SPORTS The Michigan Daily, Thursday, March 25, 1982 Page 9 IM phenom does it all By SARAH SHERBER ' When most people think of Michigan athletics, visions of Rose Bowls and superstars come to mind. There is another side to the sporting world though, which cannot be seen at Crisler Arena or Michigan Stadium-it is the world of intramural sports. But even in the friendly competition of IM sports, some form of Superstar emerges. Last year, John Witri received the Earl Riskey All-Around Athlete of the Year award. The award is named in memory of Earl Riskey, who devoted 40 years to intramural sports. It is given to the male athlete who most exemplifies the IM par- ticipant by his dedication and positive attitude towards the program. WITRI IS a member of the Nit Wit co- rec and Big Dog independent IM teams. The Nit Wits just captured their third basketball title, along with their first innertube water polo championship. They also have three softball and two football titles to their credit. The Big Dogs have not fared as well, though last year they did win the softball cham- pionship. Along with the sports his teams have won top honors in, the first-year law school student has competed in many other IM programs. "I've run track, swam, played golf, Law student Witri grabs top honors racquetball, one-on-one basketball. I've played probably every sport at one time." IN ADDITION to his role as an athlete, Witri doubles as a referee. In fact, according to the IM staff, he is the most competent official in the program. and last year he was named the out- standing official for IM sports. Witri, who referees softball, basket- ball, football, and volleyball, considers his double feat quite an honor. "Since I've been here, nobody's won both," said the IM standout. Working as a referee and competing in a sport has caused some problems for Witri. "SOMETIMES I found myself coming off the court and reffing a game with the person who just reffed my game," said Witri, noting that he sometimes isn't the perfect gentlemen on the court to an official. "I rarely get in trouble refereeing against people I play against," he ad- ded. Witri's officiating is not limited to the Michigan IM program. He is also a referee for high school basketball in the Ann Arbor and Detroit area. "MY GOAL as far as. refereeing is to officiate on a college level," said Witri. To do that he realizes that first he. must become one of the best high school referees in the state, and he was quick to note, "I'm not even a good high school referee yet." The Earl Riskey award wag an unex- pected honor for Witri. Though he knew that he would be receiving the award for officiating, he had no idea he was in line for the Riskey award. "I WAS REALLY surprised," said Witri. "It was really an honor. I was grateful for it." Witri will not take credit for his achievements. "A lot of it depends on if you're playing with good athletes. I was just fortunate enough to be picked out." Though he will continue to compete in IM sports next year, he does have some apprehensions about his future in the program. "THIS YEAR most of the people on most of my teams are going to be graduating - it won't be as fun next year." Even if the future does not seem so promising, Witri has nothing but praise for the IM and his experiences with it "The most rewarding thing from the IM program is the new people that I've met and the new friends that I've made," he said. "I've also developed a skill at refereeing. If I become a lawyer I'll still be ble to continue that. WITRI ALSO noted that the efficien- cy of the IM programs faculty has made his involvement so rewarding. "I think that the IM staff is the best in the country;" said the all-arounder. The intramural program conducts an awards ceremony every year. Along with the Earl Riskey Award, the Marie Pete Hartwig Award is given to the most outstanding women of the year. Last year's recipient was Janet Kop- meyer. The awards are chosen after can- didates are nominated by fellow athletes. Last year'Witri was selected over some 20 other IM participants. The award ceremony for this year will be held on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the IM Building. Daily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER- IM STANDOUT John Witri juggles sports and officipting on his way to top IM honors. KERRSE WORDS BY JOHN KERR CANHAM CITES POLICY: No AIAWs for Beckwith A long trip to Omaha... 'M' batsmen to make it? T'S NOT VERY hot there now, but in the summer the heat in Omaha, Neb. can be excruciating. Even the cattle start to sweat. And when it gets that hot, if one ventures near the stockyards, the stink of the cows is unavoidable. But the people are used to it since Omaha, as well as being the nation's largest meat-packing center, is also the world's second biggest cattle market. But for one week in early June, the city gains attention for something other than its cows. The top eight college baseball teams in the country converge on Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium to play in the College Baseball World Series. And since Michigan baseball coach Bud Middaugh took the Wolverine job two years ago, Michigan has been a regular participant in the Series festivities. For the past two seasons, the Wolverines have captured their regional tournament and made the trip to Omaha, and if it's possible to draw any conclusions about this year's squad so early in the season, it looks like Michigan is a good bet to return to Nebraska this June. The Wolverines came back from Texas last Thursday with an 8-3 record, the best a Michigan team had compiled on its spring trip since 1966. In the two previous seasons, Michigan could register only 6-7 marks on the spring trip and in 1962, when the Wolverines went on to capture the national title, they won only four of 10 spring contests. For sure, a good spring trip does not a season make, but unlike the professionals' spring training, the college spring games are for real and can be a good indicator of a team's potential. "We go on a spring trip to play," said Middaugh. "It's not a fun trip. We go down on business and try to add respect to the University. We go down to try and show what talent we have." Omaha tickets on hold Middaugh, though; isn't ready to start doing cartwheels over the 8-3 record, let alone order the tickets to Omaha. "A lot of people say that it (the spring trip) was successful, but we lost three games," he said, adding that before he came to Michigan he had never had a losing record on a spring trip. "The way I'm looking at it is that we're getting back to playing the way I think we should." And that is exactly why the Michigan team is looking so good right now. Most of its games in Texas were against squads that had already played 10 or 20 games, and yet the Wolverines managed to turn in impressive perfor- mances. Outfielder Jim Paciorek, second baseman Jeff Jacobson, center fielder Greg Schulte, and pitchers Rich Stoll, Bill Shuta, Tim Karazim and Gary Wayne all played like it was the middle of the season. Paciorek, a legitimate All-America candidate,hpounded out five home runs on the way to a .528 batting average, while Jacobson and Schulte hit .452 and .447 respectively. On the mound, Stoll was 3-0 with a 2.05 earned run average, and Karazim was 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00. Shuta won two games and Wayne went 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA. Michigan's team earned run average was 2.13, an unbelievable mark for college baseball. The performance of the pitching staff was especially encouraging for Michigan fans. With the departureof All-American Scott Elam who turned pro after last season, many people had wondered who would pick up the slack. With four pitchers starting off so well, that question has been put on hold for now. But Middaugh did see some problems with the pitching. "We walked too many people in relationship to the strikeouts. We overcame that by having a bit more offensive thrust," he said. The coach, though, was pleased with another aspect of his team's play. "We played really good defensively. Overall our defense was just unbelievable. To see that this early in the year was encouraging." Not counting the chickens.. .. Encouraging. That is the key word. Overall, Michigan's spring trip had to be encouraging for almost everyone involved. But no matter how much it was so, Middaugh refuses to predict that his team will be back in Omaha. "The team has goals-like any other team in the codhtry," he said. "Our first goal is to be competitive in the Big Ten. If we can attain that, we'll jump one step further." SCORE College Bsketball NIT Championshii Bradley 67,Purdue 58 NBA Boston 136, Cleveland 115 i By JESSE BARKIN Sophomore gymnast Kathy Beckwith has qualified individually for the AIAW national championships in Memphis, Tenn. April 1-3, but will not be able to compete because the team is already going to the NCAA championships this weekend at Salt Lake City, Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham said yesterday. Canham said that athletes at Michigan can only compete in one national championship. "We're an NCAA school. We don't send people to two different championships," he said. "She (Beckwith) qualified for both and the coaches (Sheri Hyatt) made the decision. CANHAM'S policy is simple enough because one championship is usually all that is possible, but this year is an ex- ception. for the women gymnasts. Because the team is undergoing a tran- sition from the AIAW to the NCAA, Michigan owns dual status and was eligible to compete in both divisions. The team qualified for the NCAAs with its win at the Mideast Regionals two weeks ago, but failed in its bid for the AIAWs last week at Ohio State. Beck- with was the lone Michigan gymnast to qualify for the AIAWs. Canham said that his policy was stated in departmental memoranda,' but Hyatt was uncertain. "I was assuming that because he (Canham) said we could go to the regionals, we would be able to go to both nationals. But the final statement was that we would decide to go to one national and that was that;" Hyatt said. Women's Athletic Director Phyllis Ocker explained that this decision was not out of the ordinary. "IT'S NOT an unusual thing for an individual performer to check out of nationals. It has happened before in other sports." Both Hyatt and Ocker agreed that despite any confusion it would not be a great hardship to Beckwith, citing, for one, that the team is in the NCAA championships. They also acknowledged that preparing for and going to the AIAWs would be too much of a strain on her schoolwork. "She's tired," said Hyatt. "She's been missing a lot of school anyway with both regionals and now nationals." As an example, Hyatt noted that the team would be in Salt Lake City from Wednesday (yesterday) until Sunday. Beckwith was not available for com- ment. ANN ARBOR'S LONGEST HOUR OLDEST PIZZERIA Finest Pasta Dishes Cottage .INN HAPPY HOUR 10PM-lAM Sun. thru Thurs. 2 HAPPY HOUR Mon. thru Fri. Free Hors d'oeuvres both at- 512 E. WILLIAM 663-3379 ..._._.... Daily Photo by KIM HILL SOPHOMORE GYMNAST Kathy Beckwith, caught in the middle as the women's sports teams switch from the AIAWs to NCAAs, will not be permit- ted to compete in the AIAW Championships, although she qualified last week at the Mideast Regionals. Bradley tops Purdue, !9. 6 7- 58,for NEW YORK (AP) - Juniors Dick Mines and Willie Scott scored 17 points apiece to give Bradley the championship of the 45th annual National Invitation Tour- nament with a 67-58 victory over Pur- due last night. The title was the fourth in the NIT for Bradley, tying the Braves with St. John's, NY., for the most champion- ships in the tournament's history. BRADLEY was regular season champion of the Missouri Valley Con- ference, but had been passed up for an at-large berth in the 48-team NCAA tournament. Mines and Scott, who averaged less than eight points a game as a playmaker, led a balanced scoring at- tack. Mitchell Anderson, the third leading scorer in MVC history behind NIT title Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird, scored 16 and David Thirdkill hit for 15 for the Braves, who finished with a 26-10 record. Russell Cross, the 6-foot-10 sophomore center for Purdue, 18-14, led the Boilermakers with 16. His opposing centers, Donald Reese and Kerry Cook, fouled out of the game. Purdue never led after having an 8-6 edge in the first half. Twice, however, they had an opportunity to take the lead in the second half with Bradley ahead 43-42. But the Boilermakers missed both of their shots. Then, Thirdkill hit a three-point play with 9:39 left to start an 11-2 run by the Braves that gave them a 54-44 edge with 6:31 on the clock. The closest Purdue got after that was four points, at 57-53 and 62-58. y)D aalvl 1111*iA (.iiuuae n A ulflAcr