MAY 6, 2002

Men's Track & Field Places Fourth at MIAA Championships

The Truman State University men's track & field team brought home five conference titles and finished fourth in Saturday and Sunday's Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championships in Emporia, Kan. It marks the sixth top-four outdoor finish in the last eight years for the Truman men.

The 'Dogs finished the meet with 104 points, a tally that was just 10 points behind second place Pittsburg State (Kan.). Central Missouri State scored 146.5 points for the win, followed by PSU (114 points) and Northwest Missouri State (113). Host Emporia State was fifth with 97 points.

Senior Andy Doering (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North) got Truman started on the right foot on Saturday as he claimed the 'Dogs first conference title of the meet in the 10,000-meter run. Doering finished in 31:22.11 for his first MIAA track & field individual title. He won the 2001 conference cross country individual championship. Doering also captured runner-up honors this year in the 5,000-meter run.

Junior Brian McQueary (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) won the first of four Truman crowns on Sunday as he finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:21.31, outdueling Missouri Southern's Magnus Holmstrom. The 'Dogs had five runners in the top seven of that event, with Pat Boyle (St. Charles, Mo.) third, Dan Boyle (St. Charles, Mo.) fourth and freshmen Ryan French (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Marr Marion) and Andy Person (Wildwood, Mo./Ladue) fifth and seventh, respectively.

Junior Matt Helbig (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) improved on his runner-up finish in the 1,500 meters last year by earning his first outdoor conference title with a time of 3:55.58.

Sophomore Brian Dzingai (Harare, Zimbabwe/St. George's) wrapped up the Bulldogs' first-place finishes as he repeated as conference champ in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. In the 100, Dzingai finished the final in 10.32 seconds, but that time can't be counted toward NCAA Division II Championships qualification, due to a wind reading above the maximum allowable amount. His time of 10.46 seconds in Saturday's preliminary is, however, an improvement on his NCAA DII provisional.. Dzingai also posted a drastic improvement on his 200-meter provisional with a time of 20.70 seconds in the preliminary round. Last year, Dzingai took the MIAA meet by storm, smashing league records in the 100 and 200. He now has won six straight conference titles, counting both indoors and outdoors. Dzingai was league indoor champ this year in the 60- and 200-meter dashes.

Senior Dave Mayhew (Prior Lake, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) joined the ranks of Bulldogs with NCAA provisional marks as he charted a third-place time of 14.66 seconds in final of the 110-meter hurdles. Mayhew was also third in the 400-meter hurdles.

Up next, the Bulldog men will head to Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday (May 11) for the Billy Hays Invitational, hosted by Indiana University. That's Truman's last scheduled meet before the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships, May 23-25 in San Angelo, Texas.

MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
May 4-5, 2002 (Emporia, Kan.)

FINAL MEN'S TEAM SCORING
1. Central Missouri State	146.5
2. Pittsburg State (Kan.)	114
3. Northwest Missouri State	113
4. Truman State Univ.	104
5. Emporia State (Kan.)	97
6. Missouri Southern	68
7. Missouri-Rolla	7.5
8. Southwest Baptist	1

100-meter dash	1st, Brian Dzingai, 10.32 (10.46 pre)
  Prelims	16th, Alfonso Pugh, 11.15
200-meter dash	1st, Brian Dzingai, 20.99 (20.70 pre)
	8th, Walt Washington, 22.58 (21.80 pre)
400-meter dash	4th, Walt Washington, 48.58 (49.22 pre)
  Prelims	15th, Matt Groeper, 51.62
800-meter run
  Prelims	13th, Danny McLaughlin, 1:56.88
1500-meter run	1st, Matt Helbig, 3:55.58
	12th, Matt Judson, 4:07.28
	14th, Nick Blackburn, 4:11.76
5000-meter run	2nd, Andy Doering, 15:30.40
	15th, Matt Helbig, 16:36.82
	23rd, Brian McQueary, 17:28.66
10,000-meter run	1st, Andy Doering, 31:22.11
	6th, Brad Peter, 32:17.38
	11th, Mark DeBold, 33:23.34
	15th, Scott Downard, 34:02.41
	18th, Chris Elledge, 34:39.06
110-meter hurdles	3rd, Dave Mayhew, 14.66 (14.73 pre)
	5th, Jake Kingery, 15.24 (15.07 pre)
400-meter hurdles	3rd, Dave Mayhew, 54.74 (1:00.18 pre)
3000-meter 	1st, Brian McQueary, 9:21.31
steeplechase	3rd, Pat Boyle, 9:32.85
	4th, Dan Boyle, 9:38.13
	5th, Ryan French, 9:42.11
	7th, Andy Person, 9:43.69
4x100-meter relay	4th, Mayhew, Pugh, Washington, Dzingai, 41.97
4x400-meter relay	3rd, Kingery, Dzingai, Mayhew, Washington, 3:15.67
High Jump	T7th, Jake Kingery, 6'-4.75"
Pole Vault	11th, Phil Andreas, 12'-10"
Long Jump	6th, Alfonso Pugh, 23'-6"
Decathlon (Apr. 28-29)	4th, Jake Kingery, 6824 points
	7th, Matt Groeper, 4,702 points

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