Southern women dominate early events

May 04, 2008 12:01 am

— From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
MARYVILLE, Mo. — In search of a Triple Crown, Missouri Southern’s women scripted a perfect opening day at the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Then the Lions outdid their lofty expectations.
Missouri Southern will take a 471/2-point lead into the final day of the meet. The Lions scored 92 points in just five events Saturday.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Patty Vavra, Southern women’s coach. “It’s (the Triple Crown) been a big deal since we won indoor (to go with a cross country championship). They want to do something that’s never been done here before and I think our seniors have really driven that thought.
“We we also know that as quickly as we scored our points (Saturday), teams like Central Missouri or Emporia State can score quickly, too.”
Central, the defending champion, is currently second with 441/2 points and Emporia State is third with 43.
A fast start wasn’t in the cards for the Southern men, especially when the pole vault was postponed until 2 p.m. today.
“It just got too cool and too dark by the time the women finished,” said Tom Rutledge, Southern men’s coach.
“So, we have some making up to do. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll do our best. Today has to be moving day and our vaulters have to do their number.”
The Southern women scored 27 points in the hammer throw, 19 in the discus, 16 in the 10,000-meter run and 15 each in the pole vault and 3,000 run.
Senior Jessica Selby-Tallman won the hammer for the second straight year and teammates Emilie Mieseler, Jessica Self, Cortney Vie and Amanda Littlefield added a 3-4-5-7 finish.
Senior Erica Culver won the vault, with a season-best effort of 12 feet, and sophomore Ciara Lipsey finished fourth.
Vie, a sophomore, had a provisional qualifying mark for the national meet to win the discus, beating Kortney Holeman of Truman State by two inches with a throw of 148-2. Self finished third, also with a provisional mark, and Littlefield was sixth.
Sophomore Kimi Shank cruised to a win in the 10,000, with teammates Chandra Cole and Ashley Bunch fourth and eighth, respectively.
The surprise came in the 3,000, where junior Kara Eckard pushed Emporia State’s favored Jonel Rossbach to the wire. Rossbach’s winning margin was 0.56 seconds.
Sophomores Courtney Waltbillig and Victoria Kline were fourth and seventh, respectively.
“We had some other good things happen,” Vavra said of qualifying. Highlights included three Lions reaching the final in the 800 run and Channell Lloyd reaching today’s round in both hurdle races.
“We’ll have to come back just as strong and focused (today),” Vavra said.
The Southern men entered the meet with the eight points scored by Phillip Horn in last weekend’s decathlon. Six final events later, Southern still had eight points.
Then came the 10,000 and a repeat 1-2 finish by senior Ryan Arthur and sophomore Brennon Benkert.
“They basically just ran to win,” Rutledge said. “They took the lead, then kept about a 20-second cushion. We’re going to have to call on those two again (today) in the 5,000.
“We’re going to have to do an outstanding job.”
Central Missouri leads the men’s team race with 52 points. Pittsburg State and Fort Hays are tied for second with 34 points and Emporia has 32. Southern holds fifth with 26 points.