Oct. 23, 2002
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Greg Dykstra doesn't worry about keeping "The Streak" alive. After all, it's just a matter of doing the same thing he has done almost every Saturday afternoon the past three seasons.
The senior wide receiver has caught a pass in 34 straight games and is now three games away from tying the Western Washington University record set by Hoyt Gier in 1978.
"I don't think there's that much pressure," said Dykstra. "I should catch a pass each game."
That is an understatement by a humble young man who is closing in on several Western receiving marks. Since moving into the starting lineup midway through his redshirt freshman season, he has been catching balls at a school record pace.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Dykstra ranks second among Western's career leaders in receptions (156, 14 short of school record) and touchdown catches (28, 2 short of school record), third in yards receiving (2361, 120 short of second) and is seventh in all-time scoring (176, 10 short of sixth). In addition, he tied school game records with 14 catches against UC Davis last year and with three touchdown catches three different times, including twice this season.
But "The Streak" is special in its own way.
"The first time I heard about it was at the beginning of this season, and I said, 'I wonder how close I am,'" said Dykstra, who would tie the record on Nov. 9 at Western Oregon and break the mark at home in the regular-season finale against UC Davis on Nov. 16.
"Now, when I go into the game I think it would be nice to get it out of the way," Dykstra said about a catch early in the game. "But once the game gets going, I don't think about it. My main goal is for the team to win and make it to the playoffs."
Being in the spotlight has been nothing new to Dykstra. Greg earned all-state honors in both basketball and football at Lynden Christian High School, guiding the Lyncs to a Class A state football championship his senior season as a quarterback.
Now he is on the verge of setting a record - consecutive games with a catch - that one of his idols, Seattle Seahawks' Hall of Famer Steve Largent, made famous.
"Anytime you break a record it's a big deal, and that record has been there awhile," said Dykstra. "It also shows that I've played a lot and had a good career."
