The Miners' top finisher at the meet was freshman Jason Barry, who came in 100th place in the 294-runner race in a time of 25:41 over eight kilometers.  S&T's next finisher was Chris Thielker with a time of 26:04, followed by Kurt Schauwecker in 26:21.

Thomas Green, who covered the course in 26:26, and Daniel Forbes, who had a time of 26:36, rounded out the top five for the Miners.

Colleen Conrad finished in 100th place overall in the 265-runner women's race to head the Lady Miner contingent.  Conrad had a time of 19:08 over five kilometers and was followed by Teresa Conley in 20:52 and Rebecca McNally in 21:23.

S&T's top five was completed by Paige Kruse, who had a mark of 21:50 and Kassie Osborne, who recorded a time of 22:18.

Missouri S&T will compete next Saturday at the Border States Invitational, which will be hosted by Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The Lady Miners, meanwhile, came in 23rd place out of the 34 teams and had a solid finish from freshman Colleen Conrad in the 278-runner race.

In the men's race, Grant Brown was the top finisher for the Miners as he came in 22nd place with a time of 26:13 over eight kilometers.  Jason Barry was 26th overall in 26:22 and Kurt Schauwecker finished in 36th place in 26:39.

S&T's top five was rounded out by Chris Thielker in 51st place with a time of 27:08 and Daniel Forbes in 71st in 27:35.

As a team, the men finished in eighth place out of the 25 teams entered; a total of 270 runners took part in the race.

In the women's race, Conrad covered the five-kilometer course in 19:06 which was the 20th-best mark among the NCAA Division II runners in the race.  She was followed by Teresa Conley with a time of 20:24, Kassie Osborne in 21:03, Rebecca McNally in 21:11 and Katie Bruce in a time of 21:47.

The men's team will return to competition next Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota, while the Lady Miners will be idle next week before returning to the course Oct. 4 at the Greater Louisville Classic.

The Miners, who were idle from competition last weekend, are one of five teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in this week's listing.  Drury is the top-ranked team in that group in second behind Grand Valley State.

The other teams in the rankings are Southern Indiana (third), Northern Kentucky (fifth) and Bellarmine (seventh).

Missouri S&T will compete Saturday at the Southern Stampede at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.

Midwest Regional Rankings
1. Grand Valley State
2. Drury
3. Southern Indiana
4. Ashland
5. Northern Kentucky
6. Hillsdale
7. Bellarmine
8. Missouri S&T
9. Tiffin
10. Saginaw Valley State

The Miners, who have competed in meets at Washington University and at home this season, are one of five teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in this week's listing.  Drury, who won the team competition at the Miner Invitational last week, is ranked second behind regional leader Grand Valley State.

The other teams in the rankings are Southern Indiana (third), Northern Kentucky (fifth) and Bellarmine (sixth).

Missouri S&T is idle from competition this weekend and will return to the course next Saturday when it competes at the Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo.

Midwest Regional Rankings
1. Grand Valley State
2. Drury
3. Southern Indiana
4. Ashland
5. Northern Kentucky
6. Bellarmine
7. Saginaw Valley State
8. Missouri S&T
9. Tiffin
10. Michigan Tech

The Miner cross country team finished third in the overall standings Saturday morning at the 30th annual Miner Invitational at the Missouri S&T Golf Course, getting top 10 finishes from two of its runners in the process.

Freshman Jason Barry came in fourth place in the six-kilometer event as he posted a time of 19 minutes. He was joined in the top 10 by sophomore Grant Brown, the seventh place finisher with a time of 19:05.

S&T also got a 16th place showing in the 89-runner race from Kurt Schauwecker in 19:30 and a 18th place effort from Thomas Green in 19:35. The Miners had one other top 20 finisher in Chris Thielker, who finished in the 20th spot in 19:40 to round out the top five.

Drury defended its team title as five of its runners finished among the top 10 overall, headed by Jaime Villa Zapatero who won the meet in a time of 18:39. Two-time defending champion Joffroi Holcombe, who was running Saturday for the Miners' alumni team, finished second in the race in 18:44 and Drury's Geoff Hughes took third in 18:57, three seconds ahead of Barry.

The Miners' next competition will take place Sept. 20 at Missouri Southern.

Complete men's results

Grant Brown paced the Miners in the six-kilometer race by finishing in 16th place in a time of 19:48. Freshman Jason Barry came in 20th place overall in 19:52, while Daniel Forbes finished 27th in 20:10.

Allen Ernst and Kurt Schauwecker rounded out the top five for the Miners, with Ernst running a time of 20:22 to finish 32nd and Schauwecker a time of 20:30 as he came in 34th.

S&T’s women were led by freshman Colleen Conrad, who came in 28th place with a time of 15:46 over four kilometers. Teresa Conley was second among the Lady Miners in 45th place in 16:55, one spot ahead of Cassie Osborne who crossed the finish line a second behind her.

Paige Kruse was 57th in the race in 17:33 and Rebecca McNally completed S&T’s top five with a mark of 17:34.

Marquette won both team titles in Saturday’s event.

The Miners and Lady Miners return to action next Saturday when they host the 30th annual Miner Invitational at the Missouri S&T Golf Course.

Complete men's results
Complete women's results

The Miners and Lady Miner harriers open their season this weekend by taking part in the Big River Classic at Washington University in St. Louis, then host the first of two home meets a week later with the 30th annual Miner Invitational.

It’s the second home meet of the year – the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships – that the teams have their eyes on as they will have a chance to compete for a conference title on their home turf.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to host the conference meet this season,” said head coach Sterling Martin. “We’re in a league with a lot of quality programs, but we hope that over the course of the year we can put ourselves in a position to compete for the championship.”

The Miners’ top returning runner is senior Chris Murray (Wilmington, Mass.), who placed 12th at the GLVC Championships last season. Kurt Schauwecker (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) finished 17th at the conference meet and also figures to be a key contributor in the season to come and Brendan Smith (Chelsea, Mich.) was 21st in his freshman season with the Miners.

The Miners, who were ranked sixth in the region in the inaugural rankings of the season, also have a number of other veteran runners in seniors Thomas Green (Camdenton, Mo.) and Chris Thielker (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood West), as well as sophomores Grant Brown (Lee’s Summit, Mo./Lone Jack), Brandon Etzold (Jackson, Mo./Saxony Lutheran) and Daniel Forbes (Potosi, Mo.).

Etzold is coming off an impressive freshman year in track for the Miners, where he was the outdoor 800-meter champion and named as the GLVC’s “Freshman of the Year.”

Among the freshmen, the Miners have several impressive newcomers who could work their way into the mix, including Jason Barry (Osage Beach, Mo.) and Eric Fairbairn (Edmond, Okla./Deer Creek), who had second place finishes in their respective state meet last fall; Joe Skelton (Potosi, Mo.), who placed third at the Missouri Class 3 state meet a year ago; George Thomas (Marshfield, Mo.), the Missouri Class 3 ninth place finisher.

“I’m pleased with where we are right now,” Martin said. “We were very lucky to get this freshman class to add to the group we brought in last season. The future really looks bright for us, but our focus is on this year. We need to learn how to win and have to start that process now.”

On the women’s side, the Lady Miners will field a seven-member squad this fall that will include four sophomores and three freshmen.

Three of the sophomores return from last season, with the top returning finisher from the conference meet being Rebecca McNally (Jefferson City, Mo./Blair Oaks). Samantha Schussele (Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission North) and Teresa Conley (Hazelwood, Mo./Hazelwood West) are also back in the fold, while Katie Bruce (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West), one of the top sprinters for the track and field team over the last two seasons, will compete this fall in cross country.

This year’s freshman class includes Colleen Conrad (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary), who was ninth in the Ohio Division II state meet last year; Paige Kruse (Cuba, Mo.), who helped lead her team to a district title in 2007; and Kassie Osborne (Evansville, Ind./Central) who was a top runner in her region last season.

“I really like this team,” Martin said. “They’re really young, but have a great attitude and work really hard and well together. We compete in one of the strongest conferences in the nation, but I feel we’re going to be a lot more competitive with this group.”

BEIJING, China -- Former Missouri S&T All-America performer Tyrone Smith narrowly missed earning a berth in the finals of the long jump competition Saturday as he finished in 15th place overall in the qualifying rounds of the event at the XXIX Olympic Games.

Smith had a top mark of 7.91 meters (25-11 1/2) in the qualifying rounds, which fell just three centimeters shy of a spot in the finals that will take place Monday. The top 12 finishers Saturday earned berths to the finals and the 12th place mark of 7.94 meters (26-0 3/4) was recorded by Roman Nototny from the Czech Republic.

Smith opened the competition with a jump of 6.95 meters (22-9 3/4), then improved to 7.63 meters (25-0 1/2) in the second round. His best mark came in the final round of jumps.

The best performance in the qualifying round came from Greece's Louis Tsatoumas of 8.27 meters (27-1 3/4), while Cuba's Ibrahim Camejo was second at 8.23 meters (27-0).

Smith's effort, however, was better than that of all three representatives from the United States. Trevell Quinley had a top mark of 7.87 meters (25-10), Brian Johnson finished at 7.79 meters (25-6 3/4) and Miguel Pate had a best jump of 7.34 meters (24-1).

While at Missouri S&T, Smith earned three All-America awards in the long jump, including national runner-up finishes in the 2006 NCAA Division II Outdoor and 2007 Indoor Championships. He won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championships in both the indoor and outdoor long jump in 2006 and again at the 2007 indoor meet where Smith also repeated as the league's indoor triple jump champion.

Smith's performance at the 2006 GLVC indoor meet earned him the league's "Athlete of the Year" award for the meet after he won the long jump, triple jump and took third in the 55-meter dash.

He is the current school record holder at Missouri S&T in both the indoor and outdoor long jump as well as the outdoor 4x100-meter relay.

Smith was born in Bermuda and moved to the United States at age six, spending most of his youth growing up in North Chicago, Ill.

Long jump results from Beijing

Tyrone Smith performed well on the big stage as a member of the Miner track and field team -- and now he will get the opportunity to compete on the world's largest athletic stage.

After earning three All-America awards and several conference championships during his collegiate career, Smith will now take his show to Beijing, China next month as a member of Bermuda's national team that will compete in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Smith will take part in the long jump event that will start on Saturday, August 16 and conclude with the finals on Monday, August 18. He earned his berth in the Olympics after finishing third in the long jump competition at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Cali, Colombia last week.

Smith's best jump in the competition was 7.80 meters, or 25-7 3/4; he has a top career jump of 8.03 meters, or 26-4 1/4 which is the Bermuda national record.

This year, Smith has several high finishes to his record including victories in the long jump competition at the Brigham Young High Performance meet in May and the Bermuda National Championships last month. He also finished as the runner-up in three meets, including one in Germany in early June four days after posting his personal best at the Venezelia Championships.

While competing at Missouri S&T, Smith earned three All-America awards in the long jump, including national runner-up finishes in the 2006 NCAA Division II Outdoor and 2007 Indoor Championships. He won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championships in both the indoor and outdoor long jump in 2006 and again at the 2007 indoor meet where Smith also repeated as the league's indoor triple jump champion.

Smith's performance at the 2006 GLVC indoor meet earned him the league's "Athlete of the Year" award for the meet after he won the long jump, triple jump and took third in the 55-meter dash.

"I know for a fact that had I not gone to S&T, there is no way that I would be an Olympian now," Smith said. "The track program provided me with the attention that I needed for my talents to grow and the guidance to do it and still be a good student. When I first joined the track program my personal best was a full four and a half feet under the Olympic qualification and what my personal best is today."

He is the current school record holder at Missouri S&T in both the indoor and outdoor long jump as well as the outdoor 4x100-meter relay.

Smith was born in Bermuda and moved to the United States at age six, spending most of his youth growing up in North Chicago, Ill. He is quick to credit the university's coaching staff for helping him develop to the level that he has reached today.

"Looking back at my life now I would have to say that coach (Bryan) Schiding was easily the most influential person in my career and as I look at it now my life as well," Smith said. "Coach (Sterling) Martin made it possible for me to even stay at the university and to grow as an athlete by squeezing every penny he could to assist me with a scholarship. As I head to the Olympics in a few weeks, the one thing that comes to mind every day is where it all started at 21 feet, 10 inches under Coach Schiding."

The selected individuals were Heath Groom, a junior javelin thrower from Overland Park, Kan., and Jordan Henry, a junior pole vaulter from St. Charles, Mo. Groom and Henry were among the 109 men named to the team from the NCAA Division II level this year.

To make the team, a student-athlete must have at least at 3.25 grade point average and have met an NCAA provisional or automatic qualifying standard during the course of the season either in the indoor or outdoor season.

For Henry, this is the latest honor earned after an outstanding junior season for the Miners. He earned two All-America awards in the pole vault, won the conference championship at both the indoor and outdoor league meets and later earned first-team academic all-district honors.

Henry took fourth in the pole vault competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to wrap up a season in which he was the national runner-up in the pole vault during the indoor season and was the Great Lakes Valley Conference champion in both the indoor and outdoor league championships.

In addition, he established new school records in the event with clearances of 17 feet in the outdoor season -- making him the first S&T pole vaulter to ever clear that mark -- and 16-10 3/4 indoors which he cleared to earn his second place finish at the national meet. He has won three All-America awards during his career as a Miner. His efforts landed him the GLVC's "Student-Athlete of the Year" award for men's track and ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors.

Henry is majoring in electrical engineering at Missouri S&T.

Groom, a nuclear engineering major at S&T, was a provisional qualifier in the javelin throw and finished fourth in the event at the Great Lakes Valley Conference outdoor championship. However, an injury suffered during the conference meet prevented Groom from competing at nationals, where two years earlier he earned All-America honors and set the school record in the javelin.

Last week, three members of the women's team -- Taylor Hahn, Tamara McCaskill and Jamie Statler -- were named to the USTFCCCA women's all-academic team for NCAA Division II.

Jordan Henry has added one more honor for the 2007-08 season as he was named today to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team for track and field.

Henry, who was named last week as the "Scholar-Athlete of the Year" in men's track and field by the Great Lakes Valley Conference, was selected to the second team on the Academic All-America squad. He was one of nine NCAA Division II student-athletes chosen to the three-team squad for the recently completed campaign.

During the year, Henry earned two All-America awards in the pole vault, won the conference championship at both the indoor and outdoor league meets and later earned first-team academic all-district honors.

Henry, a junior from St. Charles, Mo., took fourth in the pole vault competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to wrap up a season in which he was the national runner-up in the pole vault during the indoor season and was the Great Lakes Valley Conference champion in both the indoor and outdoor league championships.

In addition, he established new school records in the event with clearances of 17 feet in the outdoor season -- making him the first S&T pole vaulter to ever clear that mark -- and 16-10 3/4 indoors which he cleared to earn his second place finish at the national meet. He has won three All-America awards during his career as a Miner.

Henry is majoring in electrical engineering at Missouri S&T.

Jordan Henry's list of accomplishments from the 2007-08 season continues to grow as he has been named as the "Scholar-Athlete of the Year" in men's track and field by the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Henry earned the honor after a season where he earned two All-America awards in the pole vault, won the conference championship at both the indoor and outdoor league meets and later earned first-team academic all-district honors; the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team will be announced next week.

Henry, a junior from St. Charles, Mo., took fourth in the pole vault competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to wrap up a season in which he was the national runner-up in the pole vault during the indoor season and was the Great Lakes Valley Conference champion in both the indoor and outdoor league championships.

In addition, he established new school records in the event with clearances of 17 feet in the outdoor season -- making him the first S&T pole vaulter to ever clear that mark -- and 16-10 3/4 indoors which he cleared to earn his second place finish at the national meet. He has won three All-America awards during his career as a Miner.

Henry is majoring in electrical engineering at Missouri S&T. He is the third student-athlete from Missouri S&T to earn the league's scholar-athlete award since the institution joined the conference in 2005, following Becca Kueny (women's track in 2006) and Kandi Wieberg (softball in 2007) as the recipient.

Missouri S&T teams fare well on GLVC All-Academic team

In addition to Henry's scholar-athlete award, the Missouri S&T athletic program was well represented on the GLVC's All-Academic team that was released recently. A total of 110 student-athletes in the S&T program made the team, which is awarded to those with at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average with two semesters at the university or at least a 3.4 average in the last two semesters.

Of the 110 from Missouri S&T, 17 members of the men's track and field team met the criteria for the award, while 16 from the men's soccer team and 15 from the baseball team were honored. S&T also had 12 in women's track and field, 11 in women's soccer, 10 in women's basketball, nine in softball, eight in men's cross country and seven from the volleyball team that made the team, as well as three from the men's basketball team and two from the women's cross country squad.

Only individuals from sports where a conference championship is conducted by the GLVC is eligible for the all-academic team.

A complete list of the 2007-08 recipients can be found by clicking here

Jordan Henry has landed another honor for the 2007-08 season, but this one comes for his work in the classroom along with his accomplishments on the track.

Henry, a junior from St. Charles, Mo., was named Thursday to the ESPN the Magazine academic all-district first team for the recently completed campaign. The selection to the first team makes him eligible for Academic All-America honors which will be announced later this month.

Henry took fourth in the pole vault competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to wrap up a season in which he was the national runner-up in the pole vault during the indoor season and was the Great Lakes Valley Conference champion in both the indoor and outdoor league championships.

In addition, he established new school records in the event with clearances of 17 feet in the outdoor season -- making him the first S&T pole vaulter to ever clear that mark -- and 16-10 3/4 indoors which he cleared to earn his second place finish at the national meet. He has won three All-America awards during his career as a Miner.

Henry is majoring in electrical engineering at Missouri S&T.

Jordan Henry, who was the national runner-up during the indoor season, added a fourth place finish in the event for the outdoor season with a clearance of 16-4 in the finals of the event, while sophomore Peter Hollenbeck ended up in a tie for sixth place by clearing 16-feet.

The finishes among the top eight by Henry and Hollenbeck landed each of them All-America awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Henry cleared the opening height of 16-feet on his second try, then went over at 16-4 on his first effort. However, he was unable to make the clearance at 16-8 as one of the four competitors remaining in the competition at that time.

Hollenbeck also cleared the opening height on his second attempt, but missed all three tries at 16-4, which was just a shade over his personal best mark of 16-3 1/2 that got him into the national meet. The 16-foot clearance landed Hollenbeck in a four-way tie for sixth place.

Grand Valley State's Bryant Wilson took the national championship in the event by clearing 17-feet with fewer misses than Ashand's Dan Tierney, who also hit the 17-foot mark but had four misses to Wilson's three in the competition.

The men's team signed two individuals -- Eric Fairbairn from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla., and Elijah Thomas from Webster Groves High School -- while the women's team also added a trio of newcomers in Paige Kruse from Cuba High School, Colleen Conrad from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio and Sadye Wichmunn from Kirksville High School.

Fairbairn, from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla., competes in cross country and in the middle distance events, where he ran a time of 1:58.25 at this year's Oklahoma Class 5 State Championships in the 800-meters to take second place. During the cross country season, Fairbairn finished seventh at the Class 4 state meet, running a time of 16:59 in the state meet to help lead his team to the championship.

Thomas, from Webster Groves High School in Webster Groves, Mo., is a sprinter and jumper for the Statesmen, has posted a mark of 22-2 in the long jump this season after going 22-6 as a junior. As a junior, he placed seventh in the long jump at the Missouri Class 4 state meet. He also competed in the high jump and cleared six feet in the event during the 2007 season.

Conrad, from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, has been a three-year state qualifier in Ohio, where she finished ninth in the state's Division II cross country meet as a senior with a time of 18:44 over five kilometers. She also holds her school's record in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and has earned Academic All-Ohio honors in the 2007 season.

Kruse, from Cuba High School in Cuba, Mo., is an all-state performer in the high jump and 800-meters, with recent finishes of sixth in both events at the Missouri Class 2 state meet held over the past weekend in Jefferson City. Kruse had a time of 2:23.76 in the 800 and a clearance of 4-10 in the high jump at the state meet. She also competed in cross country and helped lead her team to a district championship in the 2007 season; she would later finish 30th at the state cross country meet.

Wichmann qualified for the Missouri Class 3 state meet in two events after placing second in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump at the sectional meet. She recorded a mark of 35-9 in the triple jump and 16-9 3/4 in the long jump to earn her spot in the state meet. Wichmunn also took third in the district meet in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump. She has been an all-district and all-conference performer in both events throughout her high school career.

The Miners signed three student-athletes earlier this year in Jason Barry from Osage Beach, Joe Skelton from Potosi and George Thomas from Marshfield to national letters of intent, while the Lady Miners had previously signed Kassie Osborne from Evansville, Ind., Central High School.