Missouri Southern Meet

The Bulldogs traveled to Joplin, Mo., on Friday and Saturday for the Missouri Southern State University Radio Shack Invitational.

Competing on the six-lane, 200-meter flat St. John track of the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, the Bulldogs came away with personal best by Mark Watson in the 60 and 200 meters, Ben Cummins in the 400 meters, David Parry in the 600 yards, Oliver Williams in the 800 meters, and season bests by Brent Bailey in the 1-mile and the 4x400 relay of Leterius Ray, David Parry, Ben Cummins, and Brent Bailey.

Fourth place finishes in the open section of the 1-mile by Brent Bailey and the distance medley relay of Bailey, Parry, Ray, and Oliver Williams were the Bulldogs top finishes of the weekend. Mark Watson and Leterius Ray placing fifth in the 60-meter and 600-yard dashes rounded out the Bulldogs’ top six finishes.

Andrea Swanson and Rachel Leuthold were the only females competing for the Bulldogs and both posted top eight finishes although neither met their season best set at the Kansas State Invitational.

The MSSU meet was the first time newly hired, McPherson head coach Joe Eby has had an opportunity to see the Bulldogs in a competitive situation.

"I was pleased with the overall performance of the team. I am excited for the future," Eby said.

Eby arrived on campus Jan. 31, and held his first team meeting with the indoor squad on Feb. 2. He has been holding individual meetings with the team members, who have been under the direction of assistant coaches Ryan Jilka and John Hudson since the beginning of workouts for the indoor season.

The next action for the Bulldogs will be their trip to Warrensburg, Mo., for the Central Missouri Classic on Feb. 20, where they will make one final attempt posting NAIA qualifying marks.

Missouri Southern Radio Shack Classic
February 6(a)-7, 2009 -- Joplin, MO
Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
(200 meter, flat track)
MEN —
60m Dash – 5. Mark Watson 7.14, 7.12p PB
200m Dash (a) – Mark Watson 23.83 PR; Jacob Kerbel 25.15; Ben Cummins 25.33
400m Dash – Ben Cummins 55.38 PB
600y Run – 5. Leterius Ray 1:16.71; 13. David Parry 1:19.76 PB
800m Run – 8. Oliver Williams 2:00.19 PB
1-Mile Run – 4. Brent Bailey 4:38.28 SB; Jason Pfoutz 5:39.25
3,000m Run (a) – Shaun Griffin 9:44.22; Josh Niles 10:40.29; Jason Pfoutz 11:51.37
5,000m Run – Shaun Griffin 17:01.32; Josh Niles 18:32.39
60m Hurdles – Jordan King 8.91p; Jacob Kerbel DQ
4x400m Relay – McPherson “A” 3:35.75; McPherson “B” 4:01.72
Distance Medley Relay (a) – 4. McPherson (Brent Bailey 3:23, David Parry 53.5, Leterius Ray 2:01, Oliver Williams 4:35) 10:53.39
High Jump – 8t. Seth Williams 6-00.75 (1.85)
Triple Jump – Jesse Jackson 36-11 (11.25)
Shot Put – Drew Griffin nm

WOMEN —
Pole Vault – 8. Rachel Leuthold 10-02.5 (3.11)
Shot Put – 7. Andrea Swanson 39-07.25 (12.07)