The Orion Online

Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Sports

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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens once wrote. And in a season of change for the athletic department, those words could not be more true.

When the Wildcat sports teams are getting better and better despite new coaches and a carousel of new athletes, something was bound to go wrong. And it finally has.

Scott Bauhs, the Wildcats' everyman, golden boy and running god is going pro foregoing his senior track season, he announced Monday in a press conference. To read more please see Mike Wagner's story on A1.

Goodbye to the days of the golden-haired Bauhs streaking across University Stadium, breaking a four-minute mile.

Gone are the days of Bauhs being the only thing worth mentioning on the sports page.

And with him, possibly, goes the Wildcats' dominance of both track and field and cross country in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In his short time as a Wildcat, Bauhs has brought notoriety to Chico State through multiple national and CCAA championships.

In college sports, a prominent player leaving is common. It has to happen, each athlete only has four years of eligibility, and even though it was expected, Bauhs' departure hurts.

Head coach Gary Towne will say otherwise, but it's impossible not to see the impact Bauhs brings to the program. The women's team will be unchanged, but the men will be full of problems without their hero. Who can replace him?

Before Bauhs, the program was only a contender, but with him the Wildcats became champions, Towne pointed out.

With the changing of the guard, the future of the cross country team sits on Towne's lap, but both Bauhs and Athletic Director Anita Barker expect the best from him. Actually, they expect a dynasty.

To do so, the Wildcats will need to turn their attention to the future starting this weekend, after Bauhs finishes up his Wildcat career. Towne and company have tasted a Bauhsless team before, when he redshirted cross country a year ago. But now it's different, he's gone for good.

With a runner's window quick to close, one can't blame Bauhs for departing early - it's his life and his future. Bauhs has a degree and he accomplished everything he could wish for, he said. And for him, that's enough.

As Bauhs said, he will always be a Wildcat but now it's only in name instead of actually being true. And it's Towne and Barker's responsibility to find another Bauhs.

But for now, the question needs to be asked: What is the sports section to do?

Connor can be reached at
sportsedior@theorion.com

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