Salt Lake Olympic Venue Site of Unauthorized Party

Security has been tightened at the cross-country skiing venue in Midway, Utah, for the 2002 Olympics after dozens of college students broke into a new building and threw a rave party.

Deputy Sheriff Wayne Winterton was passing through the normally quiet residential area around 1 a.m on Sept. 22, when blaring music caught his attention. In his report, Winterton said he saw at least 15-20 cars driving at high speed around the cross-country skiing oval.

The students fled when Winterton called for help. Police stopped as many trespassers as they could but failed to catch the ringleaders. No arrests were made.

Kevin Jardine, the venue’s construction manager, said a groundskeeper will take up residence this weekend and that permanent locks have been installed on the main building.

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Sydney Olympic Games chief Michael Knight has been appointed to the International Olympic Committee’s coordination commission overseeing the Athens 2004 Games.

The Athens organizing committee is struggling to be ready for the Games, and has been warned by the IOC to speed up preparations.

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Lake Placid, N.Y., site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, will play host to the 2002 Winter National Senior Games where more than 2,000 athletes ages 50 and up will participate.

Tennis

Defending champion Magnus Norman of Sweden, playing much steadier than in his previous match, defeated Andre Sa of Brazil, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the $350,000 Heineken Open at Shanghai.

No. 2 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador defeated George Bastl of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2, and third-seeded Michael Chang defeated Paul Goldstein, 6-3, 6-4.

In women’s play, the top five seeded players advanced, including No. 1 Kristina Brandi, who defeated Shinobu Asagoe of Japan, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (0).

Jan-Michael Gambill, the only American in the $400,000 Toulouse Open in France, reached the quarterfinals and spoiled Moroccan Hicham Arazi’s 27th birthday with a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Belgium’s top-ranked tennis player, Dominique Van Roost, said she is retiring, ending a 10-year professional career with four singles and four doubles titles. Van Roost, 27, ranked 18th in the world, will play two tournaments in November in her final events.

Lindsay Davenport, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, will represent the defending champion U.S. in the Fed Cup final, Nov. 21-25, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The other team members will be named later.

College Basketball

A judge has scheduled a Monday hearing to decide whether the suspect charged with shooting and paralyzing Cal State Fullerton freshman player Rodney Anderson will stand trial on attempted murder charges.

Curtis Vaughn Jackson, 24, of Los Angeles, has pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the March 2 shooting of Anderson. He was gunned down in his family’s Los Angeles neighborhood two days before Fullerton’s final game of the season, and he remains partially paralyzed.

A preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday has been postponed until Monday, court officials said.

Meanwhile, the Titans learned they will be without junior transfer David Castleton, who will not be eligible until Dec. 16, and that three-year starting forward Ike Harmon will be out three weeks because of a stress fracture in his left foot.

Guard Jason Flowers was cleared to return to the UCLA team after a series of examinations revealed a slow heart rate but not a dangerous heart rhythm. Doctors had held Flowers out of practice for two weeks after initial testing showed cardiac irregularities.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said center Jamal Sampson, a coveted UCLA recruit, is expected to choose to attend either California or Kansas.

Miscellany

Cedric Kushner, one of boxing’s biggest promoters, was fined $100,000 and has agreed to have his finances monitored for a year, state Athletic Commission officials in New York said.

The penalty stems from Kushner’s testimony about making payoffs to International Boxing Federation officials in exchange for favors and rigged rankings.

Brazil is set to appoint Emerson Leao as its new soccer coach, the former international goalkeeper’s club said. Leao, 51, will continue to coach Brazilian First Division team Sport Clube do Recife until December.

Hal Baird, who retired in May after 16 seasons as Auburn’s baseball coach, will take another position at Auburn rather than join the Atlanta Brave organization. Baird, 51, will be Auburn’s associate athletic director for men’s Olympic sports, effective Nov. 1, Athletic Director David Housel said.

The Southern Section Council overwhelmingly approved a proposal that will create a third subdivision in the Division I high school basketball playoffs.

Under the proposal, which takes effect this year, the section will add a Division I-AAA to reduce the number of teams competing for titles in Divisions I-AA and I-A.

Division I teams will find out which subdivision they reside in after final enrollment figures are released in November.

Four starters at River Rouge High near Detroit could play tonight in their annual big game against Allen Park despite being charged with gang-raping a 14-year-old girl on Oct. 9. School officials refused to comment on a meeting held Thursday night to discuss their status.