Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 18, 2012

18

SPORTS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 18, 2012 

LASALLE ADVANCES IN CIF PLAYOFFS


HUDDLE UP!

 On Thursday, 
February 16 
starting at 7:00 
pm, the La Salle 
Lancers took on 
the Silver Knights 
of Riverside Prep 
in Victorville to 
determine who 
would advance to 
the second round 
of the CIF-Southern 
Section 4A 
Girls Basketball 
playoffs.

 

 Facing a team 
that had gone 
21-0 in their regular 
season and 
had been 12-0 in 
league play, the 
Lancers came out 
sluggish and were 
down 22-11 at the end of the first quarter. Some 
intensified defense, fast-break opportunities and 
overall improved effort helped the Lancers storm 
back, taking a 32-31 halftime lead.

 

 “Our team fought through some early adversity 
and got after them on defense,” said Lancers Head 
Coach Kevin Cormier. “I really liked the intensity 
for the last three quarters, as it not only led to 
tougher looks for them, but also gave us a chance 
to get out in transition, score the basketball and 
set our defense.”

 

 The Silver Knights, led by Sophomore Tianni 
Hill who averaged 15.6 points per game during 
the regular season, were no match for the 
inspired Lancers who outscored their opponent 
37-17 in the second half, breaking open a close 
game and advancing in impressive fashion by a 
final score of 69-48.

 

 “We are excited to be hosting a second round CIF 
game on Saturday night,” stated first year Director 
of Athletics, Anthony Harris. “Even though 
it is a three-day week-end, we hope all Lancers 
staying in the area will come out and support 
the girls who do a great job of representing the 
school. As an 8-seed the expectations are high, 
but we know that they can achieve or surpass 
these expectations and give a great effort in attempting 
to continue this playoff run.”

 

 Next up for the Lancers will be the Marlborough 
Mustangs from Los Angeles’ Hancock Park. Winners 
at home on Thursday night over the Cubs of 
Mayfield Senior School by a score of 72-39, they 
come into the contest playing solid basketball. 
The game will be played at Duffy Lewis Gymnasium 
on the La Salle Campus starting at 7:00 pm, 
this coming Saturday, February 18th. Tickets are 
available at the door. General Admission is $8 per 
person. Students (with valid High School I.D.) 
are only $5, as are Children (Ages 3-13).


By Harvey Hyde

 In this space last 
week I wrote about 
my former player, 
Randall Cunningham, 
who was honored 
in Indianapolis 
on Super Bowl 
weekend with the 
NFL Alumni Association’s 
Lifetime Achievement Award.

 This week I’m highlighting another former 
player, Tom Knust. Tom doesn’t have 
the same name recognition as Randall, who 
went from UNLV to a 16-year NFL career. 
But in my eyes the achievements of Tom 
Knust make him a true hero. Randall received 
a prestigious award. Tom received a 
Purple Heart.

 A 1965 graduate of Arcadia High, Tom was 
a 178-pound sophomore defensive tackle 
on my PCC team that was the No. 1-ranked 
junior college team in the country before 
being upset by Henderson (Tex.) in the last 
Junior Rose Bowl ever played.

 Tom was an adventurous sort who took 
time off after his freshman year to join a carnival 
based in Minnesota just for the experience. 
He did everything from selling soda 
pop in the stands to cleaning up after the 
animals. He was penciled in as a starter on 
the team, so he returned to PCC to play a 
second season of football. 

 After the football season and looking for 
more action, Tom enlisted in the Marines 
and was soon off to Vietnam. He had been 
there only three weeks when his battalion 
got ambushed. Tom got shot in the head.

 “The bullet went through my helmet, 
through my head and out the other side,” 
Tom says. “It felt like I had been hit in the 
head with a sledge hammer. Then everything 
went dark and I thought, ‘This is what it feels 
like to die. ” Incredibly, Tom lived. His 
squad consisted of nine men. Seven died. 

 Tom's recovery and hospitalization took 
many months and he was left paralyzed on 
his right side. These days he walks with a 
pronounced limp. 

 After returning from Vietnam and gaining 
enough strength to go to work, Tom got a job 
at Santa Anita, first becoming a groom, the 
most menial rung on horse racing’s ladder. 
Over time he worked his way up through the 
ranks and in 1990 became the racing secretary 
at both Santa Anita and Del Mar.

 He lost that job in 1999 because of corporate 
changes. These days he is not only a 
jockey agent but also the racing secretary 

for the Fairplex Park racing meet held annually 
during the Los Angeles County Fair in 
Pomona. 

 As a jockey agent, his current client is 
Kevin Krigger, an up and coming 28-year-
old who rode in Washington and Northern 
California before coming to Santa Anita. 
Former clients include Patrick Valenzuela, 
Kent Desormeaux and Corey Nakatani.

 Tom wrote a book about his life which he 
has turned into a screenplay. I hope he is 
successful in selling the screenplay. It would 
make a heck of a movie.

 I interviewed Tom on my radio show a 
while ago after he had completed a second 
book which took three years to research 
and write. Inspired by a friendship with B. 
Wayne Hughes who is a horse owner and the 
founder of Public Storage, Tom wrote “Behind 
the Orange Door.” Written long before 
the TV show “Storage Wars,” the book details 
36 stories about what people leave behind 
in Public Storage facilities. The book 
tells of the people who stored the contents 
and those who eventually buy the abandoned 
units at auction. We learn that some 
come across treasures worth a small fortune, 
and others discover a fascinating history of 
each container and past owners.

 I am proud of so many of my former staff 
and players. I am especially proud of Tom 
Knust, who did what he did, not for pay, or 
for a scholarship, but for our country -- and 
continued on to achieve success. He may 
walk with a limp, but he stands tall. I salute 
him.

Tom Knust: Another Kind of Hero


Tom Knust

Lancers also topple North High Torrance

 
Lasalle’s Varsity Boys Volleyball team was also victorious when they faced North High 
School, Torrance earlier in the week. 

Photos by John Blackstock