Tansley Making Waves as a Runner

The lure of the waves has been a powerful one in Mike Tansley’s life. Tansley used to skip running workouts at Dana Hills High School to surf, and the day before he was supposed to leave for Northern Arizona University on a cross-country scholarship in 1989, the ocean pulled him back.

“I couldn’t leave the beach,” Tansley said.

So when Tansley says he’d rather run than surf--and that’s just what the Cal State Fullerton junior now claims--you know a major metamorphosis has taken place.

“I always said I was more of a surfer than a runner, but I love running now,” said Tansley, who never made it to Northern Arizona. “I went long boarding the other day, but it was the first time I had surfed in five months. I can always surf when I’m older. I owe it to the school now to run.”

Two major events and one hard-working teammate helped Tansley transform himself from a marginal college runner to one who is expected to challenge for the Big West Conference championship Oct. 31.

The events: Tansley, who hadn’t run very well all spring, won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Big West track and field meet in May. The next day he ran the 5,000 for the first time all season and placed second in the conference.

“My confidence shot up 100% after that,” Tansley said.

The teammate: Senior Steve Frisone, who has been the Titans’ top runner for two seasons. When Tansley came to Fullerton from Long Beach City College in 1990, the waves were still a lot more attractive to him than the pavement.

But Tansley saw how dedicated Frisone was and couldn’t help but notice the results that came with such effort. Frisone’s work ethic began to rub off on Tansley, and a friendly rivalry emerged.

“He has been a big influence,” Tansley said. “He’s the toughest competitor I’ve ever run with. I was a little lost when I came here because I wasn’t focused, but seeing how he trained made me more competitive.”

The results have been measurable. Two years ago, Tansley’s eight-kilometer times were in the 26-minute 30-second range. Tansley sat out the 1991 cross-country season as a redshirt but was clocked at about 26 minutes. This season, Tansley is running in the low 25-minute range.

Tansley won the Cal State Fullerton Invitational in 24:36, placed seventh on a difficult UC Irvine Invitational course in 26:06 and seventh in the Riverside Invitational in 25:09. He finished ninth in Saturday’s Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Invitational in 25:09.

“Mike is still a little flaky--he’s been a bit of a project--but he’s matured a lot in the last nine months,” Fullerton Coach John Elders said. “He was doing some things that were counter-productive to running but he has made a big turnaround. That’s the difference in being an average guy and a national-caliber runner, which he’s becoming.”

Add running: When the Fullerton women’s cross-country team finished ahead of UC Irvine in Saturday’s Cal Poly SLO Invitational--the Titans were fifth and the Anteaters sixth--it marked the first time in school history that Fullerton had defeated Irvine in women’s cross-country.

Fullerton’s Heather Killeen placed third in the meet with a time of 17:23, and Kristen Peters was fourth in 17:24. UCI didn’t have a runner among the top 13 finishers.

“That puts us in a good position now,” Elders said. “I think we have a shot at winning our first conference title.”

Little engine that couldn’t: The Titan soccer team’s hopes of cracking the national rankings were put to rest during the weekend when Fullerton lost to 12th-ranked Southern Methodist, 4-2, and unranked Davidson, 4-0, in the UCLA/Adidas Met Life tournament.

Fullerton was leading SMU, 2-1, in the first half Friday and playing what Coach Al Mistri called “some of the best soccer we’ve played in years” when disaster struck.

Titan goalie Mike Ammann was in position to stop a shot by SMU’s Damon Hughes, but a Fullerton defender inadvertently deflected the ball into the goal. Moments later, a Giampaulo Pedroso shot bounced off a Fullerton defender and into the net. Two “own” goals in less than a minute.

“In all my years, I’ve never seen that happen,” Mistri said. “It was a freak thing, and instead of being ahead, 2-1, at halftime, we’re down, 3-2.”

SMU sealed the victory with a second-half goal. The Titans played Davidson to a scoreless first-half tie but collapsed in the second half after freshman fullback Damien Brown went down with what could be a season-ending knee injury.

“That had a demoralizing effect on the team,” Mistri said.

The two defeats didn’t, though. The Titans (9-4) still have an impressive record and are 3-0 in Mountain Pacific Soccer Federation play, which resumes with home games against New Mexico Friday and Nevada Las Vegas Sunday.

“We’re the small engine that can be big, but we just don’t have the power to beat those teams yet,” Mistri said. “But I honestly believe we can compete on that level, and New Mexico and UNLV will give us a chance to prove that.”

Football update: Senior linebacker Mike Gullo, who had 13 tackles (five solo, eight assisted) and preserved Fullerton’s 14-10 victory over Southwestern Louisiana Saturday with an interception at the Titan 37-yard line with six seconds left, was named Big West Conference defensive co-player of the week with Utah State’s Jermaine Younger.

Fullerton (2-5) has a bye Saturday, and Coach Gene Murphy gave the players the week off. They’ll return to practice Sunday to begin preparations for the Oct. 31 game against Utah State, Murphy’s last home game as Titan coach.

“Usually you enjoy a win for 24 hours, but we’ll enjoy this one for a little longer,” Murphy said. “We’re not going to do anything this week except get healthy and lift weights. It’s good for them to get away from us and for us to get away from them.”

Murphy expects linebacker Lorenzo Hailey (knee injury), defensive back Mike Simmons (concussion) and offensive lineman Wally Bonnett (knee injury) to return to the lineup for the Utah State game.

Titan Notes

Fullerton is offering free admission to anyone in costume for the Oct. 31 football game against Utah State. There have been rumors that some might come dressed as Titan fans. The school is also offering free pizza, pie and soft drinks that night to those attending “Midnight Madness,” the opening of basketball practice for the Fullerton men’s and women’s teams in Titan Gym. Free tickets for the Dec. 4 men’s season opener against St. Mary’s and the Dec. 11 women’s game against the University of San Diego will be distributed at midnight. . . . Fullerton soccer Coach Al Mistri is calling Sunday’s home match against UNLV “a grudge match.” The 1991 match between the teams in Las Vegas ended in a bench-clearing brawl and a 4-3 loss. “I’m sure the game will be well-attended by some of our alums,” Mistri said. . . . Former Titan pitcher Chad Dembisky, a key reliever in Fullerton’s drive to the College World Series championship game in June, has landed a part-time job as pitching coach at Orange Coast College. . . . Former Titan All-American third baseman Phil Nevin, the No. 1 pick in June’s draft, has been playing shortstop this month for the Houston Astros’ instructional league team in Florida and might remain there next season.