By Jim Fryar
Globe Sports Writer
—
Before Missouri Southern built an indoor track and field facility, athletes on that team were sometimes hard-pressed for workout options during winter weather.
Dalana Lofland Rutledge recalls those days none too fondly.
“I remember not having a place to run when there was ice on the ground,” she said Saturday, the day of her induction into the Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame.
“We would use swim workouts (in Southern’s indoor pool) and I was definitely not a swimmer,” Rutledge said. “I could swim a little, but I swam by the side of the pool so I could grab on to the edge.”
Now, 12 years after her graduation, Rutledge has returned to Joplin for the hall of fame ceremonies. The family spent Friday night at a local motel where the attraction for Devon (9) and Angelina (4) was — you guessed it — the swimming pool.
Dalana Lofland Rutledge may not enter the Southern records in aquatic events, but her speed and versatility left her name prominently in the school’s sprinting records. She ran every distance from 55 meters (indoors) to 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 meters.
What coach Patty Vavra remembers first around Dalana, however, doesn’t involve talent.
“She was my first recruit, so I guess you could say we were rookies together,” Vavra said. “And for the next four years, she was the leader at every sprint workout. Her work ethic was just remarkable.”
The highlight of Rutledge’s track and field career would have been an All-American performance in the 4x100-meter dash. She joined Carl Junction runners Heather Hoyle and Tina Keller and Kansas City Central product Lakeisha Williams on a team which finished third in the nation in a school-record time of 46.76 seconds.
Dalana also qualified for outdoor nationals in the 200 and 400 dashes as a senior. She had a goal to reach indoor nationals in the 400, but realized late in the winter season she wasn’t going to meet the qualifying time.
“Coach and I discussed it and saw it wasn’t going to happen,” Rutledge said. “So we decided to try the 800. I ran in a last chance meet at Arkansas, the first time I ever ran the 800, and I qualified for nationals.”
The Division II indoor championships were at Indianapolis in 1998 and Dalana wasn’t intimidated by the competition. She won her qualifying heat to qualify for the finals, where she finished seventh. At that time, only the top six in each event earned All-American status. Since then, the top eight in each event are All-Americans.
The story of her track career, Rutledge said with a hearty laugh.
“When I went to school at Wyandotte (Okla.), track was my thing,” she said. “We never had a track so I never had a home track meet. After I left, they built a track. ... When I was at Missouri Southern, we never had an indoor facility, until I left.”
Actually, Rutledge never intended to run track in college. She had completed high school when Vavra was hired to guide the Southern women’s program.
“She called me and convinced me to give it a try,” Rutledge said. “It was probably the best decision I ever made. ... It was a great experience as far as my track career, my friends, my team. ... I actually missed graduation (in 1998) because I was at nationals, which was fine with me. That (nationals) was something we had worked for.”
After graduation, Dalana returned home to Wyandotte and went to work for the Wyandotte Nation as an accountant.
Since then, there has been a marriage to Mike Rutledge, two children and the gradual rise to the position as president of Wyandotte Services, a new operation for the tribe.
Dalana joined Shally Lundien and Albert Bland as new members of the Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday. The new inductees were introduced at halftime of the Lions’ football game against Lincoln University.
