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Thursday, August 07, 2008

Local Talent Big at ENMU

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
      Eastern New Mexico University has been adept at luring some of the best of the Estancia Valley's prep athletes to its campus in Portales.
       The NCAA Division II Greyhound men and Zia women include Moriarty High graduates D.J. Draper (track and field), Josette Aguirre (softball) and Jaime Silva (soccer), and Estancia grads Laine Fuller (cross country and track) and Daniel Ortiz (football).
       Draper, the son of retired Estancia High athletic director Mike Draper, practiced as a quarterback for the ENMU football team last fall. At the time, D.J. Draper had hopes of moving up in the ranks as the Greyhounds transition to a pass-oriented offense this coming season.
       That plan quickly went by the wayside when spring practices conflicted with his track and field responsibilities.
       “When I started going to track, they (the football coaches) stopped caring,” said Draper, who is a 6-foot-2, 230-pound redshirt freshman thrower. “They worked more with the other quarterbacks. But I had a track scholarship, so I was going to do track regardless.”
       Draper is a two-time state Class 4A javelin champion.
       “I think it'll be good this way,” he said. “I won't be doing football so I can work, do track and get my schoolwork done. I'll have to work some because I don't have a full scholarship.”
       Eric Boll, the Greyhounds' seventh-year track and field coach, provided a positive appraisal.
       “Sometimes, it's hard for an athlete to redshirt,” Boll said. “But he handled it better than anyone else I've ever had. I'm real excited about him. He has the talent.
       “He can throw a national qualifying distance already,” Boll continued. “As a redshirt, he can compete in meets as an individual, and he won the first meet he competed in.”
       Draper said he threw a personal-record 195 feet as an individual during the spring.
       “I might try to do the hammer throw this year, too,” he said.
       Fuller, a junior, competed in the 800-meter run in track and ran 8-kilometer courses for the Greyhound harriers.
       “Laine's one of those hard working guys you love to have on your team,” Boll said. “He doesn't have a lot of natural talent, but he's got a great work ethic. He's one of the last ones in the 800, but he PR'd in the 800 last spring. I think it was (2 minutes, 1.88 seconds).
       “He really helps us more in cross country,” added Boll, who is in his 10th year leading ENMU's cross country contingent. “He's got a lot of endurance. He usually comes in the middle of the pack. But he scores for us sometimes.”
       Coach Amber Daniel, in her fourth year as the Zias' softball honcho, was profuse with her praise of Aguirre.
       “She works hard at practice, never asks any questions, just goes out and does what she's told to do,” Daniel said. “She was behind a British national team player this year. But I see her playing a bigger role next year. She's so fast, so athletic. Right now, I see her playing more. And she's so young. I absolutely see a future for her here at Eastern.”
       Aguirre was the Zias' duty base runner this spring. She also manned center field on occasion.
       “Your freshman year (in college), you have to get used to not playing much,” said Aguirre, a 5-2 sophomore. “You have to try to mature and be ready for the next year.”
       Silva, a 5-6 sophomore goalkeeper, will have a new coach in Ray Nause this fall.
       “I played probably four games; I had some injuries,” said Silva, known for her hell-for-leather play in net. “I dislocated my shoulder about one-third of the way through the season. We were playing half and half (at goalkeeper) with Stephanie Sanchez.”
       Ortiz, a redshirt freshman who underwent knee surgery in January, was a football player and field thrower in 2007-08. He said he's still going to go out for football, but instead of track, he'll give it a go as a walk-on with the men's basketball squad and baseball team.
       “I did football and track last year,” said Ortiz, a 6-3, 250-pound wide receiver. “I think I can still compete. I wanted to play wide receiver last year, but they had me at tight end.”
       

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