March 15, 2003

Four members of Southern track & field squads capture All-America honors at indoor championships
Isringhausen wins national crown in pole vault

Led by Seth Isringhausen (Nixa, Mo.)'s national championship in the pole vault, four members of the Missouri Southern track & field teams collected All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Championships this weekend in Boston, Mass.

As a team, the Missouri Southern men placed 12th with 13 points -- all scored in the pole vault -- at the meet, which was won by Abilene Christian (Texas) with 58 points. The Lady Lions tied for 20th in the meet with eight points. St. Augustine's (N.C.) won the women's event with a total of 73 points.

Isringhausen became the second Southern male and third track & field athlete to win an indoor national crown on Friday when he cleared 16'-8.75" to outdistance second-place J.R. Skola of Missouri-Rolla by four inches.

“Seth had some clutch jumps,” head coach Tom Rutledge said. “He had two misses and then had a great jump on 16’-4”. Then at 16’-8”, he nailed it after Skola had two misses.”

The win by Isringhausen, now a three-time indoor All-America, marked the first by a Lion since former MSSC high jumper Kevin Dotson won a national title in 1999.

Two Southern pole vaulters came home with All-America honors as sophomore Kyle Rutledge (Joplin, Mo.) placed sixth with a mark of 15'-9". Kyle Rutledge, the son of MSSC's head men's track & field coach, was making his first ever trip to the national meet.

On Saturday, the Lady Lions got two All-Americas, led by sophomore Danee Jones (Clayton, Mo.), who placed third in the weight throw with a mark of 58'-8".

Then Mary Garrett (Carthage, Mo.) collected a seventh-place showing in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 56.64 seconds. To qualify for the final in the 400, Garrett won her heat with a clocking of 56.06 seconds.

Sophomore Arley Smith (Pierce City, Mo.) came into the men's weight throw on Friday ranked No. 3 in the nation. But after fouls on his first two throws, Smith's final mark of 52'-7.25" had to count as his best. It landed him in 12th place overall.

The Missouri Southern men were the second-highest finishing Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association team at the meet, as Central Missouri State placed fourth. On the women's side, only Emporia State (11th) and Northwest Missouri State (13th) were MIAA teams placing higher than the Lady Lions.