May 03, 2008 01:48 am
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By Jim Fryar
jfryar@joplinglobe.com
The strengths of the Missouri Southern men’s track and field team are evident.
The Lions should score heavily in the pole vault and the distance races in the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which begin today at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville.
If the Lions can maintain their dominance of the vault and the distances, it’s a matter of how well they do in their “other” events that will determine how high they finish in the team race.
“We’ve got our eight points we’ve projected so far,” men’s coach Tom Rutledge said of junior Phillip Horn’s second-place finish in the MIAA decathlon earlier this week in Hays, Kan.
“If we can get the other 130 points (projected by the coach),” we’ll be OK. ... That’s if we do everything we are capable of doing. It’s conference time and we always rise to the occasion.”
Central Missouri is the defending MIAA champion after scoring 159 points in the 2007 league meet. Southern was second (132.5 points), followed by Pittsburg State (122.5) and Fort Hays State (121.5).
The key event for the Lions, if the team score remains close late in the meet, will be the 5,000 meters. Teams are allowed five wild-card entries in the conference meet and Rutledge has reserved two of those for the 5K.
“We’ll just have to see where we’re at,” Rutledge said.
Key earlier events are the pole vault and high jump, which have both been disappointments this spring.
The Lions finished 1-2-3-5 in the vault a year ago, scoring 28 points. Rutledge would like a similar performance from seniors Russell Ellis and Jacob Williams, junior Seager Wilson and sophomore Corey Shumate. Both Ellis and Williams are ranked among the national leaders in the event.
Sophomore high jumpers Corey Reynolds and Chris Brown, both former national qualifiers, are ranked just fifth and sixth in the conference.
Senior T.J. Britton, who has provided the Lions with a boost since joining the team after basketball season, has the top qualifying time at 800 meters. Britton will attempt a rare combination of events, also running the 400 and long jumping.
“He knows he’s on the bubble (for national qualification) in the 800, but he came to me and said he wants to do this,” Rutledge said.
Jordan Patton, another multi-sport athlete, holds Southern’s frail sprint hopes. Patton, a cornerback on the football team, will run the 100 and 200 dashes.
“Patton has looked awesome,” Rutledge said. “His start is looking better and better. ... I believe if he gets out (of the blocks fast), he could surprise some people.”
Senior Ryan Arthur and sophomore Brennon Benkert will try to get the Lions off to a fast start in the distance races tonight. They finished 1-2 in the 10,000 meters last year.
Junior Dustin Dixon was second in both the 1,500 and 5,000 last spring, but is coming off a broken leg incurred late in cross country season. Dixon will run the 5,000 on Sunday.
“He can score for us,” said Rutledge. “He’s not at full speed (running with a plate in his leg), but he’s still pretty good and we’ll get everything he’s got.”
Finnish freshmen Aki Nummela and Jarkko Jarvenpaa have supplied the Lions with a boost in the distance races. Nummela will run 800 and steeplechase and could come back in the 5,000, Rutledge said. Jarvenpaa will run the 1,500 and 5,000.
Horn, from Coffeyville, Kan., will be among the busiest of the Lions after scoring 6,542 points in the decathlon last weekend. He’s entered in the high jump, long jump, both the 110 and 400 hurdles, and the 4x100 relay.
Points could be scarce in the throwing events. John Isenmann, a senior from Jasper, is the only Lion ranked in the top eight in any of the throws. He’s listed as No. 7 in the hammer.
“Central Missouri is loaded with three people in every event,” Rutledge said of the team race. “You can’t count out Pittsburg. They’re going to give people a run.
“We’re going to have to have some other people help in certain events and we’re going to have to score our points.”
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