Track Team season opens

Experienced group to lead Tiger men’s track team

Having won each of the past three indoor and outdoor conference title, the Cowley College men’s track team has high expectations heading into the 2010 season.

The Tigers also have a little extra motivation after placing an un-Cowley like 21st at the outdoor national championships.

“It was hard to finish the way we did, but when you are relying on so many freshman sometimes the year gets too long,” Cowley head coach Mark Phillips said. “Now those freshmen are back as sophomores with a year of experience and they know what it takes to be successful.”

Cowley returns 18 athletes from last year’s team, which placed ninth at last year’s national indoor, to go along with 19 freshman. The squad will get its first competition of the year when they take part in the University of Nebraska Holiday Inn Invite Friday and Saturday in Lincoln, NE.

“The sophomores understand every time you get a chance to compete at a great facility you have an opportunity to hit a national qualifying mark,” Phillips said. “I’m anxious to see what the freshmen will do. We are ready to get going and see where we are at.”
The sophomores have entered this season on a mission to improve on last season’s finish.

“They have worked as hard and as consistent as any group I have had here,” Phillips said. “Those guys learned a lot last year and have come back and worked their tails off.”

The team will be strong in the distance events with the return of Dustin Mettler, the indoor conference and region champion in the 5,000-meter run, and Phillip Banowetz, a national qualifier in the 10,000-meter run.

Mac Griffith is the defending conference champion in the decathlon, while Jory Custer will have a chance to break the school-record in the 800-meter run.

“Custar had an incredible freshman year and he will wipe that off the board,” Phillips said. “He has brought a great attitude to the team and is what you would want your son to be like.”

Along with Custer, sophomores T.J. Mapp and David Phillips made up three fourths of the Tigers’ school-record 4x800-meter relay team, which was the conference champion and national runner-up during last year’s indoor season.

The team will once again be strong in the sprint relays and will make up for the loss of Rolando Vasquez with some talented freshmen. Phillips believes he has three or four athletes to choose from to help make up for the loss of Vasquez.

“We have got several freshmen that have come in and taken to what we are doing,” Phillips said.

Phillips expects big things from freshmen Charles James, Brandon Sparks, Dylan Filburn, Dane Dewitt, Thomas Kjerengtroen, and Adrian Porter.

The team has added a big group of throwers and have some strong athletes in the sand jumps. Ray Quill, the school record holder in the long jump (24-3) and high jump (6-8) returns, while Adrian Porter, Vondrell Harris and Tobiah Rocker will add depth in the sand jumps.

“Those guys ought to knock down a lot of school records in the sand,” Phillips said. “Ray had a great fall and will do real damage in the long jump and hurdles.”

Kale Hamm also returns and shares the indoor school-record of 6-8 in the high jump with Ray Quill. While, Brice Irving, who qualified for nationals in four events as a freshman, is coming off a strong cross country season Neosho County should be the Tigers’ stiffest competition in the conference, while Barton County, Butler, and Cloud County will be among the teams Cowley will be going head to head against for the region title.

“We think we are quite a bit better than last year,” Phillips said. “I think region is wide open and we are one of the teams that can take it.