Dozen Ravens to participate in NJCAA outdoor national track meet

Twelve Red Raven athletes will represent Coffeyville Community College in the NJCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships this coming weekend.  The track meet, hosted this year by South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, will begin on Thursday and conclude on Saturday.

Headlining the Raven contingent is Rashad Cannon, a freshman from Arlington, Virginia.  Cannon will compete in the long jump.  Cannon finished second in the long jump at the indoor national meet and was named to the All-American team in the event.

During the outdoor season, Cannon placed second in the long jump at the KU Relays and third at the Region 6 track meet.  His best outdoor jump of the season was at the KU Relays, 24' 8.25".  For the past month, Cannon has battled some minor injuries and enters the national meet ranked fourth in the nation.
 

Red Raven national track meet qualifiers include, front row (L to R): Seth Freeman, Brandy Simpson, Tarayla Merriweather, Septembra Teuscher, Dravis Lawson, and Rashad Cannon.  Back Row (L to R): Chris Gravley, Rob Gault, Ramon Harris, Trentell Bottley, Dustin Schull, and Isaiah Sack.

"He's really clutch, a big meet guy," said CCC head track coach Craig Perry.  "If he gets untracked, he could win it."

Cannon will also run a leg on the Ravens' 4 x 100 meter relay team.  In addition to Cannon, other runners on the 4 x 100 meter relay team include Dravis Lawson, Trentell Bottley, and Ramon Harris.  The 4 x 100 meter relay team finished fifth in the region meet with a time of 44.02 seconds.

Another name to keep a close watch on is Septembra Teuscher, a Paola, Kansas, freshman on the women's team.  Teuscher won the women's Region 6 javelin title at the region track meet held May 3-5 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Coffeyville. 

Teushcer is currently ranked second in the nation in the javelin.  Teuscher recorded a best throw of 123' 11.75" at the region meet.  In practice, she has been throwing 130', about four feet behind the number one ranked athlete in the event.

"Anything can happen in the javelin," said Perry.  Wind and the Texas panhandle altitude should make for an interesting javelin competition.

Brandy Simpson, a freshman from Zanesville, Ohio, will compete in the heptathlon.  Simpson was second in the heptathlon at the region meet and comes into the national meet ranked ninth in the nation.  The top eight placers at the national meet will earn All-American status.

"If she can run the 800 meters in 2:40, she will score over 4,000 points and should make All-American," said CCC head track coach Craig Perry.  Simpson's best time this season has been 3:00 in the 800 meters.  "She's capable of running 2:40, though," said Perry.

Tarayla Merriweather, a freshman from Radcliff, Kentucky, will compete in the women's triple jump.  Merriweather placed seventh in the triple jump at the region meet with a best effort of 33' 11".

The Ravens will also take the men's 4 x 800 meter relay team to the national meet on a white card.  Each team can use a white card at the national meet to enter an individual or a group in a team event without meeting a qualifying standard.

The Ravens' 4 x 800 meter relay team is comprised on Chris Gravley, Isaiah Sack, Rob Gault, and Seth Freeman. 

One Raven athlete will not compete despite making a qualifying standard for the national meet during the regular season.  Demica Robinson, a freshman from Little Rock, Arkansas, qualified in the women's 400 meter run, but will not compete due to injury.

The women's 4 x 100 meter relay team also qualified, but will not run at the national meet due to Robinson's injury and a second injured athlete, Gabby Mask, a freshman from Sherwood, Arkansas.

Following the 2008 national meet in Levelland, Texas, the event will move back to Kansas for the 2009-2011 seasons.  Hutchinson, Kansas, has a three year commitment for the national meet beginning in 2009.  The meet was hosted in Coffeyville in 2006 and 2007.