Eight-time Arizona NCAA distance-running champion Lawi Lalang found more than just athletic success in his 3½ years at Arizona. His relationship with cross country coach James Li helped bridge the loneliness of leaving his native Kenya.
“Coach Li is more than a coach,” Lalang told me. “He mentored me and treated me like his son. Every tough decision I’ve made, in academics and athletics, was influenced by him. When it comes to growing up, he has taught me how to be a man.” … Salpointe Catholic junior-to-be Justin Holt, a two-way starter on the Lancers’ 2013 state championship team, has been offered a scholarship by Arizona. His father, ex-UA defensive lineman Julius Holt, was recently voted into the Washington, D.C., Kingman Boys Club Hall of Fame. Justin has been invited to the elite football camps by Oregon, USC, UCLA and Boise State this summer. … In 2009 and 2010, Arizona coach Mike Stoops successfully recruited the state champion sprinters of Nevada, Garic Wharton, and Arizona, Ryan Milus. Neither one was able to translate that speed into football toughness and production. Wharton left Arizona with a year of eligibility remaining last week; he caught 36 passes in three years. Milus opted to run track at ASU. He did not qualify for the NCAA finals as a Sun Devil. The one pure sprinter who had the requisite toughness to play football at Arizona was Michael Bates of Amphi, who went on to become a five-time NFL Pro Bowl player and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics bronze medalist in the 200 meters.