Fast Break

Cross Country

Tyson finds job at Eugene school

Pat Tyson has been named new track and field coach at South Eugene (Ore.) High according to a report in the Register-Guard.

The story reported that the man he succeeds, Jess Hess, will remain cross country coach and will coach distance runners for the track team.

Tyson, who coached Mead to a 132-6 record in cross country with 12 team state titles and 26 individual champions before resigning to coach cross country at Kentucky, is a University of Oregon graduate.

He ran on the Ducks’ 1971 NCAA championship team and did his student teaching at a middle school in Eugene.

“When South called and I walked the halls, I heard some of the voices of the past,” Tyson was quoted in the story of his hiring.

College football

Charter flight scares Trojans

The plane carrying USC’s football team to South Bend plummeted during a severe thunderstorm, forcing the pilot to abort his first landing attempt.

There were about 125 people, including 82 players, on the chartered flight Thursday night for the cross-country trip for today’s game.

“That was terrifying,” fullback Stanley Havili told the Los Angeles Times. “I thought I was going to die.”

Some passengers were thrown from their seats by turbulence as lightning crackled around the storm-tossed plane, USC sports information director Tim Tessalone told the Associated Press on Friday. Safety Taylor Mays was screaming.

“It was a little bit of a roller-coaster drop there for a minute,” Tessalone said. “We had some people fly out of some seats. Everybody is fine, but it was a frightening little dip there.”

The pilot aborted the approach and circled around the storm before landing without incident about 20 minutes later to the relief of the shaken team and the spouses of some staff members also on the flight, Tessalone said.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson said he was going to see the team trainer because a Popsicle stick pierced the inside of his mouth during the drop.