COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS NOTEBOOK: COC PLAYERS JOIN KANSAS WESLEYAN.

Byline: Nathan Brown Staff Writer

The Cougar-to-Coyote tradition continues as five College of the Canyons soccer players, four men and one woman, have signed with Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kan., bringing the total of COC athletes that have signed with the school in the past two seasons to 13.

``I'm very proud of these kids,'' said coach Phil Marcelin, who heads both the men's and women's teams for COC. ``It's just fantastic to see this program continue to grow and continue to be noticed by four-year universities.''

The COC men's team struggled last season with a record of 7-13-3, while the women's team went 13-6-4.

The men's signees include Tommy Umeck and Brent Normington, both graduates of Alemany High in Mission Hills, Eric Garcia from Van Nuys High and Jeff Lucatero from Canyon. Saugus graduate Danielle Johanson was the women's signee.

Normington, who sat out the 2005 season to complete academic requirements, scored 11 goals and added three assists in 35 games at COC during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Normington was named first team all-Western State Conference in 2003.

Umeck, who also did not play in 2005 while fulfilling academic requirements, was a defensive specialist who earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2003 and in 2004 was a first-team all-conference selection as well COC's Defensive Player of the Year.

Johanson's most productive year for the women's team was as a freshman in 2004, when she scored 14 goals and had three assists to earn first-team all-conference honors. Although she scored only six goals as a sophomore, Johanson added 10 assists to earn second-team all-conference in 2005. Johanson will be joining a Kansas Wesleyan team that was 16-2-2, won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title and made its first-ever appearance in the NAIA Region IV playoffs in 2005.

--From worst to first: COC players have helped Kansas Wesleyan improve, particularly the men's team. In 2004, the Kansas Wesleyan men finished with a dismal 0-16 record, but in 2005, Wayne Johnson and Joel Gunterman arrived from COC and played integral roles in the program's turnaround. Kansas Wesleyan went 13-6-2 last season and captured its first Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference title since 1999.

Johnson (Canyon Country High) who was the Coyotes' starting goalkeeper, earned first-team all-conference honors and was the KCAC's Goalkeeper of the Year.

Gunterman, from Lancaster, was especially impressive with his play from the midfielder position, as he was first team KCAC, first team all-region and an honorable mention All-American.

``Joel took a lot of hits to earn this award,'' Kansas Wesleyan coach Mike Dibbini said of the all-region selection. ``He's a hoss on the field and his pace is unbelievable.''

Nate Brown, [phone]

nate.brown(at)dailynews.com