Berry will join Smith at NCAA meet

The wait is over for Southeast Missouri State senior long jumper John Berry, who late Thursday received the news he was hoping for and expected.

Berry made the cut for next week's NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

The event will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The original list of finalists had 25 athletes not including Berry, but when the final list was prepared late Thursday night, Berry was on it. He enters the meet ranked 20th with a season-best jump of 25 feet 5 1/2 inches.

"We felt confident that John would be added to the field, but you never know for sure until you get the call," Southeast coach Joey Haines said. "Going in ranked 20th, John will have an opportunity to move up. He is ready for a big final meet of his career."

Said Berry: "I expected it, but it was still a relief. I'm excited."

Berry joins Southeast four-time All-American Miles Smith in the NCAA finals.

Smith, a senior, enters the meet ranked 11th in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 45.67 seconds.

Also in the meet will be Scott City High School graduate Loren Groves, who qualified in both the hammer throw and discus as she made the outdoor national cut for the first time.

Groves, a junior at Kansas State, is ranked fifth in the hammer and ninth in the discus.

Groves is a two-time indoor All-American in the weight throw, having placed sixth in the past two indoor national meets.

Gymnastics assistant

Southeast gymnastics coach Tom Farden has announced the hiring of Kristi Ewasko as an assistant for the Redhawks.

Ewasko served as a volunteer assistant at Auburn the past three years.

Ewasko was a four-year gymnast at Auburn who graduated in 2004. She was the No. 1 vault competitor on the perennial top 20 squad and finished her career with the top two vault scores in school history.

MU tickets available

While Southeast's Sept. 6 football game at the University of Missouri is officially a sellout, Southeast has a limited number of tickets for purchase.

For more information, call the Southeast ticket office at 651-2113.