By Michael Hollingshead
Recent charges against a BYU track runner may be just the tip of an ongoing plague in the women”s locker room.
Athletes have reported that money, personal items and clothing have been stolen from the locker area.
BYU police investigators reported that members of the women”s track team have experienced a series of thefts from their locker room over the past several months.
Recent allegations made against BYU track runner Aneta Lemiesz, a senior, are a result of the department”s investigation.
Women”s track coach Craig Poole said some problems might be alleviated when the women move into a larger locker room.
He said he has not called any team meetings to address the thefts in the locker room. He said he regularly tells his athletes to keep their belongings secure.
Poole said measures have been taken to more tightly secure the locker area, including changing the codes on the door to the women”s locker room.
Poole said team sports equipment has also turned up missing.
“There are always those that violate that honesty,” Poole said. “This school is just too trusting.”
Rebecca Enoch, women”s equipment manager, said she”s been putting up hot pink signs in the locker room that say “high theft area” to encourage athletes to take care of their belongings.
“There have been incidents over the years, but more girls than normal have been reporting thefts,” Enoch said. “Last year and this year have been our worst two years.”
Enoch said small lockers with insufficient space have added to the problems of theft. Athletes are leaving their backpacks and other items out because they don”t have room to lock them up, she added.
Athletes said they agree that small lockers are just a part of the problem.
Amy Menlove, a freshman on the women”s track team, reported she had a $50 per diem – money allotted for athletic trips – stolen about three weeks ago before leaving for a track trip.
Kristen Hirst and Sheryl Garner, track members, also said money had been stolen from the locker room.
Another track member, Anika Busby, reported she had $80 stolen last semester.
Other team members said Lyndsay Ford, a javelin thrower, had an Arabic textbook stolen during finals week in December 2003.
Britney Holman, BYU women”s soccer team member, said she had a credit card stolen during practice.
Kimmie Martin, soccer team member, said she had a credit card stolen also and that the card had $700 worth of merchandise charged to it.
“I went to the Provo Police Department and I had to go through the whole process of signing an affidavit,” Martin said. “An arrest had been made, but they wouldn”t tell me the name of the offender.”
