PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams are preparing for a busy weekend of action at Prentice Gudgen Track/Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Gorillas will host the 24th annual Jock's Nitch/Gorilla Relays high school meet Friday (Apr. 12), then the Pitt State squads will compete in the Fifth Annual David Suenram Gorilla Classic Saturday (Apr. 13).
The high school meet, which will draw nearly 1,000 athletes to the PSU campus, will begin at 3 p.m. (CDT) Friday with field events. Running events start at 3:30 p.m. The college meet will get started with field events at 11 a.m. Saturday.
"We are excited to be able to have some outstanding high school athletes compete on our campus," PSU head coach Russ Jewett said. "It's great to be able to showcase what we think is one of the best NCAA Division II facilities in the country."
Saturday's college field includes MIAA members Central Missouri, Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist and regional Division II foe Missouri S&T as well as several NAIA and junior college programs.
"The Gorilla Classic will be a high quality meet once again," Jewett said. "There will be high level competition in every event. Our athletes will be challenged to compete well in order to be successful.
The Gorillas Classic is named in honor of former PSU men's track & field coach David Suenram, who coached the Gorillas from 1968-86.
Suenram led the Gorillas to seven cross country and seven outdoor track & field conference championships during his decorated coaching career. He led Pitt State to five NAIA indoor top 10 national finishes as well as five NAIA outdoor top 10 national finishes.
Suenram also served as athletic director at PSU from 1983 to 1988, playing an instrumental role in the school’s transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II, the establishment of the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame, the completion of the first major renovation of Carnie Smith Stadium as well as the establishment of PSU’s endowed scholarship program.
"Coach Suenram has been so important to our tradition in track & field and PSU Athletics overall," Jewett said. "He's been gone several years now so most people today are not as familiar with him, but those of us who knew him and had the pleasure to compete for him owe a lot to him. He was an outstanding coach as well as an administrator. Our hope, even in this small way by naming our meet in his honor, was that we could show what Coach Suenram means to PSU track & field and PSU Athletics."
