LOCAL SPORTS
2 CSC GA'S TAKE MICHIGAN JOBS
By John Axtell and CSC Sports Information
Aug 9, 2010 - 4:20:39 PM

     Two Chadron State College graduate assistant coaches engaged to each other have left a year earlier than planned because they've each been hired by Lake Superior State University in Michigan as head coaches.

      Matt Sparks is Lake Superior's men’s and women’s track and field coach while Lori Shimasaki is the school's new softball coach. They plan to complete their master's degrees there.

      Lake Superior State University is an NCAA Division II school in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It competes in the Greater Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

      Sparks, a native of Gunnison, Colorado, was an assistant track coach under Ryan Bailey at Western State College for 2 years, then followed Bailey to Chadron last year when Bailey took over the Eagles.

      Baily says Sparks did "a fantastic job" for him at both Western State and Chadron State...coaching 3 indoor and 5 outdoor Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season.

     Baily says he's confident Sparks will build "an awesome" track and field team at Lake Superior.

       Sparks says his new program has a lot of potential to build something special...with creating a well-rounded, hard-working team capable of contending for GLIAC titles his first priority.

     Shimasaki...just the second GA for the CSC softball program...is credited by head coach Rob Stack with developing several Eagles into slap-hitters and raising the team batting average 13 points to .286 as the club made its first-ever appearance in the RMAC post-season tournament.

     She succeeds Don Myers, who retired after 21 seasons. The Lakers struggled last season...going 10-38 overall and 5-21 in league play. Shimasaki says she's eager to begin rebuilding the program and taking it to the next level."

     Shimasaki and Sparks met as undergraduate students and athletes in southern California at Azusa Pacific, where they graduated in 2007.

      He was the NAIA outdoor 110-high hurdles champion in 2006 and the indoor 60-high hurdle winner in 2007, capping a career that saw him early All-American status 10 times in sprints, hurdles and relays.

     Shimasaki spent her freshman year at Oklahoma as pinch runner for Big 12 Conference champion and NCAA softball World Series qualifier Sooners, then transferred to Azusa Pacific.

A    n NAIA honorable mention All-American outfield in 2006, she finished her 3-year career there with a .371 batting average and the school record with 73 career stolen bases.