1. December 10, 2014SPORTSPage 10
Visit the Echo online at CLUEcho.com
Chris Whitmer
Staff Writer
Regals’ late rally comes up short
Photo by Hailey Moore- Staff Photographer
Surveying the defense: Senior guard Natalie Stone looks for an open
teammate in Saturday night’s loss to George Fox.
Regals Basketball
The California Lutheran Uni-
versity men’s swimming and diving
team opened up Southern Califor-
nia Intercollegiate Athletic Con-
ference play against the La Verne
Leopards on Dec. 6 at the Univer-
sity of La Verne Aquatics Center.
The Kingsmen were able to edge
the Leopards in their home pool
with a final score of 152-129. The
Kingsmen won 10 out of 16 events
and five different Kingsmen came
in first place, with three of the five
winning multiple events.
“It was a combined effort from
everyone to get the win. We met on
the bus before the meet and ver-
balized our plan to get a win,” said
Kevin Lane, assistant head coach
for the Kingsmen and Regals swim-
ming and diving teams.
Junior Ore Wahnishe turned out
to be the workhorse for the Kings-
men in the pool Saturday, where he
won all the events he competed in,
including the 50 free (21.80), the
100 free (48.13), the 100 fly (53.15)
and the 200 free relay he took part
in as his team clocked a time of
1:29.29.
“Bigpointsandtoughraceswere
swam by Ore Wahnishe,” Lane said.
“Ore slipped off the blocks at the
start of the 100 free. He started in
dead last but he recovered in time
to get the win.”
Prior to the game, head coach
Tom Dodd made a few roster
changes in order to come out with
a win for the men’s team, where
freshman Zach Zamecki, senior
transfer Jonathan Hall, and fresh-
man Jonah Hobbs made their de-
buts and contributed in a huge way.
“Coach Tom’s lineup choices
helped us win a lot more points
which helped us with the win,” said
junior Philip Anderson, who com-
peted in the backstroke/sprints.
Zamecki finished first in the
100 back by almost two whole sec-
onds with a time of 54.93. Zamecki
also finshed first in the 200 back
(2:01.00) and was also a part of that
200 free relay finishing first with
a time of 1:29.29. He finished in
second right behind his teammate
Wahnishe in the 100 fly with a time
of 54.15.
Hall was the third and final
Kingsman to win multiple heats on
the day, where he won the 1000 free
(10:25.94) and the 200 fly (2:02.36).
He also earned more key points for
Cal Lutheran as he placed third in
the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.50.
“We came into the meet know-
ing they would beat us in the breast
stroke, so we knew we had to get
the wins in the long distance events
and other stroke events,” Anderson
said.
Other notable victories came
from divers Ryan Brem and Hobbs.
Bremcameinfirstonthethree-me-
ter board with a score of 255.60 and
Hobbs who won the 500 free with a
time of 5:01.52.
Returning all-SCIAC swimmer
Zach Loza also contributed to the
Kingsmen success. He placed sec-
ond behind teammate Hobbs in
the 500 free with a time of 5:16.13,
and placed third in the 200 free
(1:50.93). He too was also a mem-
ber of the 200 free relay.
Freshman Matthew Fink also
made an impact on his debut for
the Kingsmen as he swam third leg
in the 200 relay, placed second in
the 200 free (1:50.08) and third In
the 100 free (50.65).
The Regals participated in the
meet alongside the Kingsmen at La
Verne. Although the Regals showed
some good things in their SCIAC
opener, it was not good enough as
they fell to the Leopards 222-50.
The Regals had to compete with-
out a few of their teammates due to
sickness, which was a key factor to
their loss.
“Not having the entire team
there was definitely hard but once
everyone is back and healthy we
should be better,” Katie Kochalko
said, junior swimmer for the Regals
who competes in the individual
medley and fly.
Sophomore diver Tianna Pasko
dominated the diving boards as she
swept the one meter with a score of
216.00 and a score of 170.35 in the
three meter competition.
Taylor Faust, who is the only se-
nior for the Regals put on an excel-
lent performance as she won the 50
free (24.55) and placed second in
the 100 free (59.90). Faust was also
a part of the second place finish in
the 200 relay along with Rachel De-
Filippis, Kochalko, and Rachel Bal-
com with a time of 1:50.20.
Junior captain Kolchalko is also
coming off a season ending injury
dating back to last season and she
was looking to dust off some of
that rustiness in her events. She de-
livered two strong performances,
where she placed second in the 100
breaststroke (1:16.83) and third in
the 100 fly (1:04.47).
“It felt really good to finally get
back at it and compete. Although
it’s been a slow start I have been
training hard in hopes of getting
my times back down to where they
were before I was injured,” Kol-
chalko said.
The Kingsmen (1-0 SCIAC)
and Regals (0-1 SCIAC) will have
a little over 4 weeks to prepare for
the Second Annual Chris Knorr
Invitational at Samuelson Aquatics
Center Jan. 3-4.
“CLU finished this part of the
year on a high note. Smiles all
around. The results show and give a
boost to the strong swimming and
effort in the pool and weight room,”
Lane said. “We are headed into our
winter training camp. This is high
volume training. When school
starts for the spring 2015 semester,
we will be taped from the high vol-
ume and start racing even faster.”
Riding the board: Sophomore diver Tianna Pasko won two events in
the Regals’ first SCIAC meet of their season.
Photo courtesy of Matt McClenathen- Assistant Sports Information Director
Randall Shumpert
Staff Writer
Kingsmen, Regals split in SCIAC opener
Kingsmen and Regals Swim and Dive
The California Lutheran
University Regals basketball team
looked to pull out an upset on
Dec. 5 as it took on No. 17 ranked
George Fox at home.
“We didn’t let their title of being
the 17th
best team in the nation
discourage us. We all came into
this game very prepared, and had
worked hard the past couple of
days,” junior guard Chelsea Jacoby
said.
The Regals trailed by just
three points late in the second
half after two made free throws
by sophomore guard Sofia Cruz.
However Cal Lutheran was not
able to battle back from the
deficit, losing 63-52. George Fox
remains undefeated with this win
improving their record to 6-0.
The Regals fell behind early
in the first half, but climbed back
into the game. Trailing 14-8,
sophomore guard Trianna Owen
knocked down the only 3-pointer
for the Regals. The long distance
shot ignited a Regals rally, bringing
the score to 22-19 with seven
minutes left in the first half.
The Regals would trail at the
end of the first half 35-29. Leading
the way for the Regals in the first
half offensively were Jacoby with
12 points and sophomore guard
Jessica Salottolo with six points.
Owen also contributed with three
assists in the first half.
“In the beginning is was kind of
slow. We wanted to push the ball
if we could and if not we wanted
to settle ourselves and get a good
shot. I thought that we made some
poor decisions in the beginning
of the game that put us in a little
bit of a hole,” head coach Lindsay
Goldblatt said.
The Regals came out in the
second half looking to close the
deficit.
“[In the] second half the goal
was to just take it to them and to
continue to out rebound them and
let them know we were not giving
up which I can honestly say we
never did,” Jacoby said.
After sophomore forward
Haley Hodgson’s jump shot the
Regals pulled within six points two
minutes into the closely played
second half. After a pair of made
free throws by Cruz the Regals
would cut the George Fox lead to
51-49 with just four minutes left in
the second half.
“With three minutes left, we
brought it within two points. After
that George Fox made a few good
offensive plays that converted
into baskets. We were not able to
convert as many baskets as they
did,” Cruz said.
George Fox benefited from a
late timeout and went on a 12-3
run to close the game, with the
final score being 63-52.
“Ithoughtweplayedreallyhard,
and that’s what kept in the game
and gave us a chance. That was
an extremely talented team. We
actually put ourselves in a position
to win, and im very pleased with
our effort tonight,” Goldblatt said.
Jacoby would lead the Regals
finishing with 15 points and
nine rebounds. Cruz finished the
game with eight points and four
rebounds.
“I think our tough preseason
schedule will help us down the line
this season because we are being
tested both mentally and physically
early on this year. When SCIAC
comes around we will be able to
look back on these games and use
them to better our game,” Cruz
said.

2. December 10, 2014 Page 11
Visit the Echo online at CLUEcho.com
SPORTS
The mission statement of the
California Lutheran University
athletic department is “to pro-
vide a high caliber athletics pro-
gram supporting both men’s and
women’s sports that is designed
to foster and compliment the
overall academic and intellectual
growth of Cal Lutheran student–
athletes,” according to its website.
One of the ways that they try and
foster this growth is with the Stu-
dent Athlete Advisory Commit-
tee.
The SAAC is a committee that
the NCAA requires participating
universities have to help student-
athletes with their college experi-
ence.
“The SAAC is set so student-
athletes can have a voice in mat-
ters that concern their world,”
said Debby Day, the adviser to
the SAAC, head softball coach
and director of compliance in the
athletics department.
The SAAC is made up of 20
student-athletes with each one
representing one of the varsity
sports offered at Cal Lutheran. In
recent history, committee mem-
bers have chosen their successor
rather than having their coach se-
lect their replacement.
“For about the past five years,
we’ve had outgoing players select
their successors rather than hav-
ing a coach decide because I be-
lieve that the players have a better
grasp on who would be right for
the role,” Day said.
The committee meets through-
out the semester to cover topics
ranging from NCAA legislation
to any little problem a student-
athlete may encounter at Cal Lu-
theran.
“One of the responsibilities of
the SAAC is to be the represen-
tative for the students not only
for the university but also the
NCAA,” said SAAC Vice Presi-
dent and junior punter on the
Kingsmen football team Jack
McFarland. “If a student-athlete
is having any type of problem on
campus whether it is academic or
athletic, one of our goals is to be
there to point them in the right
direction.”
Another one of the goals of
the SAAC, particularly at the
Division III level is to be a good
ambassador to the university
community, extending this to
the surrounding city not just the
campus.
“We put on at least one pro-
gram a semester that benefits the
community whether it is Habitat
for Humanity, food drives or col-
laborating with the Special Olym-
pics,” McFarland said.
The aim is to build a strong re-
lationship between the university
and the surrounding area through
different outreach programs.
The SAAC meets the third
Tuesday of every month and the
meetings are open to any student-
athlete. For more information go
to the SAAC webpage at www.
clusports.com or contact Debby
Day at dday@callutheran.edu.
Alix Moise
Staff Writer
Ramsey Abushahla
Sports Editor
Men’s volleyball coming to CLU
On Dec. 1, California Lu-
theran University announced
that it will add a men’s volley-
ball team for the spring 2016
season.
It will be the first school in
the Southern California Inter-
collegiate Athletic Conference
to add the sport according to
CLUsports.com.
According to ncaa.com,
there are two divisions for
men’s volleyball, National Col-
legiate and Division III. The
National Collegiate division is
comprised of Division I and II
schools.
Division III men’s volleyball
is the most recent sport to re-
ceive an NCAA national cham-
pionship with the first one be-
ing held in 2012.
According to CLUsports.
com Cal Lutheran will join 70
Division III schools that field-
ed a men’s volleyball team. The
only other school in Southern
California to be a part of those
schools is UC Santa Cruz.
According to CLUsports.
com, the program hopes to re-
cruit the myriad of high school
and junior college talent locat-
ed in the Southern California
region.
Cal Lutheran will compete
as independent schools, ac-
cording to CLUsports.com.
Kingsmen basketball takes
on Surf’s Up Classic in Hawaii
Over Thanksgiving break,
the Kingsmen basketball team
traveled to Hawaii to compete in
the bi-annual Surf’s Up Classic
tournament.
The Kingsmen went 1-1 in
the two games they competed
in, defeating Pacific University
(Ore.) 67-56 and losing to Uni-
versity of Puget Sound 63-52.
The Kingsmen move on with
a record of 1-2 and will take on
UC Santa Cruz on Dec. 12 at
home.
Box scores of the games
played in Hawaii can be seen
below.
CLU 67
UP 56
Scoring Leaders
CLU: A. Smith 22
UP: M. Wettig 21
Assist Leaders
CLU: C. Powdrill 4
UP: R. Grandinetti 6
Rebound Leaders
CLU: A. Smith 8
UP: M. Wettig 9
1 2
CLU 26 41
UP 28 28
CLU 52
UPS 63
Scoring Leaders
CLU: C. Powdrill 16
UPS: N. Holden 14
Assist Leaders
CLU: D. Wade 6
UPS: M. Reid 4
Rebound Leaders
CLU: C. McGuire 13
UPS: N. Holden 12
1 2
CLU 27 25
UPS 28 35
Stats from CLUsports.com
Improving student-athlete experiences
The SAAC is set so
student-athletes can have
a voice in matters that
concern their world,”
Debby Day
SAAC advisor
“
The Student Athlete
Advisory Commit-
tee provides support for
the campus community
and student-athletes
alike
SPORTS BRIEFS
Campus Sports Updates

3. Page 12SPORTSDecember 10, 2014
Visit the Echo online at CLUEcho.com
RUNNING THROUGH PAIN
California Lutheran Univer-
sity students have watched ju-
nior running back Ricky John-
son fight for yards each Saturday
on the football field. What they
didn’t see, though, is the battle
that Johnson fights off the field-
Rheumatoid Arthritis. The story
behind the boy who at times
could not tie his shoes or get out
of bed is one of hope not only to
live, but to live while doing what
he loves.
The 23-year-old was 19 and
playing football at Citrus Junior
College, when he woke up one
morning with swollen fingers.
Johnson was playing football
and dancing at the time so he
thought this high level of activ-
ity might be to blame. Johnson
consulted his trainers.
“My trainers said, ‘okay, may-
be we’re overworking you. Don’t
do any workouts this week and
we’ll see what happens,’” John-
son said.
Despite taking it easy on the
football field, his symptoms only
got worse.
“My feet started hurting. It
would hurt during the morning
and then go away… That week
went by and it didn’t get better,”
Johnson said.
That’s when Johnson’s train-
ers recommended that he see his
physician.
“I went to the doctor, told her
all my signs and symptoms. She
did a full blood panel and every-
thing… then she found out that
it was Rheumatoid Arthritis,”
Johnson said.
Rheumatoid Arthritis, ac-
cording to Johnson, “has noth-
ing to do with regular arthritis,
where you over work your joints
or get older. It has to do with my
immune system malfunctioning.
My immune system is attack-
ing itself, specifically my joints,
rather than attacking bacteria
and viruses like a normal im-
mune system would.”
There is no cure to the dis-
ease.
“Some days were better than
others. Some days I would wake
up and literally could not move.
The simplest things like brush-
ing my teeth and putting on my
socks would hurt. My grandma
would have to lift me out of bed.
She would tie my shoes for me,”
Johnson said.
“Basically, people thought
football was over,” Johnson said.
He explained that his mom and
some of his friends were the peo-
ple who still supported Johnson’s
dreams for football.
“People would say, ‘maybe
you shouldn’t play football again,
maybe you should just focus on
school and trying to get better,’
but I love football so I always
wanted to play again,” Johnson
said.
Through the pain, Johnson
pushed himself to go to the gym
and work out on his own. Near
the end of 2013, his medication
started to take effect.
“That’s when I started to feel
good, I could run a little faster
and I really started to push my-
self… I started to think, ‘I can
actually play again,’” Johnson
said.
Johnson then contacted his
junior college coach.
“I told him I was doing bet-
ter and I was ready to play again.
Without hesitation, he sent my
information to all his contacts,”
he said.
The next day, Johnson started
getting calls from universities.
Cal Lutheran’s football re-
cruiting coordinator and line-
man coach, Anthony Lugo, was
the first person to call.
“My mom and I came to CLU
for a visit and we loved it. We
liked the coaching staff, we liked
the school and it was close to
home,” Johnson said.
Johnson spent his first semes-
ter becoming one of the go-to
running backs on the Cal Lu-
theran football team.
Jordan De Leon, a freshman
running back on the team, said
that Johnson has quickly become
like a brother to him.
Johnson said that out of all
his teammates, De Leon knows
the most about his Rheumatoid
Arthritis.
“Ricky loves the game of foot-
ball and plays with or without
pain. The coaches know of his
arthritis and are always making
sure that he’s alright to practice
or play,” De Leon said.
“Ricky is a great friend, one
of my best. He has overcome a
lot of adversity,” said junior wide
receiver Jojo Curiel. “Ricky is a
man on a mission to prove a lot
of people wrong.”
De Leon described Johnson’s
personality the same way many
of his teammates do.
“He has a great personality.
He is always positive and happy,”
De Leon said.
Johnson credits his health
and comeback to this positive at-
titude.
In terms of the future, John-
son is hopeful that a cure to
Rheumatoid Arthritis will be
found.
“In the long run, your body
builds immunity to medicines.
Eventually, my medicine will
stop working and I will have to
try something new, unless they
find a cure. It’s inevitable that
the arthritis will come back,”
Johnson said.
Still, Johnson tries to look on
the positive side and continues to
work hard at becoming the best
football player he can be. Be-
cause of his dedication and work
ethic, Cal Lutheran students will
be seeing Johnson back on the
football field next season.
Rachael Maurer
Staff Writer
Ricky Johnson fought
through his Rheu-
matoid Arthritis and
rushed for over 500
yards and six touch-
downs for the Kingsmen
in 2014
Some days I would wake
up and literally could not
move. The simplest things
like brushing my teeth
and putting on my socks
would hurt. My grandma
woud have to lift me out
of bed. She woud tie my
shoes for me,”
Ricky Johnson
Kingsmen Running Back
“
Photo by Andrea Whisler- Staff Photographer