alone make that and having a disability” said graduate assistant Cameron Babb, who assists with jumping and multi-events.

According to Babb, Saalfeld is able to overcome obstacles no matter how big or small they might be.

“For him it is not a disability because he does not take it as one at all,” Babb said. “He lives every day like every one of us and actually I have not seen anyone work as hard as he does and sometimes it is too hard because he just does not know when to stop.”

Although qualifying for the World Games for the Deaf is already what many would consider a major accomplishment, Saalfeld has his sights set on the gold.

“Right now the coach told me that my best jump would place first in both events,” Saalfeld said. “So I am shooting for two gold medals.”

Saalfeld said he is taking one step at a time and is focusing on recuperating from his injury and finishing out the outdoor season.

“I am just continuing my track season and my training here and then over the summer I will do some training on my own and go to a couple camps in Texas with the rest of the team,” Saalfeld said.

Doug Irby/The Bulletin

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CRISTIAN ECHEVERRIA

Over the course of collegiate history, universities have spent their fair share of money on their respective sports programs. Not only do they spend money on players’ tuition but also on sports facilities, equipment, staff salaries, sports complexes and many other expenses.

As students at Emporia State, many of our student fees include athletic expenditures for services and facilities that only athletes can use.

According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, over a decade ago, some universities athletic programs were forced to work out in dorm rooms or any open space due to lack of sports funding.

Since 1997, universities’ budgets for athletics have doubled at an average of more than $1 million per year. Large universities are going crazy when it comes to spending in their athletics programs. Louisiana State spent $15 million in 2002 on the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes.

At ESU, the athletic department is no exception when it comes to spending. In 2008, ESU spent $3.1 million from students towards privilege fees, which included funding for athletics, according to the ESU Budget Development and Tuition Committee.

Other large universities spend even more. Texas A&M spent $27 million on the Alice and Erle Nye ‘59 Academic Center inside its football complex. The list goes on with universities trying to outspend each other.

Some might think this is not a problem considering that the cause is to help academic success. What happens to the rest of the campus? Do they get $15 million facility for their disposal?

The fact is that students are charged athletic fees that go toward sport facilities that are only accessible to athletes in those programs. There should be some type of cap on how much a school can spend in a certain department. The cap should be decided by size of school with in each division in the NCAA. This creates an even playing field for all universities.

A lot of people would be against this proposal, saying that a college should not be regulated and that it is not the larger school’s fault that they have a good program. At the same time, there are students that could use the extra help from these academic services but are unable to benefit.

Although having top notch facilities for training ultimately aids the sports programs, what benefit do the students who are paying for the upgrades get?

Students should have full access to all training facilities regardless of what department they belong to. If students from any major can go to the Cremer Richel Computer Lab which is designated for business majors, then any student should have full access to any training facilities offered to athletes.

Cristian Echeverria/The Bulletin

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Matt Wallace, senior business major, competes in the intramural dodgeball tournament held Thursday night at the Emporia State Student Recreation Center. Wallace and his team, Thunder from Down Under finished second in the men’s bracket. PHOTO BY KELLEN JENKINS

The Emporia State Student Recreation Center held an intramural dodgeball tournament Feb. 5, which consisted of 23 teams. There were 11 teams on the men’s side, five on the women’s and eight coed teams.

Ballz Deep finished on top, placing first in the men’s bracket. Thunder from Down Under placed second and Str8 Homicide placed third.

In the women’s division, Chi Omega placed first, Sigma Sigma Sigma placed second and The Bullets placed third.

In the Coed Division, Average Joes placed first, the Beavers placed second and Off Consistently placed third.

Men’s and women’s teams could consist of up to 10 players, but six players could be on the field at any time.

Coed teams could consist of up to 12 members but could still only have six players on the field at any time. Coed teams were also required to have at least three females playing throughout the game.

The game is played on a standard volleyball court 60’ x 30’ and all players must remain in the court with the exception of retrieving stray balls. To retrieve a stray ball, players must leave through the end line, or the end of the court.

Six balls are placed parallel to each other across the center line of the court, leaving three balls for each team to retrieve. After the balls are placed on the center line, the six players on each team line up on their end line to prepare to race toward the center line to retrieve the balls for their team.

Each game is played best out of two. In the instance that each team wins one game, a third game is played to determine the winner.  To win a game, one team must eliminate all players on the opposing team, either by hitting them with a live thrown ball or catching a live thrown ball before it touches the ground.

In the instance that one team is in possession of all the balls, there is a five second violation in order to keep the games moving.

“There is a five second violation but we pretty much tell them ten seconds,” said Andrew Tabor, the intramural supervisor at the Recreation Center. “If you have all the balls, we do not want you to hold all the balls from stalling the game, so if you hold it for more than ten seconds then we tell them one other player has to come out just to try and keep the games moving at a decent pace.”

This year’s turnout was different than in past years.

“This year is the first time they combined all the divisions, usually they have enough teams that they do Greeks and independent man, but they only have eleven teams so they just combined everybody this year,” said Seville Ko, senior physical education major.  “It is pretty consistent, there are more girls teams than usual.”

Ko has played for Str8 Homicide for the past five years in the men’s division. Str8 Homicide won the men’s division each year for the past three years.

“We are just having a good time,” Ko said. “We’re just out here to have fun just like everybody else.”

In intramural athletics, teams compete against friends and students alike.

“It is more about having fun and just providing activities for people to get out there,” Tabor said. “We try to have a competitive environment, but still we promote sportsmanship.”

However, several students were expelled from the tournament for unsportsmanlike like conduct. Such conduct is not tolerated during intramural athletics.

“Sportsmanship is always one thing we try to preach… but when certain activities do get out of hand we normally try to tell the participants they need to leave,” Tabor said.

During the semi-finals, Str8 Homicide was eliminated by Ballz Deep, ending their three year reign.

Nick Carlson, a senior physical education major and team captain for Ballz Deep, aided in the defeat of Str8 Homicide early in the semi-finals.

“We were trying to have fun out there,” Carlson said. “It was a fun time and it was good to get a win. That is what intramural sports are all about-go out and have fun and luckily we came out on top.”

Although the dodgeball season is over, play will continue with the upcoming intramural basketball competition. The dodgeball tournament is held once a year and students will be able to compete again in the spring of 2010.

Cody Grauberger/The Bulletin

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