Ridgewood star to walk-on at Florida State

By JAMAL THALJI

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Eric Dieters could have taken a full-ride somewhere else. He could have accepted a scholarship to run at Embry Riddle or Florida Southern.

But Embry Riddle and Florida Southern had one thing against them.

They aren't Florida State.

Even if it means foregoing an athletic scholarship for his first season, Dieters, one of Ridgewood's elite cross country and track runners, has decided to walk-on to the Seminoles' program in the fall.

Dieters, the Sunshine Athletic Conference's male track athlete of the year, said it was a confluence of factors that led him to choose the garnet and gold.

FSU is a nationally renowned school, so whether the 18-year-old decides to major in meteorology, criminology or something else, he believes future employers will certainly have heard of his alma mater.

The Seminoles also have a pretty good track and cross country program, and he knows it will be in good hands now that former South Florida cross country coach Bob Braman recently accepted a position there.

As good as the cross country team is, the Seminoles have an even better 800-meter program in track, which is Dieters' specialty. The cooler temperatures up north, Dieters believes, will aid his training.

"I wanted the reputation when I got out of school, "Oh yeah, Florida State, they're champions,"' Dieters said. "They'll know that it takes a lot to get into a school like that and be there.

"Everybody I've talked to has really liked it a lot. I probably know 30 or 40 people up there already from high school."

After transferring from Gulf for his senior year, Dieters became a key cog in the Rams' Class 3A state cross country championship in November, earning all-conference honors.

He was undefeated in the 800 for most of the track season. He won every race of the season, including the SAC and the Class 3A, District 9 meets, until he took second at the 3A-3 regional meet.

He finished fourth in the 800 at the state meet with his best time ever, 1 minute, 55.15 seconds, breaking the school record he set earlier in the season.

Ridgewood coach Glenn Cable, who coached Dieters in cross country and track, said Florida State will give Dieters the challenge he needs to adjust to the Division I level.

"It's a big program, great 800 runners," Cable said. "The assistant coach is a local kid, Jody Spangler, a Hernando High grad. He's been responsible for recruiting Eric.

"There are guys at Florida State better than Eric. He'll get challenged. So coming in as a freshman, he'll have his work cut out for him. But the program is strong. That should take him up to the next level because I really think you perform to the level of your training partners. So I'm excited about this one.

"I like Jody a lot. I liked how he ran, knew he trained hard. But I most like the fact Eric is going to be in the program where he will be with some good, quality partners. He's trained with some pretty high quality kids in (Brad) Williams, (James) Vitale and (Tim) Masterson. Those boys push each other. I think that will help (Eric) take his running to the next level."

To pay for his education for the first year, Dieters will rely in part on Florida's Bright Futures scholarship program, which pays tuition at state colleges for state students with at least a B average.

Dieters earned the scholarship with his 3.46 grade point average. But the senior is confident he will eventually earn an athletic scholarship. "I'd really have to work my way up the team to get some money," Dieters said. "Probably not until my sophomore year."

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