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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MIAA
Indoor Track & Field Championships return to Missouri Southern JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Track & Field Championships return to Missouri Southern State University and the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 24-25). Seven teams on both the men s and women s side will vie for the MIAA championships. Last year, Central Missouri State swept both the men s and women s titles at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo. Missouri Southern will be looking to repeat its 2004 championship efforts. MSSU s men and women both won the conference indoor title in 2004, the last time the Lions hosted the event. Action gets under way on Friday at 1:30 p.m. with field events. Running events begin at 3:45 p.m. Saturday s competition begins with field events at 10 a.m. and track events at 1:30 p.m. Several of the athletes entering the 2006 conference indoor meet are ranked among national leaders. Missouri Southern has two of the nation s top-ranked NCAA Division II athletes, including senior Matt Campbell, who leads the nation in the pole vault, and sophomore Jessica Selby, Division II s leader in the shot put. Emporia State sophomore Shannon Butler leads NCAA Division II in the women s long jump. The Lions have two athletes ranked in the national top five in the pole vault with senior Kyle Rutledge joining Campbell. Rutledge is ranked No. 4 nationally. Sophomore Russell Ellis is sixth in the nation in the event. Missouri Southern also ranks among national leaders in the distance medley relay, coming in with a No. 4 national ranking in that event. Central Missouri State sprinter Imani Butler is ranked second in the nation in the 200-meter dash and third in the 60-meter dash. The Mules also have distance man Jarod Wall listed fifth nationally in the 5000-meter run and thrower Steven Edwards fifth in the weight throw. Central s women has their distance medley relay squad ranked third nationally, and one member of that team, Kristin Anderson, is fourth in Division II in the 5000-meter run. The Jennies also have high jumper Jennifer Drum Greer ranked fifth in the country. Pittsburg State pole vaulter Lisa Douglass is sixth in NCAA Division II. Last year, Missouri Southern s men placed second in the MIAA Indoor Championships and the women finished in a third-place tie. Adult general admission to the meet is $5. College students with a valid student ID will be admitted for $3 and children ages 10 and under will be admitted free of charge.
For a schedule of events
and more information, check the Missouri Southern MIAA Indoor
Championships web page at:
Results from the meet
will be not only made available on the MSSU athletics website, but also
at:
Missouri Southern's
Automatic/Provisional National Qualifiers
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