Southeast's track team finishes indoor season with pride

The indoor season for Southeast Missouri State's track and field team is finished now and Southeast's team is now prepping for the outdoor season.

The last meet of the season was the Ohio Valley Conference meet held at Eastern Illinois on Feb. 25. The team won and placed in many events despite the injuries of some of the athletes.

Junior distance runner Sydney O'Brien now holds the indoor record for the 5,000-meter race. She clocked in at 17:05.21 and she also placed top 10 in the 3,000-meter race.

Along with O'Brien, sophomore distance runner Kaitlyn Shea was not too far behind in the 5,000-meter, with her also placing eighth for the race.

Then followed sophomore sprinter Miya Dorsey, who placed in the top eight for the 400-meter race.

"Kaitlyn Shea, Sydney O'Brien and Miya Dorsey were probably our top three competitors at the OVC meet," cross country coach Ryan Lane said.

Although the women have seen some success, there have still been several team members missing. Senior thrower Kayla Gutierrez, senior mid-distance runner Megan Parks and junior pole vaulter Sierra Maddox are all expected to return for the outdoor season.

Southeast's men's team also had notable highlights for the final indoor meet. Sophomore pole vaulter Dylan Rush, junior sprinter Jarred Pasley, junior sprinter Jordan Barber, sophomore sprinter Brennan Wright and freshman multi-event athlete Nick South all placed in their events.

As a freshman, South placed in the top five in the pole vault. Southeast also had three other athletes in the top five for pole vault, junior pole vaulter Tyler Jourdan, including sophomore Dylan Rush and sophomore pole vaulter Tanner Teigen.

While placing in the pole vault, South also was able to win the heptathlon and place in the 60-meter hurdles.

The pole vault was not the only event to have multiple people from Southeast in the top five. Pasley, Barber and Wright place all placed in the 400-meter race. Then they went on to win the 4x400-meter relay.

"We are doing a lot of great base and footwork to prepare for our first meet of the outdoor season," Lane said.

The outdoor season is expected to be a huge step for Southeast's team, and with select athletes coming back and some still undecided, they could be seeing some big changes. The first meet of the outdoor season is the Rhodes Invitational on March 17 in Memphis, Tenn.