2008 Woodie Awards
'Cats prepare for conference
Sanderson lowers school record yet again
Erik Johnson
Issue date: 5/4/07 Section: Sports
The Southwest Baptist men's track and field team battled inclement weather again this past weekend. Their most recent meet was delayed three different times because of thunderstorms, and once due to the electronic timing equipment being flooded at the Bill Williams / Bob Laptad Open Invite on the campus of Missouri Southern State.
In their last meet before the MIAA Championships -and their last meet under the guidance of Head Coach Jeff DeLong - the SBU men put together a very strong showing, despite the weather.
Getting things started for the Bearcats was senior Ben Kirkpatrick in the hammer throw. Kirkpatrick unleashed a solid throw of 165 feet, seven inches to defeat Drew Frizzell by three inches for the win.
On the track, SBU was led by an outstanding performance from sophomore Michael Pierce. Running his first 800-meter race in over a year, Pierce placed seventh with a personal-best time of 1 minute, 56.68 seconds. After the race, Pierce did not even have time to take off his spikes, because at the conclusion of the 800, it was already time for him to be warming up for the 1,500-meter run. In the 1,500, Pierce ran a tactical race and used a strong finish to help him make third in 4:02.39.
Also putting forth a strong effort for the Bearcats was sophomore Jordan Rowe. Rowe was forced to run the 400-meter dash in a driving rainstorm and still managed to clock 51.31 seconds and finish fourth. In the 200-meter dash, Rowe again placed fourth with a time of 23.20 seconds. Rounding out his day, Rowe teamed with freshman Jesse Kueker and sophomores Jeff Weseloh and Erik Johnson to place third in the 1,600-meter relay.
Another storyline to follow at this meet for SBU was their great showing in the 800-meter run. In DeLong's last meet as head coach, the former 800-meter standout loaded the 800 with a large number of the team's athletes. The athletes responded by putting six Bearcats in the top-10. Athletes who recorded personal-bests in the race included freshmen Shawn Etzenhouser, Jeremy Glassmaker, and Kueker and sophomore Vince Tichenor.
In their last meet before the MIAA Championships -and their last meet under the guidance of Head Coach Jeff DeLong - the SBU men put together a very strong showing, despite the weather.
Getting things started for the Bearcats was senior Ben Kirkpatrick in the hammer throw. Kirkpatrick unleashed a solid throw of 165 feet, seven inches to defeat Drew Frizzell by three inches for the win.
On the track, SBU was led by an outstanding performance from sophomore Michael Pierce. Running his first 800-meter race in over a year, Pierce placed seventh with a personal-best time of 1 minute, 56.68 seconds. After the race, Pierce did not even have time to take off his spikes, because at the conclusion of the 800, it was already time for him to be warming up for the 1,500-meter run. In the 1,500, Pierce ran a tactical race and used a strong finish to help him make third in 4:02.39.
Also putting forth a strong effort for the Bearcats was sophomore Jordan Rowe. Rowe was forced to run the 400-meter dash in a driving rainstorm and still managed to clock 51.31 seconds and finish fourth. In the 200-meter dash, Rowe again placed fourth with a time of 23.20 seconds. Rounding out his day, Rowe teamed with freshman Jesse Kueker and sophomores Jeff Weseloh and Erik Johnson to place third in the 1,600-meter relay.
Another storyline to follow at this meet for SBU was their great showing in the 800-meter run. In DeLong's last meet as head coach, the former 800-meter standout loaded the 800 with a large number of the team's athletes. The athletes responded by putting six Bearcats in the top-10. Athletes who recorded personal-bests in the race included freshmen Shawn Etzenhouser, Jeremy Glassmaker, and Kueker and sophomore Vince Tichenor.
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