Miners to send trio to Boston for NCAA-II Championships

Lucas Handley

The University of Missouri-Rolla will have three representatives at next week's NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, as the national fields were released by the NCAA.

Tyrone Smith, who finished fourth in the indoor long jump last season and second in the nation during the outdoor season, will have a return appearance in the event which will take place Friday, March 9 at 6:45 p.m. Smith made the automatic standard in the event with a leap of 25-2 3/4 at the University of Arkansas on Jan. 19.

Smith won the Great Lakes Valley Conference title in the long jump over the weekend and comes into the national meet seeded third behind Morehouse's Randall Flimmons, who has the nation's best mark of 25-6 1/4, and defending champion Wilbert Walker of Lincoln whose best mark this season has been 25-5 1/4.

The Miners' other two competitors at the national meet will be in the pole vault, where Lucas Handley and Jordan Henry will be part of the 13-member field that will compete Saturday, March 10 at 2:15 p.m.

Handley competed at last year's indoor meet and then took sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, comes into the meet fresh off tying the UMR school record in the pole vault of 16-5 1/2 as part of a second place finish at the GLVC Championships over the weekend.

Henry, who competed at the outdoor nationals last year as a freshman, took third at the conference meet with his best mark of the season of 16-1 1/2.

Kyle Dennis of Abilene Christian has the best mark of the 2007 indoor season in the pole vault of 17-0 3/4.