Roadrunners On Deck Feb. 20 Women’s Hoops vs. Colorado Christian  5 p.m. Auraria Men’s Hoops vs. Colorado Christian  7 p.m. Auraria  Feb. 21 Baseball Double Header vs Northwest Nazarene at Noon Auraria  Feb. 22 Baseball Double Header vs. Northwest Nazarene at Noon Auraria Women’s Hoops vs. Colorado Mines  5 p.m. Auraria Men’s Hoops vs. Colorado Mines  7 p.m. Auraria  March 1 Baseball Double Header vs. Nebraska-Omaha at Noon Auraria  March 2 Baseball Double  vs.  Nebraska-Omaha at Noon Auraria WEEKLY RESULTS Feb. 16 Baseball Triple Header vs. Hastings College Game 1: Lost 3-5 (10) Game 2: Won 5-4 (8) Game 3: Won 6-2 Men’s Hoops beats Chadron State 77-50  Women’s Hoops lost to  Chadron State 62-69  Feb. 15 Baseball beat Hastings College 4-3 Feb. 13 Men’s Hoops beat Regis 100-65 Women’s Hoops lost to Regis 79-96 Feb. 12 Baseball beat Regis 7-1

Never sell out on your heart. It’ll drive you to your love, to your goals, to your work that radiates your true dreams of where you want to go, who you want to follow and what you want to do.

In so many words, this was the theme of the 2003 Roadrunner Hall-of-Fame Induction Ceremony on Feb. 14 at the Cherry Creek Holiday Inn Select after every story was told.

The six inductees of the Class of 2003 offered a good heart and a good hand while at Metro, not to mention some outstanding athletic feats and talents. What they have found is that life is a procession of enjoyable moments. It isn’t just a stressful struggle for survival.

For Crissy Canada, Malcolm Farley, Keith Schulz, Darryl Smith, Darwin Strickland and the 1978 Roadrunner volleyball team, this was certainly one of those enjoyable moments as they joined a select group of Metro athletes, coaches and contributors in the Roadrunner Hall-of-Fame, which begin in 1994. Here are this year’s inductees.

Darwin Strickland: Darwin Thomas Strickland has followed the trails of some of the greatest men he knows, duplicating their achievements to achieve.

Darwin’s grandfather on his father’s side was one of the finest distance runners in the nation at one time. So was Darwin. In junior high school, he placed second in the nation in his age group at two meets, one in Seattle the other in Syracuse, N.Y. As a sophomore at Northglenn High School, Darwin set a record to win the district championship in long distance running.

It was the only year Darwin ran track. The following season, the Colorado High School Athletic Association switched swimming from a winter sport, to a spring sport, colliding it with the track season. Darwin chose to swim instead, “because it wasn’t as difficult,” said Darwin’s father Dr. D.J. Strickland at the Hall-of-Fame ceremony.

The second part of Darwin’s name comes from his grandfather on his mother’s side. Thomas Allen fought with the infantry in Word War I and was a commander as an attorney in World War II. He served his country well for about 28 years.

Darwin wanted to do the same. With war creeping upon America, ready to tilt our perspectives and, perhaps, shake our foundation, Darwin is prepared to serve his country well along side his two sisters and a brother-in-law.

Between high school and the Army, Darwin spent three years at Metro carving out his own name for others to follow. Darwin is probably the best swimmer of all-time at Metro. He won a National Championship in the 100 freestyle event in 1995 and 1996. His favorite event, though, was the 50-free, winning the national championship three times, once in 1994, again in 1995 and in 1996. Darwin also holds two school records, a 20.51 time in the 50-free and a 44.92 in the 100.

After graduating with two degrees (criminal justice and philosophy) from Metro, Darwin went on to graduate from Creighton University School of Law and spent four mounts as a White House Intern in the Chief of Staff Office. He also went to Judge’s Advocate General  (JAG) School—the U.S. Army’s school for military lawyers. Afterward he took the bar exam in Washington D.C. to get his attorney license, the same license his grandfather, Thomas Allen, received.

“He is a very nice young man, who tried to follow both his grandfathers, both on my side and my wife’s side,” Dr. Strickland said from the stand, while fighting back tears and looking to his wife Suzanne for strength.

Pardon Darwin for not making it to the induction ceremony. He is presently in Northern Kuwait, at a military base 39 miles from the Iraq border. Before his unit deployed to the Middle East, Darwin received re-assignment orders to leave Fort Bliss (Texas), where he was serving as a captain and the prosecuting attorney. His new position would have him as a trail defense attorney in Honolulu.

But Darwin wasn’t built for palm trees, leis and Hula shirts. He was built to follow his family. So he joined his sisters Janis and Laura Jane, both Metro graduates, in Kuwait. Janis is being deployed Feb. 21 as a physician for a mass unit. Laura Jane is the commanding officer of a helicopter company. Laura is the first female commander in Army history. Her unit will be one of the first to evade Iraq, if that time comes. Also, Darwin’s brother-in-law (name withheld) is an Apache battalion leader already set for deployment on Feb. 25.

“So you can read about Darwin being a national champion,” Dr. Strickland said, “but I want you to know that he truly wanted to go to Iraq since his two sisters and brother-in-law are going to be there.”

Malcolm Farley: The captain and point guard during the 1980-81 men’s basketball team, Malcolm Farley will go down as one of the best free-throw shooters in Metro history, hitting 92.5 percent from the stripe to lead the nation. Since then, Farley has become perhaps the greatest sports artist in the world.

Using a simple three-inch house painter brush, Farley pushes colors to their electrifying edge, creating glimmers of highlights and vibrant images with a precision flick of his right wrist, usually in front of thousands of looker-ons.

In fact, former Miami Dolphins quarterback, Dan Marino has said: “The color and action Malcolm puts to canvas is only surpassed by his charismatic energy with the fans and his affable ability to adjust to any environment in which he is performing. Malcolm Farley is the total package.” 

Since graduating from Metro with an art degree in 1982, Farley has painted several famous athletes, including major league baseball sluggers Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Los Angles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal and pro tennis star Andre Agassi. He’s painted live at Super Bowls, the 2002 Olympic Games and all-star games for Major League Baseball, the NHL and the NBA.

“One thing that (former art professor) Craig (Marshall) taught me here at Metro,” Farley said, “was to paint what you know best. For some people it’s the mountains. For some it’s the world. For some people it’s people. For me it was sports.”

Farley’s first true opportunity came when he painted on stage for musician Carlos Santana in front an 80,000 people at an arena in Las Vegas, with a national MTV audience.

“It was like OK, either your career fails or succeeds at this moment,” Farley recalled.

Once benched for throwing four behind the back passes in one quarter, Farley painted a picture of the Harlem Globetrotters as they celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2001. The proceeds went to support Metro scholarships.

After the Metro men’s basketball team captured the school’s first NCAA Division II National title in 2000, Farley painted cover photos for the volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball media guides. The four paintings were auctioned with proceeds funding scholarships for Metro student-athletes.

“I’ve been around people from all the greatest art institutions in the world, including Europe,” Farley said. “I tell them I’m from Metro State College, and you know what, the chest goes out a little bit.’

Darryl Smith: In 1990, Bob Hull, the men’s basketball coach at the time, was on the hiring committee scouring the nation for a new women’s basketball coach.

Enter Darryl Smith. An assistant from California State University at San Bernandino at the time, Smith showed up for the job interview with Hull not knowing he needed to send a resume in advance. So Hull handed him an employee questionnaire and the answers match Smith’s slicky cool personality.

Name: Darryl (“Not Darryl Smith, just Darryl, like everybody knows him,” Hull said.)

Height: Tall

Weight: Big

Race: 100-yard dash

Sex: Yes, please.

Secondary Education: Harley Davidson

Higher Education: Hooters, the restaurant

Degree: Black belt

Record: Three arrests, no convictions.

Three Biggest Influences in Your Life: 1. Clint Eastwood, 2. Steven Seagal, 3. Van Halen

Your Three Biggest Assets: My biceps, my triceps and my hair.

Jokes aside, Smith got the job. He was the right person for the job, too.

In the eight seasons prior to Smith taking over the team, the women’s squad had fallen into a blinding darkness. The Roadrunners won just 32 games since the 1982-83 season. They lost 153.

In only his second year with the team, Smith had the program turned around as they compiled a 24-3 record in the 1991-92 season. Smith posted a winning a record in each of his eight seasons at Metro. In his final season at the helm in 1998, the Roadrunners set a school record for wins in a season, going 25-5 and winning the RMAC East Division and Tournament championships. Smith’s teams made three appearances in the Division II National Tournament. For turning a squandering program into a league powerhouse, Smith earned three Conference Coach-of-the-Year awards.

“His kids are fundamentally sound. They play great basketball,” Hull said. “And he is just a great instinctive teach and coach. The other thing that I have to say about Darryl is that the women he coaches, he has a special bond with.”

Smith, now the head coach at Division I Wichita State University, had a rough first day at Metro. First he fired his assistant coach, who wouldn’t listen to him and whom he felt was too close with the players.

“She walked out and screamed the whole way out, how we were going got fail and we were never going to succeed and how I didn’t know what I was doing,” Smith recalled at the induction ceremony.

Smith walked to the Mercantile, ordered a cup of coffee and sat underneath a tree on the back porch. In the midst of telling men’s basketball assistant coach Rodney Wicker what just happened, a bird excreted right on his head.

“Well, welcome to Metro State,” Wicker said.

Smith’s first team was made up of three  walk-ons and inexperienced sophomores. After the team won its first two contests under Smith, they lost at West Texas A&M 93-24. Smith told the West Texas coach after the game, “I’m not going to play you ever again, unless I think I can beat.”

That following year, on New Year’s night, with the same players, Metro ran away with a 72-69 victory over West Texas.

In eight seasons at Metro, Smith compiled a 160-64 record. Questionnaires bedamned. 

This year’s inductees were selected by a four member Hall-of-Fame committee that included Metro sports information director Nick Garner, current head baseball coach Vince Porreco, former volleyball player and 1998 Hall-of-Fame inductee Kathy Crusan-Walker and Jane Kober, an assistant professor in the human performance sport and leisure department.

To be considered for induction each member must be four years removed from the school and the athletic department, as well as a college graduate. Inductees are based on their impact to the community, athletic talents and significant contributions to Metro’s athletic department.

While each member of the Class of 2003 has different personalities, they will always be together in the Roadrunner Athletic Hall-of-Fame. That puts them in harmony.  Afterward, with their equal status now secured,  Larry Sutliff, an assistant on the 1978 volleyball team, was bargaining with Farley on the price for one of his paintings displayed at the ceremony.

Prices started at around $6,000.
Headlines

Photo by - Joshua Buck Senior Clayton Smith lays the ball up in front of Regis defender Jeremy Bennett during Metro's Homecoming game Feb. 13. Smith scored four points and tied a career-high with 14 assists in leading the Roadrunners to a 100-65 win over the Rangers.

On the first Homecoming game in a decade, Metro’s culinary arts students catered in garnished hors d’oeuvres and a manna of dessert delicacies for the Roadrunner alumni, who packed  the section looking out and over the basketball court at the Auraria Events Center.

It was cookery worthy of a delicious A+, much like the performance the Metro men’s basketball team gave Feb. 13 when they flambéed  rival Regis University 100-65 in front of the first ample-sized home crowd in quite some time. Metro has beaten Regis  five straight times in convincing fashion.

“The rivalry is done,” Metro newcomer Jovan Obradovic said. “We got it.”

Later on in the week, the Roadrunners rolled past Chadron State 77-50  to extend their win streak to seven games. Shooting guard Luke Kendall led Metro with 17 points against the Eagles (10-12; 6-9 RMAC) and center Lester Strong turned in a first-rate performance, recording 12 points, seven rebounds and six steals.

Even with a great overall record (20-3), the second-best mark (13-2) in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and a comfortable North Central Regional ranking (No. 4), the Roadrunners aren’t taking it easy.

Ranked No. 7 in the nation, head coach Mike Dunlap continues to push his troops, not allowing them to rest on their laurels. As far as he is concerned the team has a long ways to go before they reach full flower and they’ll continue to “chip away at the little things.”

“A lot of teams right now get comfortable; they figure this is what their team is like (and stop improving)” senior point guard Clayton Smith said. “We are still getting better, because we know we can get better.”

Metro can certainly get used to the atmosphere they had against Regis. Though the “official” home attendance was marked at 1,250, the arena looked near capacity (2,500) with very little open seating in the east stands and even fewer spots available on the west side.

“It’s always better when you can play in front of a crowd,” Smith said. “When we go into other gyms they basically sell out and they get packed houses. To come home and to actually play a game like this where we have support felt great and it definitely made a difference in the game.”

Former men’s basketball coach and Metro Athletic Hall-of-Fame member Bob Hull was one alumni who was impressed with the Homecoming fanfare. Hull, who posted a 147-81 record from 1985-93 (a mark surpassed by current head coach Mike Dunlap this season), knows how tough it is to entice rush-hour students at a commuter campus to the games.

“I sat there last night in just amazement and looked at about 3,000 people in the stands,” Hull said. “It had to be at least 2,000. I felt so proud that Metro could put on a event like that. Everybody can comeback and can feel so proud about their college.”

Against Regis (11-12; 4-11 RMAC) it was hard to tell what was shorter, Ryon Nickle’s speech or his playing time.

The sophomore scored on both accounts.

Dubbed “Rhino”, Nickle, a seldom used 6-foot-6 guard from Heritage High School, presented a formula for continued success to his teammates during a pre-game talk. Like everything else in Metro’s game plan, Nickle focused on defensive.

“I told them that we got to go out there and we got to play aggressively toward the ball,” said Nickle, who played in the final five minutes and scored his fifth and sixth points of the season with a lay-up. “We have to have good ball pressure and Clayton and Luke (Kendall) are the ones that have to led us out there. Once they get their feet moving, once they dig-in on defense, they are the ones that make everybody else go and everyone followed suit.”

Kendall, a junior, and Smith are the vanguards of the frontcourt, setting the stage on defensive with their instinctive play. Smith and Kendall rank one-two in the conference in steals with 67 and 58, respectively. Smith’s 227 career nabs places him second on the school’s all-time list, while Kendall is third on the list with 196 steals.

This yin-yang thing translates into points on the other end as well. Combined the two guards recorded seven steals and played a hand in 54 of the team’s points against the Rangers. Kendall scored 18 points to go with two assists. Smith dished out 14 dimes and scored four points. Most importantly, they helped Patrick Mutombo turn in an All-American performance. The senior rained jumpers from 15 feet with ease to score a season-high 30 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the floor.

While Mutombo kept scoring like clockwork, Kendall and Smith delivered the ball on time to the 6-5 forward with a spread-eagle, lengthy frame.

 “The players were able to exploit the open spots and get Mutombo the ball and recognize when he was hot,” Dunlap added. “The guys did a great job of just finding Pat and working the hot hand. This team does a great job of working the hot hand.”

Watching the quick and liquid motions of it all: the offense runnin’ and gunnin’, the defense picking up loose balls on the short bounce for break away lay-ups, was quite lovely sight on Valentine’s week. 

“The whole bench is jumping and screaming,” said Obradovic, who scored eight points off the bench against Regis. “I lost my voice too. They are just great leaders. We got three great leaders (in Smith, Mutombo and Kendall) on our team and we are just going to hold on to them and let them led us to the top.”

Smith continues to run the offense like second nature. At one point, as Metro built a 45-27 halftime lead, Smith swung the ball to the far corner without even looking, just knowing that Kendall would there. Kendall obliged by popping a three pointer. Smith’s 14 assists tied a career high. In case you missed him, Smith was the little 5-5 firebug, speed skating through the Rangers’ traps and dishing the ball off at the last nanosecond to a open man. But, it was Nickle who got the team in the right mood with his pre-game coaching.

“The speech was good,” said Strong, who grabbed 10 rebounds, seven offensive, against Regis. “Every time someone gets up there its right on cue, it’s inspirational to me; it gets us ready to go.”
Headlines

Batters open season with power hitting
RMAC Champs start out 4-1, with plenty to learn
by Jenni Grubbs
The Metropolitan

Metro’s baseball team expects good things to come this season, and are already standing tall with a 4-1 record.

The Roadrunners one loss came in the first game of a triple-header against Hastings College Feb. 16.

Metro head baseball coach Vince Porreco said the team made a lot of mistakes in that game, “missing timely hitting opportunities, making throwing errors and not being able to do the little things you need to do to win.”

The 5-3 loss in 10 innings to the Broncos in game one, was followed by a little better showing from the Roadrunners, as they won 5-4 and 6-2 in Games two and three.

“I’m very pleased with our efforts, but our expectations are higher than what we played last weekend,” Porreco said. “We learned a lot about ourselves; how to come back and win a couple games.”

“The games were a learning tool for us,” said Metro senior and left fielder John Burney. “They showed us we still have a lot of things to work on no matter how talented we are.”

Burney had an RBI in the first game, two hits in the second, and hit two homeruns in the third.

“It was nice to come out and get some hits early in the season,” Burney added.

Porreco said he will look to Burney and senior Jared Devine to stand out offensively this season. Pitchers Caleb Salankey, sophomore Burley Burns and junior Blake Eager lead the pitching and defensive effort. Also, defensively, Porreco looks to sophomore catcher Brandon Payne and junior third baseman Paul Workman to step up.

“Our pitching staff did a great job of keeping the numbers down,” Porreco said.

Salankey picked up a 4-3 win Feb. 15 against the Broncos, with help from sophomore Clint Cleland, who brought in the winning run from third on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh. Salankey went six strong innings, giving up three runs on three hits.

Burns, a right hander, also went six solid innings in the 5-4 Game 2 win Feb. 16 and freshman Brady Carlson went the distance in the 6-2 win, allowing just two hits and two runs.

Photo by - Will Moore Metro senior John Burney is tagged out on a steal attempt during the second game of a triple-header against Hastings College Feb. 16. The Roadrunners won two out of three games and Burney collected seven RBIs on two homers and two doubles on the week.

“The pitching (against Hastings) went pretty well,” said assistant pitching coach Jason Richardson. “We have lots to improve on, but it was a good start.”

“Our main goal is to pitch well. You have to be solid defensively to win,” Porreco added. “We’re going to focus on the little things like team play and putting ourselves in good positions to win.”

Yet, the game is not won by defense alone.

“The more our hitters see live pitching the better they’ll get,” Porreco said. “We’ll be very successful soon.”

In the second game of Sunday’s triple header, the Roadrunners trailed 3-2 entering their final at-bats. But outfielder James Edwards came through with a RBI single, driving in senior catcher Matt Ludwig to knot it up.

The Broncos struck back with a run in the top of the eighth. Once again Ludwig was at the center of the comeback. First he pounded a single to left to score junior Ricky Fuller. Then he stole second and came home on junior Brian Edwards only hit of the day for the win. 

“Our hitters and pitchers are only gonna get better,” said junior pitcher Brad Swartzlander. “I think we have a strong team. We’re solid in every position.”

It’s always better to err on the side of caution, though. Last year Metro started the season redhot, winning its first nine games, before free falling to a 17-18 record. The Roadrunners had no choice but to go on a tear in the final month of the season to  enter the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. Metro eventually won the crown and finished 34-22 in 2002. 

“We can improve on every aspect of our game,” Cleland said. But it is “our willingness to work hard” that will make the team successful.

“We have a good strong staff and the team has a lot of depth,” Richardson said. “The guys are willing to compete and willing to do what it takes to win.”

In  the third game, shorten to five innings because of darkness, Burney went 2-of-3 with three RBIs, two homeruns and two runs scored. Cleland launched a third homer, a two-run shot in the fourth. Fuller (2) and Brian Edwards (1) also scored runs for the 6-2 win.

Earlier in the week, the Roadrunners beat rival Regis University 7-1 in the homeopener Feb. 12. Eager, the starter, combined with relievers Dan Morasci and Jason Humphrey to hold the Rangers to the single run. 

Metro will next face Northwest Nazarene in a four-games split between two days. The first doubleheader is on Feb. 21 and the other is on Feb. 22.

“Each week we come out with the right attitude and work ethic and it’s going to pay off,” Porreco said.

Headlines

Women lose two pivotal league contests
by Eric Eames
The Metropolitan

Itching like a 5-year-old with chicken pox  for the past three weeks, the Metro women’s basketball team has looked forward to the day when they could cure a big scab from its schedule, a 61-56 loss at Regis back on Jan. 29.

In the rivals first meeting, the Roadrunners   tumbled into a disgusting rash of mistakes—turnovers and missed shots from point-blank range—in the final minutes as the Rangers pulled off the come-from-behind victory.

A chance for revenge on Homecoming night (Feb. 13) and a chance to tie Regis in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East Division standings never really developed past the opening 10 minutes of the game.  

The Roadrunners allowed Regis (16-7; 11-4 RMAC) to shoot 67.3 percent in the 96-79 loss and were constantly burned by Julie Jestus, who turned the game into a personal lay-up drill, while scoring a career-high 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting. Four other Rangers scored in double-figures.

“We were caught out of position,” Metro head coach Dave Murphy said. “We were caught watching in slow mo. Our transition defense was the worst it’s ever been. I just don’t know”

Photo by - Joshua Buck Metro point guard Courtney Pettitt drives into Regis center Rachel Caliga in the Roadrunners 96-79 loss Feb. 13. Pettitt scored 11 points in the Homecoming game.

Shrugged shoulders aside, the bigger question was how would the loss hinder Metro’s chances of sneaking into the Wells Fargo Shootout, an eight-team playoff for the RMAC Championship. Unfortunately, the Roadrunners didn’t help themselves in losing at Chadron State 69-62 Feb. 16. Metro (11-12; 8-7 RMAC) now moves into a seventh-place tie with the Eagles, who have an identical record. On the bubble, Pettitt believes the team needs to win the remaining four games on the schedule for a chance at post-season play.

“It really puts a lot of pressure on us now as to whether or not if we will even finish in the top eight,” said Murphy, remaining confident that his team can bounce back.

Junior Rachel Grove scored in double digits for the ninth straight game, recording 16 points in the losing battle against Chadron. Guard Kristin Hein added a Metro career-high 15 points.

Guard Natasha Molock paced the Roadrunners with 24 points and four steals in the losing effort against Regis, Grove added 12 points. Metro’s 79 total points was the third most this season. They also had one of their better shooting performances, nailing jumpers at a 49 percent clip. Any other night, and those numbers are winning numbers. But as Pettitt would later say, it doesn’t matter how good you shoot when you can’t stop the other team.

 “There is no one thing you can pin it on,” Pettitt said. “(Regis) didn’t do anything that they didn’t do the first time that was different or mind boggling to us.”

Metro did blink first. At one point, the Roadrunners came up empty on eight consecutive possessions, clunking shots or turning the ball over. Regis took advantage exploding the lead  to 15 points at 33-18 with six minutes and 21 seconds left in the first half. By then, Metro looked dispirited.

“Those are heart breaking possessions that get away from you and all of a sudden the lead starts really mounting,” Murphey said.

Out-of-sync. This is the phrase that has wormed its way into Murphy’s vocabulary the past few games.

“It is just one of those deals where if someone was watching the game or hearing it, it sounded like an eight cylinder car punching on only six cylinders,” Murphy said. “We always seem to have a couple pieces of the puzzle not quite in sync and Regis did a great job of finding those weaknesses and exploiting.”

At least at one point this season, during a five-game winning streak, Metro’s cohesiveness, not to mention confidence, was quite a sight to behold.  For whatever reason those days are no more. 

“I think we are scared right now,” Pettitt said. “We are just scared to lose the game, scared to make mistakes, and I think that just causes us to have a mental breakdown.”
Headlines

SPORTS EXTRA - more Hall of Famer stories