Michael Oldach has been an outstanding distance runner at Westmont College for the past three years. He earned All-American honors as a junior after finishing eighth at the NAIA Cross County Championships and became the first Warrior to win the Golden State Athletic Conference individual title two years in a row.
But as he entered his fourth season of cross country, he was stricken “with a very debilitating disease,” said coach Russ Smelley at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
The coach had seen it before in other four-year athletes.
It was a case of “Senioritis.”
In Oldach’s case, according to Smelley, the symptoms were “I thought I’d be smarter now, I thought I’d be faster now, I thought I’d look good with a mullet.”
Smelley recognized Oldach’s senioritis at the UC Riverside Invitational two weeks ago. He dropped out of the race at two miles.
As the Warriors prepared for last Saturday’s Master’s Invitational, Smelley said Oldach took his goal card, which said “break 25 minutes,” and wrote “just finish” on it.
“This is not a guy I had great expectations for on Saturday,” Smelley admitted.
In the race, Oldach was in 25th place after the first mile, moved up to 15th at three miles and was with the leaders (two UCLA runners) at four miles.
“With 500 meters to go, I said, ‘It’s time to go now’ and then he walked away from them over the last 300 meters and set a course record.”
After the performance, Smelley realized the “debilitating disease is actually self inflicted with a lot of naval gazing.
“It can easily be fixed.”
He noted that the hardest thing in running is to “persist when you can’t think you can go on. It’s a mental choice.
“Michael had a choice to give up that view of himself at Riverside and go and race at this meet and convince himself he can do it.
“We didn’t change the workouts, he just made up his mind he could do it.”
Here’s is a recap of what the coaches said about their athletes:
Santa Barbara High Boys Water Polo
Coach Mark Walsh on sophomore Jack Taylor: “Jack is one of our fastest guys. He really moves the ball in the water, he defends for us — he usually guards the other team’s biggest guy and counters him down the pool. He’s very crafty in front of the goal and scores a lot of goals for us.”
On sophomore Ryan Drake: “Ryan’s got just an incredible shot. The guys are good at finding him in different spaces. He just needs a little room. He can one-touch the ball to himself, like a soccer player, where he gets it, moves it and all of a sudden he’s got an advantage. That gives him six inches of room to get his shot off and put away a shot most kids can’t.”
SBCC Football
Coach Craig Moropoulos on kicker Lucas Eilbacher: “It’s my understanding Lucas Eilbacher did not kick at DP. Well, he’s kicking for us right now and he’s outstanding. We’re really proud of him.”
San Marcos Girls Volleyball
Coach Tina Brown on junior middle Fionna Pennington: “She is a great blocker, scores a bunch of points each game and holds down the other team with her blocking. She’s done some great things for us in the middle position.”
On Ava Cole, sophomore setter: “She runs our offense as our second setter in the 6-2. She’s a great all-round athletic young lady.”
On freshman outside hitter Riley Green: “She is probably the hardest-working young lady in the gym. She’ll play any position, she just wants to be out there competing and not only making herself better but everybody else better.”
San Marcos Boys Water Polo
Coach Peera Sukavivatanachai on sophomore Tom Leggett: “He was driving force behind our offense this weekend (at the Villa Park Tournament, averaging 3-4 goals in last five games.”
On sophomore goalie Ben Webber: “He was our starting goalie last year. He brings a lot of experience playing against a lot of bigger, older guys.”
Dos Pueblos High Girls Tennis
Coach Laura Housinger on senior Julia McEachen: “She has been a bulldog and a powerhouse. She’s always very, very flexible and works really hard. We love her attitude, she’s always so positive out there.”
On senior Alessa Somer: “She has played No.1 since 10th grade for us. Her current record is 14-5, which is pretty impressive. She’s also 5-1 in league. She really gets in the zone out there and floats on the court.”
SBCC Women’s Volleyball
Coach Kat Niksto of freshman opposite Gabi Brewer: “She is just a force to be reckoned with. She also a great blocker for us.”
Santa Barbara High Girls Tennis
Coach Danny Echt on junior Sophia Ostovany: “She’s our No. 1 singles player; a fabulous competition. I appreciate Sophia’s eagerness to learn; she’s very serious. She has an impressive 15-5 record. I see potential for her in singles and double this season.”
On sophomore Heidi Hatton: “She has been injured, so it’s really nice to see how excited and eager she is to get back on the court, practicing and playing.”
Laguna Blanca Girls Volleyball
Coach Jason Donnelly on junior setter Annie Gabler: “Annie works her tail off to run our offense the way we’re supposed top run it, to keep all our hitters involved.”
On Ainsley McGovern, senior opposite: “Ainsley will have nights where she’s pretty much unstoppable, and she’s hit over .400 in a couple of our matches. Ainsley has been very, very good for us. She’s taken some big swings at critical times. She’s also our best pin blocker.”
Dos Pueblos Boys Water Polo
Coach Bryan Snyder on senior Ethan Parrish: “He’s leading the team in goals and steals, just an all-around phenomenal player.”
On senior Trevor Lum: “He is a guy who comes off the bench every game and gives us high quality minutes.”
Dos Pueblos Girls Volleyball
Coach Megan O’Carroll on sophomore outside hitter Portia Sherman: “She is our go-to girl, she carries a large load for our team. This season has been a big growth year for her. This season has been big for her in terms of her confidence and mental toughness. This kid is tough.”
On freshman outside Chloe Hoffman: “She is one of our outside hitters, but she’s only been an outside hitter for 8 weeks. She is a setter by trade. She has done an awesome job for us. She is one of our most effective hitters.”
Dos Pueblos Football
Coach Doug Caines on senior running back Conner Lee: Once he gets running, it’s beautiful to watch him move and make full-speed cuts. He was electric for us in his last game and we look for him to lead us offensively as we’re struggling a little bit with the rest of those components.”
On senior lineman Roberto Vargas: “Roberto had some extremely memorable pancake blocks (against Righetti). It’s absolutely amazing to watch this young man. When he’s got the pad level where he needs to be, he’s an absolute gladiator. He dominated a defensive line that literally has beat up on everybody in this area, Lompoc included.”
— Noozhawk Sports Editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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