Lions track & field adds three more signees

Missouri Southern head men’s track & field and cross country coach Tom Rutledge announced today that two former prep standouts and one junior college transfer will join the Lions programs this fall.

Neil Hombs (Boonville, Mo.), Ryan McIver (Norman, Okla.) and Charlie Natividad (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) have signed on with Rutledge’s track & field Lions. McIver will also compete in cross country at MSSC.

Hombs, 6-0 and 155 pounds, is a junior college transfer from Highland (Kan.) Community College. A sprinter, he placed eighth in the 400-meter dash at the NJCAA Indoor National Championships and also served on Highland’s eighth-place and school record-setting 4x400-meter relay team. Outdoors, Hombs was part of the 4x400 relay team that also set a school record and garnered an eighth-place showing at the NJCAA meet.

At Boonville High School, Hombs was part of school record-setting 4x200- and 4x400-meter relay teams, and helped the 4x400 contingent to the state title in 2001. He also played football for the BHS Pirates, which captured the 1998 Missouri Class 3A state championship. Hombs will be a junior in eligibility in 2003-04 and is a business major.

McIver, from Norman High School, was an all-region and all-conference cross country runner as a junior and as a senior and helped his team to state championship appearances as a sophomore and again in his final year. A two-time team MVP in cross country, he placed in the top 30 at the state meet as a senior.

On the track, McIver, 5-11 and 147 pounds, is a two-time state qualifier in both the 4x800-meter relay and in the two-mile run. He placed 10th at the state championships in the two-mile as a senior after winning the regional title. McIver also qualified for the state meet in the mile run as a senior, too. He intends to major in biology at Southern.

Natividad, 5-11 and 140 pounds, competes as a sprinter for Lee’s Summit High School. He’s new to the track & field scene, having competed this year in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. An anticipated secondary education major, Natividad also lettered one year as a wide receiver on the LSHS Tiger football squad.

The three latest additions join five other signees for the Lions squad: Casey Carter (Carthage, Mo.), Luke Clark (Nevada, Mo.), Dustin Miller (Carthage, Mo.), Graham Patterson (Rogers, Ark.) and Brian Roe (West Plains, Mo.). Clark (throws) and Patterson (decathlon) are track & field-only signees, while distance men Carter, Miller and Roe also figure into the Lions’ plans for cross country.

Rutledge is in his 15th year as Missouri Southern’s head men’s track & field coach and this year guided the Lions to third-place finishes at the indoor and outdoor MIAA meets. He coached four All-Americas this year in track & field, including an indoor national champion pole vaulter in senior Seth Isringhausen. His cross country teams have won or shared each of the last three conference titles and this year finished seventh at the national championships behind senior All-America Brian Lyons.


	May 30, 2003 Lions track & field adds three more signees

	Missouri Southern head men’s track & field and cross country coach Tom Rutledge announced today that two former prep standouts and one junior college transfer will join the Lions programs this fall. Neil Hombs (Boonville, Mo.), Ryan McIver (Norman, Okla.) and Charlie Natividad (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) have signed on with Rutledge’s track & field Lions. McIver will also compete in cross country at MSSC. Hombs, 6-0 and 155 pounds, is a junior college transfer from Highland (Kan.) Community College. A sprinter, he placed eighth in the 400-meter dash at the NJCAA Indoor National Championships and also served on Highland’s eighth-place and school record-setting 4x400-meter relay team. Outdoors, Hombs was part of the 4x400 relay team that also set a school record and garnered an eighth-place showing at the NJCAA meet. At Boonville High School, Hombs was part of school record-setting 4x200- and 4x400-meter relay teams, and helped the 4x400 contingent to the state title in 2001. He also played football for the BHS Pirates, which captured the 1998 Missouri Class 3A state championship. Hombs will be a junior in eligibility in 2003-04 and is a business major. McIver, from Norman High School, was an all-region and all-conference cross country runner as a junior and as a senior and helped his team to state championship appearances as a sophomore and again in his final year. A two-time team MVP in cross country, he placed in the top 30 at the state meet as a senior. On the track, McIver, 5-11 and 147 pounds, is a two-time state qualifier in both the 4x800-meter relay and in the two-mile run. He placed 10th at the state championships in the two-mile as a senior after winning the regional title. McIver also qualified for the state meet in the mile run as a senior, too. He intends to major in biology at Southern. Natividad, 5-11 and 140 pounds, competes as a sprinter for Lee’s Summit High School. He’s new to the track & field scene, having competed this year in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. An anticipated secondary education major, Natividad also lettered one year as a wide receiver on the LSHS Tiger football squad. The three latest additions join five other signees for the Lions squad: Casey Carter (Carthage, Mo.), Luke Clark (Nevada, Mo.), Dustin Miller (Carthage, Mo.), Graham Patterson (Rogers, Ark.) and Brian Roe (West Plains, Mo.). Clark (throws) and Patterson (decathlon) are track & field-only signees, while distance men Carter, Miller and Roe also figure into the Lions’ plans for cross country. Rutledge is in his 15th year as Missouri Southern’s head men’s track & field coach and this year guided the Lions to third-place finishes at the indoor and outdoor MIAA meets. He coached four All-Americas this year in track & field, including an indoor national champion pole vaulter in senior Seth Isringhausen. His cross country teams have won or shared each of the last three conference titles and this year finished seventh at the national championships behind senior All-America Brian Lyons.