Athletics news
Women's Basketball Coach Carmen Dolfo breaks a record
No WWU women's coach has racked up more career wins than basketball coach Carmen Dolfo ('88), who just completed her 20th season with a 26-4 record and another post-season appearance.
Dolfo surpassed her former coach and mentor, Lynda Goodrich ('66) Jan. 20 when WWU beat University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dolfo's 412th career victory. Earlier in the season, Western became the first school in the country with two women's basketball coaches whose teams have earned more than 400 victories; Dolfo reached that plateau against San Francisco State University on Nov. 20.
Goodrich, WWU's 24-year athletic director, was happy to be one-upped by her former protégé.
"I did a good job picking my successor, didn't I?" she says.
Pole vaulter Ryan Brown eyes a fourth national title
Senior Ryan Brown became the first individ¬ual in Western's history to win back-to-back national championships in March when he successfully defended his national pole vault title in the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships.
Brown's winning vault of 17 feet, 2 ¾ inches beat his champion effort last year by 3 ¾ inches. The 6-foot, 3-inch Brown is also the defending NCAA II outdoor national champion in the pole vault. He's scheduled to defend that title at the na¬tional championship meet in May.
Sarah Porter, Michael Hoffman, break school records in Track and Field
Senior Sarah Porter broke a 24-year-old school record in the women's 3000 meters Saturday at the 11th annual Viking Twilite track and field meet. She was one of two Western students who broke school records at the event.
Porter won the event in 9:35.75, breaking the school record of 9:38.76 set by Jennifer Eastman in 1988.
The other school record came in the men's hammer throw, where junior Michael Hoffman was a NCAA Division II automatic national qualifier with a meet-record mark of 206-3.
Earlier this month, Porter broke her own school record when she ran the 5000 meters at 15:57.02, the second-best time in the nation this season. The race, at the 53rd annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., automatically qualified Porter for the NCAA Division II championships. She placed third at nationals in 2010.
Sports Information Director Paul Madison is a hall-of-famer
Paul Madison, longtime Sports Information Director at Western Washington University, has been selected to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame as part of the 2011 class to be inducted June 28 at Marco Island, Fla.
Madison, 63, is in his 44th year as Western's SID. He initially began sports information work as a student in 1966, and except for a six-month break after graduation, has been with the Department of Athletics ever since.
"It is a most deserving award for Paul," said Western Director of Athletics Lynda Goodrich. "It certainly recognizes his numerous years of outstanding service not only to WWU, but to the Sports Information profession. Our coaches and athletes have always admired Paul and have been grateful for the hard work he puts in on their behalf."
