March 8, 2010

Tiger men finish 11th at national meet

Battling illness and injuries, the Cowley College men’s track and field team placed 11th out of 31 teams at the NJCAA National Indoor held Friday and Saturday in Charleston, Ill.
Cowley finished just a half point out of a top-10 finish and was only 2 ½ points away from placing among the top-eight teams.
“We had some guys do really well, but not being completely healthy really hurt us,” Cowley head coach Mark Phillips said.
Barton County, the only team to finish ahead of the Tigers in the region, took home the national title by edging out runner-up Iowa Central by 1 ½ points.
Sophomores Jory Custar and Mac Griffith had the Tigers’ highest individual finishes at the meet. Custar placed fourth in the 800-meter run (1:56.53) and earned Coaches Association All-American honors, while Griffith broke his own school record in the heptathlon and earned Coaches Association All-American honors by placing fourth in the event.
Phillips was proud of both of the athletes.
“Jory ran extremely well, fourth place is nothing to sneeze at,” Phillips said. “And Mac had a heck of a meet in the heptathlon.”
Freshman Josh Gracia from West Palm Beach, FL, capped a solid indoor season by placing sixth in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs. For his efforts, Gracia was awarded Coaches Association All-American honors in both events.
“Josh had two outstanding races,” Phillips said. “I love seeing a freshman score in two events at the national meet.”
Freshman Charles James also earned Coaches Association All-American honors by placing sixth in the shot put (50-2), while fellow freshman Rick Valcin placed sixth in the pole vault.
The Tigers’ 4x800-meter relay team of T.J. Mapp, David Phillips, Dane Dewitt, and Brice Irving also scored points for the team by placing sixth.
With Southwestern College’s track and field facility under construction, Cowley will host the Southwestern Invite on Thursday. The meet will begin with field events at 11:15 a.m., while running events will start at 12:45 p.m.
“We are pretty excited about the outdoor season,” Phillips said. “We will add some people into the mix that did not compete in the indoor season.”
Results:
*800-meter run — Custar, 1:56.53, fourth, Coaches Association All-American.
*1,000-meter run — T.J. Mapp, 2:35.46, 12th.
*Mile run — Dustin Mettler, 4:32.70, 12th.
*3,000-meter run — Josh Gracia, 8:50.22, sixth, Coaches Association All-American; Phillip Banowetz, 8:57.06, 14th; Mettler, 9:00.04, 15th.
*5,000-meter run — Gracia, 15:15.41, sixth, Coaches Association All-American; Banowetz, 15:27.83, ninth, Coaches Association All-American; Mettler, 15:57.10, 13th.
*4x800-meter relay — Mapp, Brice Irving, David Phillips, Dane Dewitt, 8:02.91, sixth.
*Distance Medley Relay — Mapp, Brandon Sparks, Dylan Filburn, Irving, 10:35.65, 10th.
*Pole vault — Rick Valcin, 14-1 ¼, sixth; Michael McLeod, 14-1 ¼, ninth.
*Shot put — Charles James, 50-2, sixth, Coaches Association All-American.
*Heptathlon — Mac Griffith, 4,657 points, fourth, school record, Coaches Association All-American.
Top-15 Team Rankings — (1) Barton County, 114 ½; (2) Iowa Central, 113; (3) Rend Lake, 110; (4) Paradise Valley, 59; (5) Mesa, 48; (6tie) Coffeyville, 30; (6tie) Hinds, 30; (8tie) Delhi, 27; (8tie) Southwest Mississippi, 27; (10) Iowa Western, 25; (11) Cowley, 24 ½; (12) Glendale, 21; (13) Essex, 20; (14) Butler, 19; (15) Cloud County, 18 ½.