Myer happy to be back in action with Indians

There's probably nobody more excited that Southeast Missouri State University's indoor track and field season is finally under way than senior weight thrower Brandon Myer.

Myer, a veritable gentle giant at 6-feet-10 and 315 pounds, is elated to finally be back in action after a year spent basically watching from the sidelines.

"I'm fired up that the season is going again," he said Thursday.

Myer will compete along with his teammates at the Southern Illinois Invitational today and Saturday that gets Southeast's indoor season in full swing. There were two meets in early December, but now there will be meets almost every week through the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in March.

Myer was redshirted last year, which allowed him to work out with the team but prevented him from participating in meets, although he could enter a few competitions as an unattached athlete.

"I was tough," Myer said. "I think anybody that redshirts has a pretty tough time, when you're used to competing and then you're sitting around."

Myer says last year will benefit him, which was the idea when Southeast head coach Joey Haines and throws coach Eric Crumpecker suggested Myer redshirt in order to preserve his final season of eligibility.

"We just wanted to give Brandon another year to mature. We thought this could be a really big year for him," Haines said. "And he was on a five-year schedule for graduation anyway."

Said Myer, "I had a lot of technical things I needed to work on, and I think all in all the redshirt year helped me in that way."

Now Myer is ready to pick up where he left off when he last officially competed in meets during the 2001 season. That year, he won the OVC outdoor shot put title and finished second in the OVC indoor.

As a sophomore, Myer also won the OVC outdoor shot put while finishing second in the indoor shot put as well as the discus, which is held only outdoors. As a freshman, Myer placed second in the OVC discus and finished third in three events: the outdoor and indoor shot and the javelin, which is held only outdoors.

"Brandon has already had a good career here, but we think this could really be a big year for him, especially in the discus," Crumpecker said.

Myer ranks second on Southeast's all-time discus list with a junior-season throw of 181 feet 9 1/2 inches that narrowly missed qualifying him for the national meet.

Recruiting process

The recruitment of Myer, who is from Broken Bow, Neb., contains interesting tidbits: He was originally discovered through the Internet.

"We were looking for shot putters who threw from 55 to 60 feet and we found his name from the Nebraska state meet results on a Web site," Haines said. "We called his high school and told his coach we had a full scholarship if he was interested.

"The principal called Eric back and asked if we knew how big Brandon was. Eric said no, but the coach told us he's big. Then we found out he's 6-10 and about 300."

Myer, whose easy-going, contemplative nature seem to contradict his massive, intimidating frame, laughed when told that story.

"I was actually kind of skinny for a while in high school, but I started lifting and the weight came on pretty quick," he said.

It didn't hurt Myer's development that he has an incredible appetite, something that quickly became legendary among his teammates.

"I can definitely eat," he said, smiling. "Three years ago, at the conference meet, I decided to show them. We went to McDonald's and I ate five Extra Value Meals in about 30 minutes. They were impressed."

Also a football star

Myer was also a football standout in high school as a two-way tackle, and he said he had early recruiting interest in that sport from the University of Nebraska. But he doesn't regret coming to Southeast.

"Coach Eric and coach Haines, they're good coaches and this is a good university," Myer said. "I'm a small-town guy, and I liked the smaller town and smaller school. Life brought me down this road, and I have no regrets."

Especially since he met his fiancé at Southeast. Myer plans to be married in June 2004.

"That makes coming here even better," Myer said. "She's turned my life around. I wasn't so good in the classroom, but I've maintained a 3.25 GPA since I met her."

Myer, part of a strong Southeast throws group that includes four-time OVC champion Jay Heddell and others, is considering becoming a high-school track coach.

"I enjoy kids, and I'd like to help them out, he said.

In the meantime, he's glad to be back in competition and looking forward to helping the team perform well while also finishing his college career in style.

"My goal is to qualify for nationals and make a qualifying throw for the Olympic Trials," Myer said.

mmishow@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 132