Lions seen as conference's team to beat in men's cross country

By Wendell Redden
Missouri Southern Sports Information

Coach Tom Rutledge enjoys the respect shown his Missouri Southern State University men's cross country program.

The Lions were ranked No. 1 in a preseason poll of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) coaches. But Rutledge, beginning his 16th season at Missouri Southern, realizes that three key members of last year's conference-championship squad are gone.

"We lost three great seniors in Brian Lyons, Petri Kykyri and Larry Boswell," Rutledge said. "Brian Lyons was a walk-on when he came into our program but he worked hard and developed into a conference champion. Petri finished fourth in the conference meet last season. Brian, Petri and Magnus Holmstrom (9th) finished in the top 10 last year and earned All-MIAA honors. Larry came on strong and helped us finish second in the South Central Regional.

"We're going to miss those three athletes. We have some athletes returning who are very capable of leading us to a fourth straight conference championship. But health will be an issue. We'll be OK if we can stay healthy."

Holmstrom, 6-foot-2, 145-pound senior from Inga, Finland, finished 10th in the regional and 38th in the NCAA Division II Championships and tops Southern's list of veteran performers.

"He's steady and dependable," Rutledge said of the flying Finn. "He's an Academic All-American and was an All-American in the steeplechase. You can depend on him giving you a great race. I hope he has a breakout year. Truman State's (Alan) Heincker (second to Lyons last year) is considered the man to beat, but he'll feel Magnus' breath on his neck all the way."

Craig Rhodes (14th) and Paul Koehler (17th) had top 20 finishes for the Lions in the 2002 conference meet.

Rhodes, a junior from the perennially potent West Plains High School program of coaches Joe Bill Dixon and former Lion runner Marvin Hatley, is a favorite of Rutledge because of his work ethic.

"He understands the mileage, the discipline and the work ethic it takes to be successful at this level," Rutledge said. "He's a plugger who is focused on the task before him and isn't shy about doing the mileage."

Koehler, a junior from Sunset Hills, Mo., struggled as a sophomore after an outstanding freshman season, but Rutledge is counting on him to "step up to the plate and deliver the goods" this season.

"He runs with a lot of intensity, maybe too much intensity at times. If he could just relax he would run so much better. But he has a strong desire to win."

Another veteran is Thomas Quaid, a senior from Limerick, Ireland, who is more comfortable in the middle distance races. Rutledge said Quaid ran a 1:50 800 meters in Ireland this summer.

"Thomas won't do the mileage of some of our other cross country runners. We'll hold him back early because we need him healthy for the conference meet. He's run some great races here and is more consistent now."

Junior Joel Standeford of Seneca and sophomore Lucas Plocher of West Plains are the other returnees.

"What a great young man," Rutledge said of Standeford. "He'll be a multi-millionaire some day. He not only attends college and runs cross country for us, but he also has his own business, a lawn mowing and landscape business. He has several clients and people working for him. You talk about dedication. He runs in the morning before school, attends class, mows some lawns in the afternoon and then participates in our practices at night. As a runner he has some ability and a great attitude."

Plocher, Rutledge said, is "one of those pluggers who earns everything he gets. He is mentally and physically tough, has good morals and understands what we expect in our program. He's a tribute to the great cross country program at West Plains."

Another West Plains athlete, Brian Roe, tops the list of incoming freshmen. An all-state runner, he helped University of Arkansas recruit Josh Harper lead West Plains to the state championship last year.

"We're really happy to have Brian in our program," Rutledge said. "He has the capabilities to be one of our top runners as a freshman. He has the foot speed, the strength and the stamina it takes to be successful at this level. We need him to make the jump from high school to college quickly. I hope we're not putting too much pressure on him."

Two of the new athletes were members of Andy Youngworth's high school team at Carthage. Joining the Lions are Dustin Miller, 5-11, 160, and Casey Carter, 5-7, 135.

"Both Dustin and Casey are out of a good high school program and we expect them to develop into solid runners in a year or so," Rutledge said. "If they stick with it, they can make a contribution someday."

Ryan McIver (5-10, 150) from Norman, Okla., who also figures in the future of Missouri Southern's cross country program, is the fourth freshman recruit. "Ryan could have gone to the University of Oklahoma," Rutledge said, "but he came up to me during a meet last year and said 'Coach, I want to come to Missouri Southern.' We're happy to have him. He has a good attitude and a good work ethic."

Fredrick Amukonyi of Nairobi, Kenya, the other member of the Missouri Southern squad, may not be ready this season, Rutledge said.

"Fredrick needs to concentrate on academics at the present time. It's a big adjustment for foreign students and we tell all of our athletes that academics come first. That's why they're here, to get a good education."

Missouri Southern will open its season in the Arkansas Razorback Invitational on September 5, a meet that attracts mostly NCAA Division I teams. The Lions will host their annual Southern Stampede on Sept. 20 and Rutledge expects 25 to 30 university and college teams, plus about that many high school teams.

"We had over 1,000 runners here last year, making the Stampede one of the largest invitational meets in the country," Rutledge said. "We'll have several Division 1 schools, like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, and there will be several MIAA teams and nationally ranked Abilene Christian should be in the field. The meet has proven popular for three reasons, I believe: great competition, a great cross country course, and great viewing. You can see almost the entire course from the grandstand in Fred Hughes Stadium."