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The Concordian Sports
Feb. 21, 1997
Men's Basketball
Wrestling
Hockey Women's Basketball
Cobber Women's Track and Field
Cobber Men's Track and Field
Swimming
Daimen Crump Profile
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Men's
Basketball : Season Ending Soon for Team
Vic Quick 2/21/97
Concordia's men's basketball team barely squeaked out a win against Augsburg
on Wednesday night. The Cobbers prevailed 76-71.
Senior forward Daimen Crump led the Cobbers
in scoring, bringing in 22 points and six rebounds. Also assisting in the
win was senior forward Kevin Pearson ,
who added 12 points and five rebounds.
Hopes for a playoff berth ended for the basketball team on Monday night,
however, as it suffered a 91-78 loss to Hamline.
Hamline controlled the game, shooting 72 percent from the field. Again,
Crump led the Cobbers in scoring, bring in 24 points.
Concordia hosted St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon and pulled off a 59-51
win. Senior guard Greg Dean came up big
for Concordia, giving the Cobbers a 17-10 lead in the first half.
"He [Dean] got us going on both the offensive and defensive ends,"
said head coach Duane Siverson.
Dean leads the NCAA Division III with 5.1 steal average and, during the
St. Thomas game, forced 10 turnovers.
Crump again led scoring during the Tommie game, adding 23 points. Along
with his 10 steals and seven assists, Dean had 10 points.
Playoff teams, to some degree, are decided at this point in the season.
Only the top four teams in the conference go to postseason play.
Even if the Cobbers win the rest of the games in the season, the best they
could hope for is a three-way tie. However, tie breakers, which include
road record, coin toss and record comparison to other teams, would eliminate
the team.
Gustavus has secured part of the conference title. Carleton, St. Thomas,
Augsburg, St. John's and St. Olaf will battle for the remaining three spots.
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
Women's Basketball:
Cobbers Staying Positive
Andy Pratt, Sports Editor, 2/21/97
Senior post Ann Mehrkens brought in 20
points, and junior Leah Sonstelie added
17 in a 73-57 win over Augsburg on Wednesday night.
Augsburg failed to challenge the Concordia's women's basketball team throughout
the game. The Cobbers led 37-25 going into the half and kept turnovers
down to 19. Augsburg gave up 28 turnovers.
The Cobbers struggled against MIAC powerhouse St. Thomas on Saturday in
a game ending in a 71-57 Cobber defeat.
This game was St. Thomas's 51st consecutive MIAC victory. 16 or which the
Tommies earned this year.
The Cobbers were led in scoring by Sonstelie, who had 16 points on six
of 12 shots. Senior guard Holly Zollar had
14 points and seven rebounds, and Mehrkens put up 14 points with ten rebounds.
Mehrkens became the 14th Cobber to reach the 1,000-career point mark, during
the Augsburg game. The 10 rebounds she earned during the St. Thomas game
improved her in the top five Cobber rebounders.
The Cobbers forced 13 turnovers but committed 19 of their own. Both teams'
defenses were strong in the second half.
Despite the eventual Cobber loss, Concordia managed to keep the game close
for most of the second half.
Two games remain in the Cobbers' regular season play. Concordia travels
tomorrow and to Hamline on March 1.
Bethel currently stands at third in the league in front of the Cobbers.
The Cobbers presently hold a conference record of 14-4, 17-6 overall.
The top four teams in the conference go on to MIAC playoffs.
"In the next few games, we need to play as hard as we can," said
freshman Nikki Vetter . "It is
important to will all of them."
The Cobbers are still optimistic about postseason play and are concentrating
on what it will take to win.
"We need to focus the whole game. Playing good defense keeps us together,"
said Vetter. "We have been talking about needing to take shots when
we should and not force anything."
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
Men's Hockey
: No Playoffs for Hockey
St. Mary's squelches Concordia's hopes for post-season play
Selmer Moen, Staff Writer, 2/21/97
Concordia's hockey team went to St. Mary's last weekend with hopes for
the playoffs but came away with a guarantee that the season will end next
weekend.
The Cobbers skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday, ending their playoff goals.
The Cobbers scored two goals in the first period. The first score came
from senior winger Jeff Corkish , assisted
by junior winger Josh Arnold and sophomore Corey
Rupp.
Freshman defenseman Rob Gramer added his own tally on a feed from junior
wing Levi Klaudt and sophomore wing
Mike Simonich .
The Cobbers took the lead in the second period on a goal from freshman
center Jason Mahlen , helped by senior
defenseman Ryan Johnson and sophomore
wing Ryan Kortan .
St. Mary's added its third goal at the 10:33 mark to tie things up. The
battle ended there, taking the Cobbers' playoff hopes with it.
"It was a real tough defensive game," Corkish said of Fridaay's
contest.
Tough defense wasa expected from St. Mary's, according to Corkish.
"We played them well defensively and hoped that the puck would go
our way offensively," said Corkish.
The Cobbers took the ice again on Saturday but weren't able to muster the
defensive performance of Friday's game and lost by a score of 7-2.
Both Cobber goals in the second period, with Simonich finding the net unassisted
and Arnold scoring on an assist from Gramer and sophomore Justin
Reinholz .
"We didn't play terribly, but there was no emotion," said Corkish.
"The guys knew we were out of the playoffs so we were a little laid
back."
The St. Mary's series puts the Cobbers at 4-8-2 in the MIAC and 7-11-4
overall. They are ranked at sixth in the conference.
Concordia faces Gustavus this weekend in the final match-up of the Cobbers'
season.
Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. and Saturday's at 2 p.m. Both games will
be played at the Moorhead Sports Center.
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
Wrestling
: Cobbers Fall to Oles
Darrell Ehrlick, Feb. 21, Managing Editor
Concordia's wrestling team gave arch-rival St. Olaf a run for its money
at last week's St. Olaf Dual, despite being two wrestlers short.
With wrestlers gone from the 118 lb. and 126 lbs categories, Concordia
lost 30-21. Junior Colby Marich (150
lbs.) believed things would have been different.
"If we would have had a full team, we would have won it," Marich
said.
Overall, head coach Doug Perry was pleased with the performance.
"I was pretty happy," Perry said, "Everyone pulled together
and made this one close."
Marich and the team hope to avenge the loss at the MIAC championships the
first weekend in March. Unlike many other sports, all wrestling teams advance
to the conference championships regardless of regular season records.
"We've had a couple of bad breaks, but now we're just focused on beating
St. Olaf," Marich said.
The Cobbers also took seventh place in the Carleton Open last Saturday.
Concordia sophomore Nathan Reiff (177
lbs.) had a stellar meet, finishing 5-1.
"He [Reiff] had an outstanding weekend," Perry said, "He
is looking so tough. He just seems to run on an even keel, and as he comes
to this point he's turned his intensity up a notch."
However, Reiff feels that his record could be even better.
"I thought I did well," Reiff said, "[but] I don't think
I should have lost that one."
Reiff increased his team-leading record to 20-7 overall.
"Alot of the recent success is due to me just focusing and picking
the intensity up," Reiff said.
At the Carleton meet, however, the Cobbers were plagued by injuries, including
a shoulder injury to senior Kevin Jackson
(142 lbs.), a hand injury to freshman Phil Brandstetter(HWT)
and a shoulder injury to Reiff.
"Alot of injuries factored into it, but overall, we wrestled above
average," marich said.
Perry says that not only are injuries holding the team back, but the stress
of mid-semester finals before a break also factors into the team's performance.
"I see them as a tired team, with studies, injuries and all the stuff
going on," Perry said.
The team will continue practicing and conditioning during the mid-semester
break next week, but Perry worries that changes in the routine this late
in the season will be dangerous. However, some think the break is needed.
"I think it should get our heads and our bodies back into shape,"
Reiff said. "Hopefully, everybody will come back healthy and ready
to step it up."
The Cobbers will attend the MIAC championships at St. Olaf on March 1.
"I know we have [national qualifiers]," Perry said.
Grapplers qualify for nationals at the MIAC championship meet.
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
Cobber Women's
Track & Field: Womenâs track
The Cobber Women's track team competed in the Cobber-Ole-Piper meet over
the weekend. Women's team scores were unavailable. Following are the top
Cobber placers in each event:
Women's
4x800m relay 2nd 10:42.70
4x200m relay 3rd 1:53.52
55m hurdles Sarah Severson 1st 9.14
1500 meter Cindy Carstens 3rd 5:21.35
400 meter Kristi Berger 2nd 63.76
600 meter Julie Engh 2nd 1:41.59
55 meter Kelly Holecek N/A 8.37
800 meter Mollee Ludtke1st 2:22.5
1000 meter B. Breidenberg 1st 3:11.6
200 meter Michelle Haugen 2nd 27.38
4x400m relay 1st 4:09.27
Sprint medley relay 2nd 4:35.93 (school record) Pole Vault Lori Knapp 6th
6'6"
Long jump Sarah Severson 1st 18'4.25"
Shot Put Becky Kearns 4th 38-10.25
20 lb.weight throw Kristi Berger1st 46-4.25
Triple Jump Sarah Severson 2nd 36-5
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
From the Archives
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
Sports
Cobber Men's
Track & Field:
The Cobber men's track team competed in the Concordia Quadrangular meet
over the weekend.
The men placed second overall. Following are the top Cobber placers in
each event:
Men's
4x800m relay 1st 8:21.04
4x200m relay 2nd N/A
55m hurdles Darren McKigney 9th 8.57
1500 meter Bill Keating 2nd 4:08.06
400 meter Peter Benson 6th 52.37
600 meter Josh Lowman 3rd 1:26.74
55 meter Adam Lovehaug 9th 6.91
800 meter Jason Clairmont 6th 2:07.51
1000 meter Jeff Street 2nd 2:45.05
200 meter Doug Paulson 7th 24.69
3000 meter Jeff Edwards 4th 9:45.71
4x400m relay 2nd 3:38
High Jump David Jacobson 3rd 6'5"
Pole Vault Ryan Williams 5th 11'6"
Long Jump Alex Krivobok 5th 21'0"
Shot Put James Springer 8th 41-3
Weight throw Scott Holthusen 5th 35-11
Triple Jump Alex Krivobok1st 46-0 (school
record)
Return to Feb.21 index of The Concordian Sports
Swimming:
(No Meets)
Daimen Crump,
Men's Basketball Player
by
Daimen Crump, a Concordia senior and the teams leading scorer on the Cobber
basketball team, relies on one pair of basketball shoes -- converse reissues
of the classic Chuck Taylor model. Thought the name "Chuck Taylor
All-Star" appears on the shoes, these sleek, white and red models
lack the defining characteristics of the originals -- the canvas uppers,
and the thick rubber soles. Nor do they conjure up the grainy, black and
white images of the players who made the original shoes famous, like Celtic
great Bill Russell extending to block an opponent's shot, or the nimble
Bob Cousy, maneuvering between defenders.
Though the shoes may fail to convey this nostalgia, Crump's basketball
abilities, according to Cobber head coach Duane Siverson, are synthetic
of the quickness of Cousy and the defensive prowess of Russel.
"He's a complete player," Siverson said. Crump, 23, is not only
Concordia's leading scorer, he is near the team lead in rebounds, assists
and, according to Siverson, is the teams best defensive player.
Crump's playing abilities were not the only characteristics that Siverson
noticed during the 1995-96 season, however. It was Crump's first year at
Concordia, and as the season progressed, Siverson noticed that Crump seemed
physically drained.
"I asked him what's wrong," Siverson said, and Crump responded
by simply saying, "Well, this is my time of worship."
Crump had converted to Islam one year and four months before. As Siverson
discovered, Crump was observing Ramadan, a Muslim holy month which requires
Muslims to abstain from eating and drinking during the daylight hours.
"I knew," Siverson said, "it was the ultimate sacrifice
to God [Allah]."
Last season marked Crump's first observance of Ramadan; he admits that
it was difficult. For most of January, Crump and Muslims around the world
were honoring their prophet Mohammed with Ramadan; this year, as the 1997
basketball season at Concordia bounces on, Crump has found it much easier
to deal with the combination of Ramadan and basketball.
Through his first week of fasting, Crump was the leading scorer in both
of Concordia's games, which were Cobber victories. This year, Crump said,
"I don't let it [the fasting] affect me. It's a mental thing,"
he said.
Siverson added that during Ramadan, "He [Crump] seems more focused
in every aspect of his life." Crump seems, Siverson said, "more
settled -- at peace."
Granted Crump breaks the fast on game days: He joins the team for a pregame
meal. According to Islamic theology, this is acceptable as long as one
makes up these fasting days latter. Crump, through his first week, broke
the fast three times, twice for pregame meal and once more, when he grabbed
an additional handful of cereal before a game.
The droning demands of religion and basketball and school characterize,
if not dictate, Crump's life this season. He completes a similar regimen
on a daily basis: He wakes before sunrise to pray and eat (usually a bowl
of cereal or pancakes); he proceeds to classes, followed by basketball
practice at 3:30 p.m.; after sundown he eats and then studies sociology
or psychology.
Prayer is an important facet in a Muslim's day, during Ramadan or otherwise.
In addition to one's prayer upon waking, a Muslim prays four additional
times: at noon, sometime in the late afternoon, at sunset and when one
goes to sleep.
***
Crump, in the sparsely-decorated living room of his apartment, unrolls
his prayer rug. He sets the rug near the window away from the couch, two
chairs, television and Super Nintendo. Three basketball posters decorate
the otherwise bland walls.
Crump is careful not to set the rug facing the posters or any of the furniture:
this would imply that he worships the items. Crump places the rug facing
southeast, towards Mecca, the holy shrine where Muhammed once came to political
and spiritual power.
At first, Crump's long limbs seem to dwarf the thin, tasseled rug. But
as he demonstrates the various prayer positions, he is methodical, graceful.
At one point, he stands over the rug, hands clasped together just under
his chest. Later, he kneels down and places his head, fitted with a dome-like
prayer hat, on the ground; the position looks to be one of humility before
Allah. Still later, he kneels down and faces his palms upward, as if to
recieve.
The first step in Islamic prayer is the Adan, a symbolic call to prayer.
next is the Fata, an introduction, followed by a passage from the Koran,
which the individual may chose. Crump knows only a handul of passages in
Arabic; though he owns a Koran, he relies on the book "Islam in Focus,"
by Hamnuda Habdalati, to translate the meanings of passages. After a traditional
concluding call for peace, Crump ends with personalized prayer. "Protest
me from the evil spirits of the devil, and guide me to the straight path
of the righteous..."
With fasting, praying and playing , there was indeed a rhythm to his life
this January, like the methodical echo of a lone basketball player, completeing
ball-handling drills in an empty gym. There was little room for spontaneity
or excitement. Crump's life, however, has been anything but boring.
***
Crump grew up in Seatle, living for a short time in the central district,
a predominantly black area downtown. His years in Seatle corresponded with
a large gang migration to the city. As he grew up, he said, Los Angeles
gangs like the Crips and the Bloods migrated north to Seattle. Gangs were
not uncommon in the central district.
Though Crump was never personally involved with a gang, the infestation
of gangs in Seattle was a distinct reality to him.
Once, Crump and some friends took a red 1966 Chevrolet Impala to a carwash
in the Seattle suburb of Redmond. "It was one of those rinky-dink
car washes," he said.
"Somebody went to get quarters and we were just talking," Crump
said. Suddenly, an Asian gang approached them and demanded the car. One
member was waving a gun. " It had a silencer," Crump said. "It
was a Tech-nine, or a Mac-11." Another member of the gang, apparently
irritated because his fellow gang member hadn't taken action, tried to
get the gun. With this Crump and his friends ren to the middle of the adjacent
street. Shots fired; "I saw the fire coming out of the holes[of the
gun]," Crump said.
Crump and his friends ran to the middle of the busy street to get help.
"People were rolling up their windows," Crump said. "We
were in white suburbia," Crump said, "and there was a black guy
and some Mexicans in the street. They just didn't want to help us,"
he said. The gang decided to leave without the car, escaping with the car's
stereo and about 200 compact discs. They had attempted the carjacking in
broad daylight near a busy Seattle street.
Though Crump was a "hoopster," and usually hung around basketball
players, he had a wide base of friends. When gang activity infiltrated
his neighborhood, his friends helped him avoid falling into a gang himself.
"Somebody always had my back," he said.
After graduating from high school, Crump attended two community colleges
in the next two years: Highlin and Shoreline. But Crump's motivation seemed
to wane. His school work was lackluster. "I had a lot of friends that
weren't really thinking about the future," he said.
The year 1994. "It [life] was all crazy -- at this time my daughter
was about to be born," he said. Two of his friends had recently been
killed, and others were going to prison for drug or violence offenses.
"A lot of the people I grew up with ... I was seeing them go down."
Though he and his friends had tried various Christian churches, he had
never been impressed with Christianity. "I felt like evrybody [in
church] was fake," he said. "You see themin church one way but
you see them outside completely different." In addition, he noted
that Christianity "was the religeon that was beat into African-Americans
[as slaves]."
One of his friends had adopted Islam two years earlier, and Crump had observed
the consequent changes in his friend. The friend partied less and had stopped
drinking, which Muslim teachings prohibit.
As 1994 continued, Crump continued to search. "I was trying to find
me," he said. "I was trying to find God." After his Muslim
friend left for college, Crump continued reading about Islam, a practice
which his friend had encouraged. Crump sensed that Islam was much different
from his religeous experiences in the past. "It wasn't about jumpin'
around, dancing and sreaming," Crump said. He ealized that Islam enouraged
humility, and he was impressed. "I just thought it was peaceful,"
he said.
Islam served as a esape from the life in the city. Long before his religeous
conversion, however, Crump had begun to confront life on the streets by
writing rap lyrics.
Crump began rapping about Seattle's street life in the mid 1980's. His
first "rhymes" depicted a very bleak picture, he said.
"As I got older I got out of that," he said. "I'm more educated
now." Crump has been influenced by civil rights leaders like Martin
Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Medger Evers.
Crump is most enthusiastic about the ideas of Malcolm X. "He didn't
believe in getting stepped on," Crump said. Martin Luther King, Jr's
philosophy is also important to Crump. "I think non violence is a
key," he said. "I'm kind of a hypocrite, though, because I believe
in Malcolm X's view, ' Protect yourself, defend yourself."
One rhyme, which has yet to be named, addresses the same issues King and
Malcolm X dealt with:
"... but segregation is still a part of education. Ya, there integration
but I still see the separation between rich, poor, poverty and elite high
class country clubs and ghetto children bangin the streets."
As Crump near his graduation from Concordia, he continues to write rhymes.
Though Crump's rhymes have allowed him to address life in his former home,
a primary motivation for his move to Concordia was to escape that life.
"It's much calmer out here," he said.
At Concordia, Crump has been occasionally disturbed by jokes that contain
a racially-insensitive undercurrent, though, they're not acutely racist.
"Sometimes they'er directed towards me," he said. The remarks,
he said, show tha the culprits "haven't been around."
"Sometimes it's funny," he said. "But when there is repitition
..."
Crump has yet to explore the Islamic community in Fargo-Moorhead. And though
he enjoys the relative calmness in Moorhead, the move from Seattle was
a tough one: Crump got married and fathered a daughter, shortly after he
converted to Islam. Today, his wife, Jonikka, and his three-year-old daughter,
Jalea, reside in Seattle. His mother and sister also live in Seattle. "My
phone bill is really high," he said.
***
Basketball, when viewed from the baseline, appears to be a very rough sport.
Though Crump considers himself a guard, he often must play small forward
because of his height, 6-feet 2 1/2 inches. In the Jan. 23 game against
St. Johns, Crump was matched up against a burly forward. Crump was knocked
to the ground twice in the game. He collided with a teamate on one play.
After each of these three occurances, Crump recovered, smiling. He is the
only player, it seems, who smiles as the competition unfolds.
"He is a very humble man," said Jerry Pyle, assistant basketball
coach. "If you saw him in a room and someone said that he is one of
the best players in the league, you would never have known it," he
said.
Nevertheless, as Crump chastises himself after a turnover, or when he rolls
his eyes after a questionable call, one can tell there is no lack of competitive
fire in him.
Crump has said that he once felt he needed to find himself. He also said
that he desires a calmer, more peaceful life. As he smiles and pulls himself
off the floor amid the adrenaline tempest of a close game, it seems that
Crump has indeed found something.
Return to Feb. 21 index of The Concordian
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