Lions crown five track & field All-Americans

Five members of the Missouri Southern State University track & field squad earned All-America honors on May 27-29 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Walnut, Calif.

From the MSSU men’s track & field team, seniors Brian Lyons (Purdy, Mo.) and Arley Smith (Pierce City, Mo.), along with junior Mika Alahaivala (Ylivieska, Finland) were named All-Americans after placing in the top eight at the national meet.

Members of the Southern women’s team to earn All-America status were senior Mary Still (Carthage, Mo.) and junior Danee Jones (Clayton, Mo.).

Lyons, a 5-foot-9 and 140-pound senior, placed seventh in the 5000-meter run on Saturday (May 29) with a time of 14 minutes, 39.49 seconds. He advanced to the final with a third-place finish in Friday’s preliminary round, as he finished in 14:36.37. Lyons set the school record in the 5000-meter run this year with his time of 14:21.60 at the University of Missouri Relays on April 3. It marked the first track & field All-America award for Lyons, a 2002 All-America cross country performer.

Smith, a 6-foot-2 and 260-pound senior, placed sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 181 feet to collect his fourth career All-America award. He was an All-America indoors this year in the weight throw and in 2002 in the shot put. Outdoors, he also earned All-America accolades in 2002 in the discus. This year, Smith also qualified for the national meet in the shot put and discus. He placed 16th in the shot put (and 18th in the discus.

Alahaivala became a two-time All-America in the javelin when he placed seventh with a throw of 205 feet, 11 inches. Last year, Alahaivala was national runner-up in the event and he was a national qualifier as a freshman, when he placed 11th in the javelin.

Still collected her third career national runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles as she finished the event with a school record time of 58.22 seconds. It marked the sixth career All-America award for Still, a 24-time All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association performer. She’s a finalist for the MIAA’s Ken B. Jones Award which will be presented on Thursday (June 3) to the conference’s male and female student-athletes of the year.

Jones grabbed her first career outdoor All-America award by placing fifth in the discus with a throw of 155 feet. She also qualified this year in the shot put and hammer throw, placing 11th in the shot with a throw of 44 feet, 6.75 inches. In all, Jones is an eight-time national qualifier. She was the MIAA outdoor champion this year in the hammer throw with a school record toss of 180 feet, 5 inches. Jones was also conference runner-up in the discus (152-1) and shot put (44-4.25).

As a team, the Missouri Southern women finished tied for 23rd with 12 points at the NCAA-II Championships. The Lion women won the conference indoor championship in March and placed fourth at the league outdoor meet in May.

Missouri Southern’s men finished 31st at the national outdoor championships. The 2004 MIAA indoor champion, Southern placed second at the conference outdoor meet last month.


	June 2, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lions crown five track & field All-Americans Five members of the Missouri Southern State University track & field squad earned All-America honors on May 27-29 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Walnut, Calif. From the MSSU men’s track & field team, seniors Brian Lyons (Purdy, Mo.) and Arley Smith (Pierce City, Mo.), along with junior Mika Alahaivala (Ylivieska, Finland) were named All-Americans after placing in the top eight at the national meet. Members of the Southern women’s team to earn All-America status were senior Mary Still (Carthage, Mo.) and junior Danee Jones (Clayton, Mo.). Lyons, a 5-foot-9 and 140-pound senior, placed seventh in the 5000-meter run on Saturday (May 29) with a time of 14 minutes, 39.49 seconds. He advanced to the final with a third-place finish in Friday’s preliminary round, as he finished in 14:36.37. Lyons set the school record in the 5000-meter run this year with his time of 14:21.60 at the University of Missouri Relays on April 3. It marked the first track & field All-America award for Lyons, a 2002 All-America cross country performer. Smith, a 6-foot-2 and 260-pound senior, placed sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 181 feet to collect his fourth career All-America award. He was an All-America indoors this year in the weight throw and in 2002 in the shot put. Outdoors, he also earned All-America accolades in 2002 in the discus. This year, Smith also qualified for the national meet in the shot put and discus. He placed 16th in the shot put (and 18th in the discus. Alahaivala became a two-time All-America in the javelin when he placed seventh with a throw of 205 feet, 11 inches. Last year, Alahaivala was national runner-up in the event and he was a national qualifier as a freshman, when he placed 11th in the javelin. Still collected her third career national runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles as she finished the event with a school record time of 58.22 seconds. It marked the sixth career All-America award for Still, a 24-time All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association performer. She’s a finalist for the MIAA’s Ken B. Jones Award which will be presented on Thursday (June 3) to the conference’s male and female student-athletes of the year. Jones grabbed her first career outdoor All-America award by placing fifth in the discus with a throw of 155 feet. She also qualified this year in the shot put and hammer throw, placing 11th in the shot with a throw of 44 feet, 6.75 inches. In all, Jones is an eight-time national qualifier. She was the MIAA outdoor champion this year in the hammer throw with a school record toss of 180 feet, 5 inches. Jones was also conference runner-up in the discus (152-1) and shot put (44-4.25). As a team, the Missouri Southern women finished tied for 23rd with 12 points at the NCAA-II Championships. The Lion women won the conference indoor championship in March and placed fourth at the league outdoor meet in May. Missouri Southern’s men finished 31st at the national outdoor championships. The 2004 MIAA indoor champion, Southern placed second at the conference outdoor meet last month.