From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
MANKATO, Minn. — It was, Missouri Southern coaches agreed, a good day for Neosho.
That’s because the Southern track and field team had a pair of All-American performances Friday in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at Minnesota State-Mankato.
Sophomore Corey Reynolds, who was second in the high jump, and junior Jessica Self, eighth in the weight throw, are both Neosho High School graduates.
“Neosho had a pretty good day,” said Tom Rutledge, Southern men’s coach.
Reynolds drew on his experience from outdoor nationals last spring in the high jump. He jumped 6 feet, 101/4 inches, just a half-inch off his career best indoors. More importantly, Reynolds didn’t miss from the point he entered competition through the final height he cleared.
“Discipline and being consistent are the big things in a national championship meet,” Rutledge said.
“It (previous national meet experience) helped him. He’s more mature. He was able to handle the hoopla.”
Reynolds was still sky-walking after the event.
“He’s walking on air right now,” Rutledge quipped.
Emporia State sophomores Alex Pyle and Dustin Andrews also cleared 6-101/4, but finished third and fourth, respectively, because of misses at earlier heights. Emporia junior Craig Saalfeld, the MIAA champion, tied for eighth place at 6-5.
Andrews was second, Reynolds third and Pyle fourth in the MIAA Indoor Championships at Southern’s Leggett & Platt Athletic Center two weeks ago.
St. Augustine’s junior Joe Kindred won the high jump, clearing 6-111/2.
Self barely qualified for the finals in the women’s weight throw, holding ninth place. Her fifth throw of the day went 17.08 meters (56 feet, 01/2 inch) and moved her up to eighth. Tara Cooper from Ashland (Ohio) won the event at 62-61/2.
“She (Self) started out a little slow, but she had a decent series,” said Patty Vavra, Southern women’s coach. “For her first national meet, she really came to compete.
“She’s had some big throws in clutch circumstances,” Vavra added, noting Self’s career-best effort came in the MIAA indoor meet.
Senior Erica Culver, Southern’s third entrant in Friday’s events, failed to place in the pole vault. Culver cleared 11-73/4 to tie for 12th place.
Mankato junior Katelin Rains won the event with a Division II-record height of 14-13/4.
Southern has four more national qualifiers in today’s portion of the meet.
Senior Jacob Williams has the No. 2 qualifying mark in the pole vault and senior Russell Ellis is tied for fourth in the national rankings.
Sophomore Kimi Shank has the No. 4 qualifying time in the 5,000-meter run.
Senior Jessica Selby-Tallman has the top qualifying mark in the shot put after finishing second in the national meet a year ago.
Pittsburg State sophomore Jeremy Jackson had the top qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles, 7.93 seconds. PSU senior Jeremy Dunkle ran 8.12 and was the fastest non-qualifier for today’s finals.
