Pilot Jets to Land Record By Averaging 714.1 MPH

British fighter pilot Andy Green set a world land-speed record of 714.1 mph in a jet-powered car Thursday in the Black Rock Desert 125 miles north of Reno.

Driving a car by owned by Richard Noble of England, Green broke Noble’s record of 633.47 mph set Oct. 4, 1983.

Powered by two jet engines, the car hit 700.6 mph on its first run over the measured mile of a dry lake bed course 4,000 feet above sea level, and 728 mph on the return run for an average of 714.1.

“It’s a hell of a day,” Noble said. “That’s fantastic!”

The Noble-Green tandem next will try to break the sound barrier, about 750 mph.

Golf

Greg Kraft shot a six-under-par 66 for a one-stroke lead over six players in the first round of the B.C. Open at Endicott, N.Y.

Among those at 67 was Jay Delsing, whose round was highlighted by a hole in one on No. 17, where he sank a seven-iron from 181 yards.

Also five under were Gary Hallberg, Andrew Magee, Mike Smith, Joey Sindelar and Sean Murphy.

Liselotte Neumann, who won last week’s LPGA Tour stop, kept right on going, shooting a six-under 66 to join four others atop the leaderboard in the first round of the Fieldcrest Cannon Classic at Cornelius, N.C.

Also at 66 were Kelly Robbins, Wendy Ward, Val Skinner and Rachel Hetherington.

Cliff Cunningham defeated Ed Bartlett, 5 and 3, to win the U.S. Senior Amateur championship at Bridgehampton, N.Y.

Cunningham, 61, of Monroe, N.C., earlier had beaten 1996 British Senior Amateur champion Joel Hirsch of Chicago in the semifinals, 5 and 3, and Bartlett, 60, of Boise, Idaho, had defeated two-time champion O. Gordon Brewer of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., 2 and 1.

Soccer

Mike Clark’s header in the 70th minute gave the Columbus Crew a 1-0 victory over the New York-New Jersey MetroStars before 9,072 at East Rutherford, N.J.

Columbus (14-17) clinched third place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. New York-New Jersey was eliminated when New England defeated Dallas.

Paul Keegan beat Dallas goalkeeper Mark Dodd after a corner kick rattled around the penalty area in the 88th minute, and New England beat the Burn, 2-1, before 6,897 at Dallas to clinch an MLS playoff berth.

A man convicted of fondling two teenage girls is coaching a girls’ soccer team in suburban San Francisco, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

Rafael Siero, who pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor child molestation in 1992 for fondling girls 13 and 14, when he worked as a church volunteer, is a volunteer coach for the Pleasant Hill-Martinez Soccer Assn.

Siero, whose past was uncovered after league officials were contacted by the mother of one of the girls he allegedly fondled, is free to coach because his record was expunged.

Tennis

U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter of Australia defeated Marcelo Rios of Chile, 6-1, 7-6 (7-0), advancing to the semifinals of the $6-million Grand Slam Cup at Munich, Germany. Petr Korda of the Czech Republic also reached the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Cedric Pioline.

Top-ranked Martina Hingis of Switzerland defeated Sabine Appelmans of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Leipzig Open in Germany.

Defending champion Anke Huber of Germany defeated Magui Serna of Spain, 6-2, 6-3.

College Basketball

New Mexico State is investigating a payment of $66,667 by the school’s booster club to Coach Neil McCarthy. The money was paid without the knowledge of the board of regents.

The regents also nullified a new five-year contract that increased McCarthy’s base salary from $137,264 a year to $187,265 because they were unaware of its existence. The contract must be renegotiated for less money, the regents said.

Names in the News

Center Greg Ostertag signed a reported $30-million, six-year contract with the Utah Jazz. He averaged 7.3 points and 7.3 rebounds with the Jazz last season. . . . Gianna Angelopoulos Daskalaki, who led Athens’ successful bid for the 2004 Olympics, said she won’t stay on as leader of the organizing committee. . . . Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, 64, is reported to be resting comfortably after an operation Wednesday at the University of Maryland Medical Center to deal with numbness and pain in his right arm and hand. . . . Veteran drag racer Shirley Muldowney said she will return to NHRA competition in the Revell Nationals Oct. 16-19 at the Texas Motorplex.