May 2, 2008

Gorillas Head to Maryville for 2008 MIAA Championships

    PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University men’s and women’s track & field teams will travel to Maryville, Mo., to take part in the 2008 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Outdoor Championships Saturday and Sunday (May 3-4). The meet, which gets under way at 4 p.m. Saturday will take place at Herschel Neil Track on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University.
    Pitt State head coach Russ Jewett sees his Gorilla men’s team as one of four squads chasing the University of Central Missouri for the league crown, while admittedly, Jewett says his Gorilla women’s team uncharacteristically does not pose a legitimate threat for a conference title this spring.
    “We’re in a familiar situation chasing Central Missouri in the race for the league title on the men’s side,” Jewett said. “I think we’re in the same boat with Missouri Southern and Emporia. All three of our squads have legitimate chances to win depending on what momentum we can build and if Central stumbles.”
    The Gorilla men feature a balanced squad. Four PSU athletes rank second in their respective events heading into the competition -- Darius Johnson in the 400 meters, Curtis Cooper in the high jump, Noah Dumpert in the triple jump and Braden Hayes in the discus. Jeremy Dunkle enters the 110 meter hurdles as the pre-meet favorite, while teammate Jeremy Jackson ranks fourth despite a limited competition schedule this spring. MJ Hassaballa also is the pre-meet favorite in the 1,500 meters. Kiara Jones, Alex Kuhlman and Brett Siegle add to a strong triple jump field, ranking third, fifth and sixth in the discipline.
    “We don’t have any one event that can kill us or be our saving grace,” Jewett said. “Braden Hayes has a chance to score in the shot put, discus and the hammer so in terms of any one athlete he has the most riding on him in terms of potential points.”
    The Pitt State men enter Saturday’s competition in second place in the league standings thanks to 11 points in the decathlon thanks to a third-place showing by Dunkle and a fourth-place effort by Nathan Thomas earlier this week.
    The absence of several key performers -- Venessa Lee (redshirt season), Megan Ballock (injury), Sarah Thurber (injury) -- leave the Pitt State women competing to “honor the Pitt State tradition” as much as vying for a league crown, according to Jewett.
    “Our women’s team has been forced to deal with some adverse situations this spring,” Jewett said. “I think we’ve accepted the fact that we’re probably not going to compete for a league title. We’re going to compete for respect and to honor the Pitt State tradition with the people who we have competition ready.”
    Individually, Katie Robben enters the meet ranked second in the 400 meters, while Kiley Lund ranks second in the high jump. Erica Ogle ranks third in the steeplechase and Michelle Mitchell ranks third in the pole vault.

[2008 MIAA Championships Web Site | MIAA Performance Chart | Live Results]