OTHER SPORTS : Pierce Is Left With a Slim Chance of Fielding Football and Men's Basketball Programs Again This Fall - Los Angeles Times
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OTHER SPORTS : Pierce Is Left With a Slim Chance of Fielding Football and Men’s Basketball Programs Again This Fall

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Pierce College, which conducted neither football nor men’s basketball programs during the 1986-87 school year, likely will be be without those sports again in 1987-88.

The Woodland Hills school, which dropped the sports after faculty layoffs last June, was unsuccessful in its bid to reinstate football when it could not arrange the transfer of Coach Steve Butler from West Los Angeles College.

The same Los Angeles Community College District restriction on intradistrict transfer of instructors, and the absence of a qualified coach on staff, has thwarted Pierce in its attempt to bring back men’s basketball, Athletic Director Marian McWilliams said.

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Although McWilliams has not ruled out men’s basketball for next season, the program was not among the sports Pierce informed the Western State Conference it would field in a conference meeting last month.

“The hold-up is the district’s requirement that the coach must be a full-time, on-campus instructor,†McWilliams said. “If we could have part-time, off-campus coaches as we had in the past, we could extend an offer to a coach immediately and would do that.â€

McWilliams said Pierce is committed to fielding its existing athletic program next year. It currently has men’s and women’s teams in volleyball, tennis and swimming and also fields wrestling, water polo, baseball, softball and golf teams.

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Brad Gossen, who set several Westlake High passing records as a senior in 1985, has emerged from spring drills at Washington State as the Cougars’ No. 2 quarterback.

Gossen redshirted last season, but is in line behind sophomore Timm Rosenbach after completing 10 of 17 attempts for 170 yards and two touchdowns in Washington State’s spring game last week.

Mike Kane, All-America running back from Cal State Northridge, still has not received a tryout offer from a National Football League team, but he’s making progress in at least one area--his speed.

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When Kane was timed by a scout from the Miami Dolphins a month ago, his best time for 40 yards was 4.79 seconds. Timed by the Raiders last week, he ran a lifetime-best 4.58.

Softball honors: Seven Cal State Northridge softball players, led by three-time All-American Barbara Jordan, have been selected to the NCAA Division II All-West regional team.

Beth Onestinghel, who drove in a school-record 35 runs for the Lady Matadors, joined Jordan in the outfield. The other CSUN players on the first team were freshman pitcher Debbie Dickman, first baseman Kelly Winn, shortstop Lori Shelly and designated-hitter Priscilla Rouse. Third baseman Barbara Flynn made the second team.

Other team members were pitchers Tracy Latino of Sacramento and Laurie Salo of UC Davis, catcher Terri Reifel of Bakersfield, second baseman Debbie Nelson of Sacramento, third baseman Shirley Tuttle of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, outfielder Stephanie Levine of Sacramento and utility player Dolly Jaramillo of Riverside.

Kim Bernstein joined teammates Winn, Onestinghel, Rouse and Dickman on the All-West Regional tournament team. Dickman, who was the winning pitcher in all three of CSUN’s victories, was the most valuable player.

Playoff blues: The Cal Lutheran softball team was eliminated in the District III playoffs last week by St. Mary’s College. CLU, which ended its season with a 32-16 record, lost to St. Mary’s twice, 4-0 and 6-1.

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Workshops: Four panelists have been selected to speak at a series of substance-abuse workshops sponsored by the Commission on Athletics for the California Assn. of Community Colleges.

The panel will consist of: Ron Heitzinger, a consultant and adviser to the NCAA on substance abuse; Dr. Gregory Hayner, chief pharmacist for a drug rehabilitation center in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco; Bill Dockey, athletic director and former football coach at College of San Mateo; and Bill Workman, football coach at Orange Coast College.

The first of two workshops, which are being co-sponsored by the Ford Motor Corp., begins Friday at the Amfac Hotel in Burlingame. The second workshop will be May 19-20 at the Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa.

Moorpark College pitcher Karen Mead (27-10) will be chasing the national strikeout record when the Raiders play in the Southern California regional playoffs at Palomar on Saturday. The sophomore right-hander has struck out 285 batters this season, 32 short of the record held by Arizona Western College’s Debbie Mygind (1984).

Mead, who fanned 177 batters last season, already has broken most of the Raiders’ single-season pitching records for wins (27), no-hitters (4), shutouts (14), innings pitched (254), starts (37) and complete games (35).

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