May 23, 2003

Three Southern records fall in at NCAA meet on Thursday
Garrett, Holmstrom qualify for Saturday finals

In Thursday's opening day of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, three school records were wiped from the books and two Missouri Southern athletes earned spots in the finals of their respective events.

On Friday (May 23), the lone competitor was sophomore Arley Smith (Pierce City, Mo.). Smith placed 13th in the discus with a throw of 155-10, a day after finishing 10th in the hammer with a school record mark of 185-7.

In action on Thursday, junior Magnus Holmstrom (Inga, Finland) placed second in his heat and qualified third for the men's 3000-meter steeplechase with a school record time of 9:08.39. His time beat the previous school record (9:10.73), set in 1998 by Jon Wilks. Holmstrom was an All-America in the event last year and entered the national championships ranked 19th in the nation this season. The steeplechase final will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday (May 24).

Also on Thursday, junior Mary Garrett (Carthage, Mo.) not only advanced to the final in the women's 400-meter hurdles, she also posted the top time, turning in another school record clocking of 59.31 seconds. Garrett's time -- 0.74 seconds faster than her next closest competitor -- beat her own MSSC standard (59.92 seconds), which she set at last month's Missouri Southern SportsWorld Invitational. A two-time All-America in the 400-meter hurdles, Garrett, national runner-up in the 400 hurdles as a freshman in 2000, came in ranked in a first-place tie nationally. She'll be back in action in event on Saturday at 6:40 p.m.

Three Missouri Southern throwers, including Smith, competed in final events on Thursday, all in the hammer throw.

On the women's side, sophomore Danee Jones (Clayton, Mo.) placed 10th with a mark of 162-7.

Senior Jamie Tallman (Neodesha, Kan.) wrapped up his first ever trip to a national meet as he also competed in the hammer alongside Smith. Tallman had a personal best throw of 181-0 and placed 12th.

In Saturday finals, sophomore Mika Alahaivala (Ylivieska, Finland) leads things off in the javelin at noon, followed by Jones in the discus and Holmstrom in the steeplechase at 4 p.m. The Lion pole vaulters, senior Seth Isringhausen (Nixa, Mo.) and junior Chris Turner (St. Louis, Mo.) get into the action at 5 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Garrett's final in the 400-meter hurdles at 6:40 p.m.