European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 10, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 21 pre Pickin s w/7/ be track meet lose its stature it looks like the Central european track and Field championships scheduled for Munich May 23-24, might just be reduced to the Germany finals. This became evident with the release of the revised Bennor Spring sports schedule recently by league com missioner Loyd Morrow. The new schedule became mandatory when the Gramm Rudman budget cutback Law went into effect last month slicing the original program virtually in half. Dodds Atlantic which includes the Bennor except for Hahn and Bonn which Are located in Ger Many but compete in the Bennor and the .. Schools was forced to Cut its Spring extracurricular schedule to the Bone. The Dodds Germany and Dodds Mediterranean Spring sports programs were not hit by such stringent curtailment because administrators in those regions elected not to do anything that was going to Impact on the education program and found other areas for their initial Gramm Rudman cutbacks. As a result Competition for the Bennor athletes in such things As the Central european meet and the Small schools soccer playoffs appears to have gone bythe boards. Morrow s new schedule contains an at no Cost to the government. " clause and the Cen trial european track and Field meet is specifically mentioned. The Central european May be attended on a permissive basis but Morrow also Points out that at Tendance is not required for coaches participants  f that phrase to me casts that meet into a non sanctioned Dodds event As far As the Bennor is concerned quite similar to the recent european invitational wrestling championships sponsored by the Naples boosters club and parents of the Naples wrestlers. Several other regular season events also Are listed in the no expense category on Morrow s new schedule. They include this week s track meets which find Brus Sels shape is at St. Johns Oesterberg at of cent and Baum older we Bruecken Hanau Hahn at Pitburg. When the cutbacks were announced last month Morrow said we probably won t be Able to take part in the Central european track meet or Small schools soccer playoffs but we re checking for a clarification on those two  he also said that the Central european participation problem could be resolved by staging the meet at of cent and letting the Germany schools which Haven t had to curtail their programs so much come to the Bennor but added that we d have to take that up Benabram with Dodds Germany  his revised schedule and the fact that Dodds Ger Many sports director Tom Leblanc announced last week that Munich would stage the big track and Field meet answer the clarification and Bennor hosting Points. So unless things change drastically Between now and May the Central europeans could be reduced in stat ure to just another in country regional. Even so the Germany track and Field athletes will be accorded one More Opportunity than their Brethren to establish Dodds records this made possible because three conference regional Are scheduled to set the qualifying Field for the final meet. Germany soccer which got in a week of play before the easter Layoff resumes this week and track and Field begins on the Germany and Bennor fronts. Also on this week s Agenda is Only one Bennor Tennis soccer Date Hahn at Oesterberg. The Germany schools Aren t playing Tennis this Spring having elected to go for a fall Tennis program. They competed in september and october. The rest of Dodds won t swing into action until next week. That action includes Spain. And Ger Many Bennor gymnastics. All dates and Sites except for the Bennor track and Field meet have been finalized for the Dodds Spring sports programs. They Are May 10 Bennor track and Field at accent or Brussels. May 15-17 Italy soccer at Naples. May 16-17 Germany aaa a and a track and Field qualifying meets at Wiesbaden Wuerzburg Munich respectively Italy Tennis at Livorno track and Field at Brindisi Turkey gymnastics soccer at Izmir. May 17. Gymnastics at Asl Tennis and soccer at Alconbury track and Field at London Spain soccer at Torrejon track and Field Tennis gymnastics at Zaragoza. May 23-24 Germany soccer big schools Competition at aaa Champion Gold Silver playoffs at Neutral site. The Bennor schools won t be represented so the Small schools Champion apparently will be the Gold Silver Winner thus reducing Competition in that program in stature too. May 22-24 Germany Bennor gymnastics finals at Nuernberg. Aimee harms who showed great Promise As a freshman at we Bruecken has continued to improve Back in the states. Now a Junior at Annandale va., High school harms is preparing for an onslaught on the track and Field distance Marks after enjoying great Success last fall in Cross country. She was named to the High school All America by harrier Magazine in its january Issue after placing second in the Virginia High school championships fourth in the Southern regional at Charlotte . And fourth in the Kinney National championships at san Diego. She is pictured three times throughout the Magazine. The 1986 Cross country Competition should be fierce for harms too. The girl who beat her out in the Vir Ginia championships and won the Kinney title. Erin Keogh of Langley High school is also a Junior. Kris Wilson three times a stars and stripes All Europe basketball performer at Munich ranked fourth in the nation this year in rebounding while playing on the North Carolina Charlotte team. She had 324 re Bounds for a 14.7 average. Wilson also went Over the 1,000-Point Mark in career scoring this year. Thanks to we Bruecken s Fred Clarke and Heidelberg s Rich Bennett for forwarding the interesting info on former Dodds luminaries harms and Wilson. The Dodds Germany basketball team did t fare quite As Well this year in the International cadets tournament at Cholet France As it did in 1985. Last year Dodds Germany lost to Italy in the championship game this year the team dropped a one Point semifinal verdict to Barcelona and the third placename to Belgrade. Italy which had a 6-11 Center in the 15-and-under Competition blew out Barcelona 92-57 to win the title again. I doubt that we could have handled a team As big As Italy coach Tom Leblanc said but it would have been Nice to get into that title game again. It was a Good trip for the kids. The Competition was Strong and we were very Well received again. The fans liked our exciting Brand of  Leblanc said that the team received an award for its outstanding Hustle and  the stars and stripes in land of ,000 opportunities a top swimmer without a country by Frank Litsky Indianapolis ind. Not in january 1985, when the East German National swimming team was Hying Home from a meet in Fayetteville ark., one swimmer was missing. Jens Peter Berndt a former world record Holder slipped away from the group walked into the Airport manager s office in Oklahoma City and said he wanted to stay in the United states. Now. 15 months after his defection Berndt is on the verge of another happen ing. Last monday sen. Jeremiah Denton d-ala., introduced a Bill in Congress to expedite the naturalization process to make Berndt an american citizen. Ordinarily the procedure takes five years but the Bill being introduced by Den ton would allow Berndt to become a citizen in time to swim for the United states in the 1988 olympics. Berndt Hopes the Bill will pass quickly enough so he can be sworn in As a citizen this july 3 or 4 at ceremonies at the statue of Liberty. Berndt is a 22-year-old Sophomore at the University of Alabama 6 feet 6 inches 195 pounds with Blond hair and Blue eyes. He wears a tiny Diamond earring in his left ear. He is known As Peter. He competed Here in the 63rd annual National collegiate athletic association a photo ens Peter Berndt. Attends u. Of Alabama championships last week at the Indiana University natatorium. Berndt swam the 200-Yard individual Medley the 400-Yard individual Medley and the 200-Yard Back stroke. If he does not become an american Citi zen quickly this will be his last major com petition of the year. He has not swum inter nationally since his defection because he is a Man without a country. If i want to win the olympic games i have to swim International meets. You can t play the world series without having a sea son he said. There is an easy Way out. He could become a West German citizen instantly and swim for Germany. But he does not want that. I want to become an american not a West German he said. I think the United states gives me the Best opportunities to do what i want to do. I want to be a great swimmer again. I like the Way swimming and schooling Are organized together Here. I want  my degree. I Don t know what i want As a profession but whatever i want to do i will be Able to do. In East Germany i could t do that but the United states is a country of a thousand  those opportunities were far from his mind on the trip that ended in defection. But it was an unhappy time for him. His travel was restricted. When he did travel with a team he could not shop or sightseer by himself. He feared East Ger Many would not compete in the los an Geles olympics it did not. Aside from that his International Competition was limited and he especially wanted to swim against Alex Baumann of Canada. For 25 Days in 1984, Berndt held the world record of 4 minutes 19.61 seconds for the 400-meter individual Medley. Baumann lowered it to 4 17.53 that june and 4 17.41 in the olympics six weeks later. For Berndt there was no Baumann no olympics no Freedom to be himself when he wanted. So with no one waiting for him Here with no plans for a Home or Job or schooling he defected. He spoke what he called school in  he would think in German and then with a limited vocabulary speak in English. In four or five months he Learned to think in English. Now he Speaks the language with Only a slight accent and with hardly a pause to pick the right word. Still he is not entirely at peace with him self. He has not had Contact with his family or friends since his defection. That disappoints him. Life in the United states invigorates him. The country and the people have been very fair to me he said. I enjoy every thing i m doing. I even enjoy having trouble and fighting it. I feel i have things under