Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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I always wanted to play competitive but never had the opp ortunity until now. It helps get your mind off school and gets you in shape. — Erik Hokanson Battlefield Play Teamwork Vital In Sport 45 members of the Lacrosse Club gave and received their share of hard hits in a game that had with the North American Indians. Progressing from warring Indians to K-Staters, the sport had its share of hard hits. Finally, the craze surfaced at K-State. Lacrosse club founder, Dave McConnell, sophomore in architecture, said he played because of his addiction to the sport. McConnell said he played competitive lacrosse in high school and was when he found that K-State didn ' t have a club. All Big Eight (schools) have lacrosse teams except Nebraska, McConnell said. Lacrosse was played at about 300 and universities in the U.S. It was also played widely in Canada, Europe and Australia. McConnell hoped to educate people lacrosse and see it become an NCAA sport at K-State. Preparation for the spring season began in the fall with practices and fundraisers. Like other K-State clubs, lacrosse was responsible for raising its own funds. The club did receive the support of some local businesses, but the first semester was not easy, McConnell said. Opposition to lacrosse T-shirt sales forced them to end a major source of revenue. If we didn ' t have to quit selling T-shirts, we wouldn ' t be in financial trouble, McConnell said. Equipment costs ran about $250 per player. McConnell said the team hoped to cover most of those expenses through On Feb. 24, K-State was to play its first game at home, against the University of Kansas. A lack of equipment forced a cancellation. Standard equipment consisted of mandatory protective helmets (lighter than football helmets) with facemasks, gloves and thickly padded jerseys. Players used a stick three to six feet long made of wood or plastic with a hoop at one end to catch and pass the ball. The original game strategy was to incapacitate as many opponents as possible with the stick and then try to score a goal. Lacrosse is played a lot like field hockey, said Bill Kaszer, coach and local businessman. By running, dodging, passing and checking, the objective was to get the ball in the opponents side, through a heavy goal defense. The ball, the size of a tennis ball, had to be kept in play by being thrown, batted with the lacrosse stick, or kicked within the boundaries of the playing field. The Indians sometimes played with 600-1,000 players at a time, tripping and fighting with each other. Loss of life and limb was common. Teams consisted of 10 players during game play. Three defense players guarded their own goal. Three attack players stayed close to the opponent ' s goal. There were three midfield players and a goalie, but as long as the proper number of players were in their assigned areas, it didn ' t matter which positions each played. The arrival of team coaches Don Tillar, Pat O ' Conner and Kaszer in February showed the beginnings of a positive for the club. Tillar and O ' Conner, who were stationed at Fort Riley, played in three NCAA Lacrosse Tournaments while at West Point. Only the nation ' s top Eight teams are eligible for NCAA tournament play, Tillar said. Practices flexible to the players ' helped the team. The club held four times a week and took roll each time. I ' ve always liked lacrosse and used to play intramurals at home, said Erik Hokanson, attack player and junior in architecture. Athletic Director Steve Miller offered his support for the Lacrosse Club. The athletic department will be the Lacrosse Club in its annual spring fundraiser, Miller said. I want to help any club with a desire to achieve. Although is not a K-State NCAA sport, it could become one. BY INGRID ERICKSON Lacrosse Club members Dave McConnell, left, Matt Uland, center, freshman in mechanical engineering, and Jay Sweet, junior in mechanical engineering, watch for a ground ball during a practice drill. (Photos by Oliver Kaubisch)

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Continued from page 312 see that type of thing in a meet, you know you ' re getting everything you can out of the kids. The shining performance for the men at the Big Eight meet was Clifton Etheridge in the triple jump, giving the men their only first place finish. He augmented this with second in the long jump. Other top finishers included junior Tyrone Watkins with a second in the 600 yards, Pat Hessini with second place in the mile, and junior David Warders with third in the 5,000 meter run. According to Capriotti, the teams exceeded his expectations and showed an increased to do well. Anytime you go to a meet and a large of your people are having their best of the year — like the Big Eight meet — you know everything is going as well as you could expect, Capriotti said. You can ' t really expect any more. It seemed more satisfying because the kids did better than I thought. BY LORELEI PAGE Wildcat track team member Steve Yoder, junior, sails through the air during the long jump at the KSU Open in Ahearn Fieldhouse. (Photo by Oliver Kaubisch) K-State runners Janet Treiber, left, freshman; Laurie front, sophomore; Marge Eddy, junior; and Hillier, right, freshman; round the corner with the rest of the pack of runners at the KSU Open. (Photo by Oliver Kaubisch) .

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Lacrosse Club founder, Dave McConnell, sophomore in catches the ball a practice at Memorial (Photo by Oliver Kaubisch) Matt Porreca, freshman in design, throws a pass during one of the Lacrosse Club ' s practices. (Photo by Oliver Kaubisch)