Monday Mishmash

I've always loved this quote by Willie Nelson about one of the perqs that comes with owning your own golf course:

“Par is whatever I say it is. I've got one hole that's a par 23 and yesterday I damn near birdied the sucker.”

What calls that to mind is a Top-20 preseason poll I stumbled across that looks like this:
1. Montana
2. Appalachian State
3. Richmond
4. James Madison
5. N. Iowa
6. Harvard
7. Weber State
8. Yale
9. Villanova
10. New Hampshire
11. Wofford
12. William & Mary
13. Texas State
14. Eastern Kentucky
15. Maine
16. Colgate
17. Elon
18. Liberty
19. Central Arkansas
20. Wild Card

Not one, but two Ivies in the top-10? Including a Yale team that lost its best players on offense and defense? Hey, he's the owner of the site, so the Top 20 is whatever College by Charlie says it is. If you want to quibble, get a computer and buy your own domain.

The Outdoor Heps concluded yesterday with Dartmouth sophomore Muhammad Abdul-Shakoor closing fast to take third in the 100 meters in 10.96 seconds. (Video of the race and results here.) A defensive back for the past two seasons, Abdul-Shakoor ran track this spring instead of playing football. (More from the Heps at the bottom.)

Speaking of track, incoming Dartmouth recruit Elliot Kastner, listed as a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive tackle from Hawaii Prep, finished second in the discus and third in the shot in the Big Island track championship and is now headed to the Hawaii states. Kastner is also an accomplished wrestler.

Dartmouth has had a renewed recruiting presence in the Pacific Northwest in the past couple of years and is on the radar of Thomas Gallagher, a 6-4, 295 offensive guard for Washington's Sequim High School. According to a story in his local paper, the junior has "received information from a number of schools, including the University of Oregon, Washington State University, University of Idaho, Dartmouth College, Florida State University and Princeton."

That's an interesting cross-section of schools, to be sure. More from the story:

Faced with a partial scholarship to a big school or a full ride to a smaller school, Gallagher says he’d take the smaller school. Either way, he said he’d like to pursue a major in business communications or public relations.

“I’d like to go to school for free,” he admits.

Umm ...

Former Dartmouth tailback Chad Gaudet is going on with the 14-2 Virginia lacrosse team, which built an 18-0 lead before calling off the dogs and taking an 18-6 win over Villanova in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. From a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Chad Gaudet's supremacy on faceoffs meant Villanova rarely had possession in the first half. Gaudet, a graduate student who transferred to UVa from Dartmouth, won 12 of 15 draws before intermission and 14 of 17 for the game.

"That was pivotal," (UVa coach Dom) Starsia said.

Gaudet and UVa will play Johns Hopkins Sunday at Annapolis Md., as the Wahoos chase their fourth national title under Starsia.

Another former Dartmouth football player in the news is Eddie Lucas '04, who might have been the Big Green's starting quarterback in 2001 after injuries depleted the QB corps. Instead, he turned his full attention to baseball, which in hindsight turned out to be a smart decision. Lucas ended up being chosen the Ivy League player of the year as a senior and being drafted by the Kansas City Royals. Now a third baseman, he was promoted to the Triple-A Omaha Royals last week. Find his Omaha bio here. For an earlier Green Alert blog note about Lucas click here.

Today's Daily Dartmouth notes that a 2 percent drop in the "yield" of admitted students will see 50-60 additions off the waitlist for the Class of 2013. A year ago Dartmouth took 38 waitlisted students. None were taken two years ago.

Two thoughts:

• Might there be a football players in that group?
• Could that lower yield open the door for a transfer if there's one still out there?

And finally, back to the Heps. Word has reached these precincts that Carl Wallin (bio) told his athletes he will be stepping down as head field events coach after four decades in Hanover. Carl's credentials stand on their own but consider these: In addition to former World Champion and Olympic silver medal shotputter Adam Nelson, Wallin has coached 29 All-Americans, 38 New England champions and 87 Heps winners. He's coached internationally and has been chosen NCAA District One coach of the year four times in the past 11 years.

Carl's tireless dedication to the athletes he coached over the years has been obvious to everyone who knows him. If you drive by Memorial Field in the spring and Carl isn't out there giving personal instruction to one of his athletes it's always a surprise, regardless of the hour or day of the week. We should all have the dedication to, and love of our jobs that Carl has demonstrated throughout his career.

On a personal note, the smile and warm greeting I always got from Carl whenever we crossed paths in and around Leverone or Memorial Field did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Above and beyond being a successful and accomplished coach, Carl is a true gentleman who will be missed by more than just the athletes who were fortunate enough to learn from him.