Statmeiser Reports; McIntosh, Boo, West

By Mike "The Statmeister" Loney

There are several Lompoc Valley sports activities scheduled for this Saturday.

-- The 2nd Annual LHS Dinner Show and Auction will take place at the LHS cafeteria from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. This dinner and silent auction is a combined fundraiser for all 50+ clubs and sports teams at Lompoc HS. Among the auction items are artwork, jewelry, gift baskets, theater tickets, vacations & hotel stays, knick-knacks, and craft creations. For sports-inclined folks there is gym membership, sports memorabilia (including a Raiders jacket, Warren Sapp jersey, and football tapes), a TV, and an X-Box system. Contact person is Sue Coupland at 742-3473.

--Also on tap:LHS grad ARIANA FABING will be the sole Allan Hancock College cross-country representative at the California State Finals in Fresno. She will be competing in the womens 5K event on the same course that CIF uses for their state championship. [more on AHC X-C to come]

--The LOMPOC SCORPIONS will compete in the CCYFL Intermediate Level Super Bowl against the 5-Cities Eagles. The game is at 2:00 pm in Cambria. The Scorpions (the only valley team to reach the finals) advanced by defeating the Santa Maria Chiefs 37-0 in the first round of the playoffs at Cabrillo, and beating the Atascadero Colts in last week’s semifinal held in Santa Maria. Five Cities topped the Morro Bay Pirates (28-14) and the Paso Robles Bearcats (23-6) to reach the finals.


KATIE McINTOSH

KATIE McINTOSH (pictured) had a memorable junior year with the Chico State womens’ soccer team, a season that ended in a championship, but not many personal stats for Katie, even though she started every match. When the conference championship game went to a shoot-out Katie “guaranteed” a Wildcat triumph. Here’s how she saw it.

“I switched positions this year, to play defense. I began the year going between the center and outside back positions, depending on what my coach needed. I finally was able to settle into the outside position once we found someone to play center. I have played several positions for this team, so it wasn't a problem. I was fortunate enough to start every game and play most of all the minutes, unless we were able to get a big lead.

“Some personal highlights from the season would be the Monterey Bay game, where I was able to notch three assists. Another game would be the Sonoma game where a forward broke through our centers and I was able to get back to the goal as she dribbled past our goalie and got a shot off. I headed it out of the goal to keep them from scoring. I have had a couple saves off the line and some girls have joked that I'm like a second goalie.

“Basically I love my team and am just happy to have found such a great fit where I am able to continue to do what I love while being surrounded by great people. I was able to ‘guarantee’ a win because of the tremendous faith I have not only in our goalie but our team. I knew Kari, our goalie, definitely should have gotten CCAA (all-conference) honors and something just told me she was going to prove it in that shoot out. My friend took a couple pictures at the championship game but hasn't been able to send them to me yet, so I can send them when I get them. Well, thank you for all your interest in my career, it is much appreciated.”

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR --BROTHER WAS RIGHT ABOUT BOO

“I guess my brother’s opinion about BOO JACKSON a couple years ago about being the best athlete out of Lompoc is pretty much right on. I got to referee Boo last year in the American Bowl against Moorpark. The same match-up this year. I am refereeing the Southern California Bowl Saturday: Ventura vs. Palomar.” --Scott Kennedy
(Note: Jackson’s El Camino College team faces Moorpark this Saturday in the first round of the playoffs)
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GEOFF WEST

About to begin his second season at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, GEOFF WEST has already found himself profiled in the Bismarck Tribune. Here’s Wednesday’s story by Cindy Peterson. Nice story even if she mangled our town’s name.

University of Mary point guard Geoff West once shared something in common with NBA standout Allen Iverson. Neither put their full effort into practice.

When he was asked about his lackluster approach to time in the gym, Iverson once said:"... we're not even talking about the game, when it actually matters, we're talking about practice."

When West came into U-Mary's system last year, he didn't impress coach Juno Pintar in practice. Pintar got a better grasp of West's abilities when game time rolled around. "He was an unknown quantity," Pintar said of the junior from Lompac, Calif.

"We saw one DVD on him and I wasn't blown away. I thought he would be a serviceable backup. Even during our first practices he really didn't stand out. But once we started playing games, that's where we saw that competitive edge. He made so many big shots for us."

West and Iverson no longer have that trait in common. The 6-foot-2 West has taken over a leadership role in helping a young team learn the ropes of NCAA Division II basketball. And that means going full-speed in practice and correcting the mistakes of the younger players during the preseason.

"It's unbelievable how he has taken the reins of the team," Pintar said. "He's leading by example. Last year he wasn't a great practice player and this year he's working his tail off. "He's sending a message to the younger guys that 'if you don't bring it every day I will make you look bad.' He'll call the freshmen out if they aren't doing things right, but he's the first to pat them on the rear and say he's doing it to make them better."

West has plenty of reason to be excited about this year's team. The Marauders signed most of last year's top seniors in North Dakota - Jordan Wilhelm (Bismarck), Tate Kick (Dickinson), Justin Belohlavek (Mandan), Mark Bakkum (Steele-Dawson) and Marcus Fridley (Dickinson). They also recruited 6-foot-9 Bryce Fazekis of Park Rapids, Minn.

"Everybody looks at me to see (our) mental set," said West, an exercise science major. "We graduated a ton of seniors, and that role has dropped to me. It's not too much to handle. I like being in charge and making sure everybody is on the same page."

West attended Santa Rosa Junior College his freshman year, but he said he didn't feel that there was a place for him on the team. West used to live in Montevideo, Minn., and was childhood buddies with Lance Doppler, a sharpshooter who wrapped up his career for U-Mary last season. Through Doppler's encouragement, West transferred to U-Mary.

Pintar liked the way West fit into last year's team until things went awry late in the season. West, a right-hander, broke his right wrist. Not knowing the extent of the injury, West played eight games before sitting out the final three. After the injury, West saw his numbers dip. He finished the year averaging 6.7 points a game, including 24 3-pointers. West dished out 31 assists and snagged two rebounds a game.

"It hurt to shoot and dribble," West said. "Once I got in the game, my adrenaline got going and I forgot about it. I didn't do much shooting, and my shooting percentage was less."

Pintar noticed that West's production was on the decline, and he encouraged him to seek medical attention."Some of his passes weren't as crisp," Pintar said. "He passed up some shots. That's the best thing about Geoff, you take away his ability to shoot and he still does so much on the defensive end."

West had surgery on his wrist in February. He had a pin put in and tissue removed. He was in a cast for almost four months. But West was willing to look toward the positive side of things. "It made me work on my left hand," West said. "My shooting took awhile, but it's back to 100 percent."

The Marauders graduated Doppler (8.3 ppg, 47 3-pointers), Bill Shetler (6.1 ppg, 33 3-pointers), Nate Kaeding (1.3 ppg, 14 steals), Steele Tescher (1 ppg, 16 assists) and Ike Ezirike (4 ppg). They return leading scorer Eric Erdmann (11.3 ppg, 39 assists, 21 3-pointers) and Jordan Engelhardt (9.7 ppg, 73 assists). Also returning are center Zach Dosch (8 ppg), reserve center Scott Guggenberger (3.5 ppg, 4 rpg) and forward Danny Sandvig (4.3 ppg).

The rebuilding Marauders were picked by the coaches to finish seventh in the NSIC. Pintar and the Marauders are out to prove the preseason predictions wrong."We will face struggles early in the year as we get used to our new personnel," Pintar said. "Our attention to detail and doing the little things right, we're so inconsistent with that. I tell our guys to dream with their eyes open. If we want to be better than seventh, we better work our tails off."

And West fits into Pintar's plans."One of the reasons we switched around our offense this year is because we wanted to give Geoff some space to work with," Pintar said. "His athletic ability and quickness holds up really well at the D-II level. He has the ability to get by his guy. He can create some stuff for some other guys."

But a lot of the early scoring will need to go through Erdmann and Engelhardt. The younger players have shown flashes of brilliance, and their inexperience has been glaring at times. "I'm seeing some incredible things from the guys in practice," Pintar said. "There's been some inconsistencies. That's common for freshmen. We're going have to live with some of those inconsistencies. I'm going to have to be a more patient coach this year as those guys struggle through some growing pains. I'm going to have to look at the big picture. Now that we're postseason eligible, we will have to speed up the big picture."