Men's and Women's Track...
Success In All Seasons....
From the Parthenon Archives by NAWAR W. SHORA, reporter
Three seasons - the track team has three seasons and officially three sports that take place throughout the year.
Both the men's and women's teams have a cross country season from Sept. 1 to mid-November, an indoor track season from Dec. 1 to March 1 and an outdoor track season from March 1 to May 1.
Jeff Small is the head coach of the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and cross-country teams.
This is the first year both teams are combined under one coach. Small said both teams are doing better than expected.
"We're having a really good year," he said.
The men have broken one school record and the women have broken three school records.
The teams are getting ready for the Southern Conference Championship starting Feb. 21 at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn.
"That's what we work toward all year in all three sports, to do the best we can," Small said. Last year, the men's team finished third place in the indoor conference championship. This year, Small said it is aiming to win it all, although he said that it won't be easy.
"There will be six teams separated by only 15 points, any one of which can win it," Small said 15 points in track is like a one-point difference in basketball.
"The goals with the women's team have already been achieved for the season, since they try so hard and keep doing things to drop their time," Small said.
The women's team earned 17 points last year.
Small said this year the team members are expected to do much better. Still, he said all he really wants is to beat last year's points.
Small mostly attributes both teams' work ethic to his supporting coaching staff.
"To me, I have the best young staff in the country," he said. "All are motivated, hard working and were once outstanding athletes."
Small said the coaching staff is usually made up of people who went to Marshall and competed at Marshall. "I tried to change that and bring in good players from all around," he said.
Assistant Coach Terry Winston was a four-time national qualifier from the University of South Carolina. Angela Dolby, throws coach, was a two-time All-American in the shotput.
Sue McGhie, who works with the distance runners, won the National in the 5000 meter and was a national qualifier in cross country.
Brian Adamick, vault coach and recruiting coordinator, is a four-time All-American in the pole vault and Division II national champion.
Small was an All-American in the steeple chase during his years at California Polytechnic State University.
From the Parthenon Archives by NAWAR W. SHORA reporter
The basketball team is not the only team sport that is headed for the Southern Conference tournament. The Thundering Herd men's and women's indoor track team is also headed to the SC tournament this weekend for competitions on Friday and Saturday. The tournament will be held at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn. Jeff Small, head coach of the Marshall track team, said "This is what we work towards all year."
The women's team has already broken three school records this year. Small said "The fastest two girls last year had a time of 30.24. This year the ninth fastest runner's time is 28.96.2 The time is recorded for the 200-meter dash.
Chandra Nelson, Oak Hill sophomore, and Elizabeth Reck a junior from Belpre, Ohio, are two of the women's leaders. They are both battling for first place in the shot put. Nelson is the current conference leader in the 20 pound weight. She also holds the school record. Reck is second in the shot put and was All-Southern Conference last season for her third place finish in the shot put. She also holds the school record in the shot put.
The men won third place last year in the conference tournament. "This year, we're fighting for the championship in indoor," Small said. Going into the conference there are six teams separated by only 15 points. In track, 15 points is comparable to one point in basketball. Some of the men's stars include Andrew Wilhite, a Harrisburg, Kentucky sophomore, and Floyd Johnson, Columbia, S.C. sophomore. Both are competing for first place in the triple jump and long jump. Wilhite is ranked third in the conference in the long jump. Johnson is ranked second in the triple jump and is the school record holder. "We're definitely a sport that doesn't get a lot of recognition. We don't have a lot of glory in it for the kids but they are dedicated and motivated from within," Small said.
by NAWAR W. SHORA reporter
The men's and women's track teams competed in the Southern Conference tournament this past weekend.
Marshall track was in the spotlight in February when for the first time in school history the men won the Southern Conference indoor championship. The women had also excelled during the indoor tournament.
This past weekend the Herd was praised again, this time for its performance in the outdoor Southern Conference tournament. The men's team finished in third place and the women's in fifth.
Individually, the women performed as follows: in the 100 meter hurdles Adrienne Hundmeyer and Cindy Dawson finished second and third respectively. In the 400 meter hurdles, Marshall swept the competition away by having athletes place in first, second, third and fifth place.
Adrienne Hundmeyer finished first with a time of 1:03:02, Leona Benjamin came in second with a time of 1:03:85, Kathryn Pierce finished third with a time of 1:04:35, and Cindy Dawson finished fifth with a time of 1:05:49.
Marshall also placed fifth in the 400 and the 1,600 meter relays. The Herd's Kendra Hornish finished third in the high 'ump and Beth Reck was third in shot put. Reck also placed second and third in the discus's and hammer throw, respectively. Also, Kathryn Pierce finished fifth in the javelin.
The Men's individual results were as follows: Joe Allen placed fifth in the 200 meter dash, while Joe Restivo took first in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48,54. Joe Allen placed third in the 400, and in the 110 meter hurdles, William Wood came in third place.
Andrew Wilhite earned first place in the long jump. Floyd Johnson also placed third in the long jump and first in the triple jump. In the high jump, Dan Ritchley placed second, Andrew Wilhite, fourth and Thomas Bock, sixth.
The Herd's John Maynard placed fourth in the shot put, second in the discuss, and sixth in the hammer throw. Dan Hall came in second in the hammer throw. The Herd's Dan Ritchley finished third in the pole vault. Also, Marshall placed fourth in the 400 meter relay and second in the 1,600 meter relay.
From the Parthenon Archives by NAWAR W. SHORA reporter
The track team's indoor season may be over, but that doesn't mean they are done working yet.
The team is now in the middle of its outdoor season which will end the weekend of April 19 at the Southern Conference Tournament.
Members of the Thundering Herd men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and cross-country teams competed at the Alabama Relay Meet in Tuscaloosa this past weekend.
The Herd competed against participants from the top Atlantic Coast Con-ference, South East-ern Confer-ence and Big East schools.
The men's and women's teams both finished their indoor season successfully.
The men won the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship and the women finished fourth in the tournament.
This past weekend, the Marshall track team again made its mark. Two contenders broke school records for the women. Cindy Dawson placed 12 in the 100 meter dash and Adrienne Hun-demer came in eleventh place in the 400 meter dash. Other top 20 finishers for the women included Tara Lee in the 100 meter hurdle. She came in 13th place in the 100 meter dash.
Kendra Hornish came in 20th place in the high jump. And Beth Reck came in eleventh place in the hammer throw.
Jeff Small, head coach of the men's and women's teams, said, "We really had a great weekend at Alabama. We really didn't have one person disappoint us and it was worth the financial commitment and the time to go down there for those few days."
The men also had some success. Daniel Hall came in fourth in both 1500 meter and the hammer throw. He was .09 seconds away from breaking the school record in the 1500 meter which has stood from 1978.
Kevin Sowers and John Maynard came in seventh and ninth in the shot put, respectively.
The Herd will host the Marshall Twi-Light meet at the "Lefty" Rollins Track Saturday.
Small said this is a low key meet, and such schools as Cincinnati, Rio Grande and Morehead State will compete.
The coach plans on switching his team members around.
Those who usually hurdle might run the 100 meter dash instead.
He said this is a training method and it gives the athletes a chance to get excited when they are asked to compete in their best events.
"Our aim is to try and win the outdoor season championship as well, but we'll see what happens," Small said.
Appalachian State and East Tennessee State University are expected to be the main competition for Marshall.
Jeff Small will begin his second year as the head coach of men's and
women's cross country and. track. In June of 1996, the programs were combined
in order for the olympic sports program to prepare properly for the school's
transition, into the Mid-American Conference.
Small was in charge of the men.'s cross country and track programs at Marshall before being named head coach of the combined programs. .After the 1995-96 season, he was named. the Southern Conference Indoor Coach of the Year for the strides he had made with the men's program. That season Marshall produced eight All-Southem Conference indoor athletes, and the team finished third, it's highest finish since 1988.
On the road to his current position at Marshall, Small attended California Polytechnic State University in. San Luis Obispo, Calif., and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 1981. He was a four-year letterman and earned NCAA Division II All American honors in 1979. He was a three-time national qualifier in the steeplechase, was a member of the 1978 and 1979 National Championship cross country teams, and was a member of the Cal Poly's 1979 and 1980 National Championship teams.
Small was the head coach of the cross country program at Florida Tech, and led the Panthers two men's and women's cross country conference titles. He was named the Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1987.
From there he moved to an assistant coaching position at the University of South Carolina and led the Lady Gamecock's cross country team to Metro Conference championships in 1989 and 1990. While at South Carolina, the woments cross country team compiled a record of 388 wins and 121 losses, and the men's team had 322 wins and 181 losses. He was named the Metro Conference Wom.en's Coch of the Year in 1989.
Small is married to the former Lee Anne Shaver of Melbourne Beach, Fla. They have two children, Nicholas, 15, and Summer, 8.
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