The Gateway to Sacramento:
The Majors From "Mid-Majors"

This feature is the third of a seven-part series highlighting the athletes, coaches, and teams that will attend the NCAA Mideast Track & Field Regional Championships on May 25 and 26, held at Audrey J. Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo.

Sure, the Mideast Region houses some of the largest powers of collegiate track and field in LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, and many others, but it also holds some of the best stars from smaller schools than any other region in the nation. This week we take a look at what is coming to Columbia and their possible impact on the collegiate and World scale.

By Zach Burrus
Missouri Media Relations Student Assistant

As has been witnessed with NCAA basketball over the past several years, mid-major teams are increasingly on the rise in college athletics. Track & field has proven no exception to this trend. There are a number of heavy hitters--or rather, runners, jumpers, and throwers--from mid-major conferences that will travel to Columbia, Mo., to participate in the NCAA Track & Field Mideast Regional meet May 25-26.

On the men's side, one of the strongest competitors in the field is South Alabama's Vincent Rono. The Jaguar star is the defending national and regional champion at 1500 meters. He currently sits in fourth nationally in this race and is, so far, seeded first in this year's regional. However, while Rono is the only runner in the regional field to achieve a 3:41 time in the 1500 this season, he will face stiff competition from the Big Ten Conference at this distance. Michigan's Lex Williams and Wisconsin's Craig Miller will surely be among the strong challengers.

Rono will also be a force in the men's 5000 meter, a race in which he is seeded third heading into the regional with a time of 13:49.31. Those seeded ahead of him include Wisconsin's impressive Chris Solinsky and Notre Dame's Patrick Smyth. Rono is currently ranked 16th nationally in the 5000 meter, and it will be interesting if Rono will pull double-duty for the meet.

Eastern Michigan's Corey Nowitzke is another mid-major star to take note of during this year's Mideast Regional meet. The freshman phenom sits atop the national leader board in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:35.10. Nowitzke's time is more than ten seconds better than that of Ole Miss sophomore Barnabas Kirui, who is seeded second in the regional meet. Eastern Michigan teammate and fellow freshman, David Brent, is currently seeded 5th in the event.

Nowitzke has also qualified in the men's 1500-meter run as well. He is seeded 16th in the event with a time of 3:46.12. The only mid-major competitor seeded ahead of Nowitzke in the race is top seeded Vincent Rono of South Alabama.

Another individual sure to impress at the regional meet will be McNeese State senior stand-out Brad Gebauer, who took home an indoor national championship in the pole vault earlier this year with a vault of 18 feet, 4½ inches (5.60m). Gebauer's national-leading outdoor best of 18-1 (5.51m) puts him more than eight inches above second-seeded Michael Hogue of Tennessee in the regional seedings.

Also impressive in the field is Troy sophomore long jumper, O'Darien Bassett. The Trojan star leads the nation in the event with a season best jump of 25-10¼ (7.88m). However, the No. 1-seeded Bassett will have to bring his best to Columbia both days of the meet to remain ahead of Louisville sophomores, Tone Belt and Andre Black, who are seeded directly behind Bassett and currently reside in the number three and four positions, respectively, in the national long jump rankings.

Northwestern State's Cody Fillinich is the top seed in the men's javelin throw with a regional best mark of 237-2 (72.28m), which is good enough for third in the national rankings. Nevertheless, just like fellow mid-major star, O'Darien Bassett, Fillinich will need to arrive in Columbia with his best. Although he is the only regional competitor whose javelin has traveled past the 72-meter mark this season, the three men sitting behind him in the regional seedings have each thrown at least 233 feet, just five feet behind. What's more, they currently hold the fourth through sixth spots in the national rankings behind Fillinich.

There is certainly no shortage of mid-major leaders on the women's side either. Without a doubt, among the top competitors on the women's side is Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois, who is the reigning world- and NCAA-record holder in the weight throw after shattering both records at this year's NCAA Track & Field Indoor Championships. The senior Saluki is the regional defending hammer throw champion and has earned, so far, another top seed in this year's event. Her season best throw of 237-10 (72.51m) meters places her second nationally and is 20 inches behind national front-runner Jenny Dahlgren of Georgia. Riley's impressive toss also gives her more than a 16-foot edge on the rest of the national competition.

Riley will also take part in the women's discus throw during this year's regional meet. She is seeded a close second to Purdue junior Astin Steward in the event. Fellow mid-major discus thrower, Amber Curtis of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has been seeded fourth heading into the meet.

Middle-distance runner and hurdler Ajoke Odumosu of South Alabama is another mid-major stand-out among this year's talented crop of athletes. Odumosu, a senior on the Jaguar squad, stands alone at the top of the seedings in the women's 400 meter dash with a time of 50.46. The senior posted her time, the fastest in the world so far this year, at the South Alabama Invitational on April 14. The next-fastest seed time is nearly two seconds behind Odumosu's time. South Alabama freshman Clarisse Moh is seeded fourth in race with a time of 52.58 seconds.

Odumosu also owns the world's fastest time this year in the 400 meter hurdles. Her time of 55.37 seconds, ran at the 98th Drake Relays at the end of April, places her in the top spot in the Mideast Regional. Her edge on the second seed holder, while more narrow than in the 400 meter dash, still puts her a half second in front of the competition. Fellow mid-major senior hurdler, Miriam Barnes of Louisiana Tech, is seeded fifth in the event with a time of 58.86 seconds.

If the aforementioned athletes are any indication, the mid-majors will have a strong presence at this year's Mideast Regional in Columbia. There are a number of tremendous athletes from the mid-major schools participating in the meet that undoubtedly qualify as "majors in mid-majors." The athletes featured here only serve as a small sample.

Given their recent successes in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, people have increasingly begun to associate mid-majors with college basketball. However, there is no question that the caliber of mid-major athletes in the sport of track and field is just as high. Mid-majors in college basketball have fared well as of late, but have yet to clinch the ultimate prize of an NCAA championship. These majors in mid-majors, however, have a great shot to go all the way this year.