Redhawks' Berry jumps to the front

Joey Haines wishes he could take credit for standout long-jumper John Berry being at Southeast Missouri State.

But the Redhawks' longtime track and field coach can't.

"I can't take any credit for him being here. He was forced on me," a laughing Haines said Friday night as Southeast hosted its annual Redhawk Invitational.

Berry, a junior who won the long jump in the three-team meet at the Student Recreation Center -- no team scores were kept -- certainly took an unusual path to becoming a star NCAA Division I athlete.

As a senior at Parkway South High School in suburban St. Louis, Berry finished fourth in the Class 4 state meet with an unspectacular jump of 21 feet. 7 1/4 inch.

No Division I programs were beating down doors to recruit Berry, including Southeast.

But one day, Haines received a phone call that would help plot the direction of Berry's college future.

"I got a call from the [Southeast] president's office saying that one of the board of regents has a friend whose son wanted to walk-on to our program," Haines recalled. "'You will let him walk on, right?'"

Added Haines: "Sometimes there's a walk-on that you pursue. We've had a lot of those. This one, we didn't at all. We just got lucky. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good."

The former walk-on -- Berry has been on scholarship for a while -- has blossomed into one of the nation's better long-jumpers.

Berry entered the week with the 22nd-best long jump in Division I, a distance of 24-7 3/4, but he bettered that Friday with a career-best 24-10 1/2 that should place him in the top 20.

Berry has provisionally qualified for next month's NCAA indoor meet, but he might need to jump a bit further to ensure himself a berth.

"John has just worked so hard, to come from where he was in high school, a 21-foot jumper, to national caliber," Haines said. "You can usually get 22-foot long-jumpers to walk on.

"We would literally not have taken him if I wouldn't have gotten that call. It's just a really neat story, and it just shows a lot of determination and perseverance on his part."

Berry has heard the story about what opened the door for his athletic career at Southeast. Like Haines, he finds it amusing.

"I really wasn't anything special in high school. I don't blame them for not really wanting me," Berry said. "I came up here trying to prove something."

Berry said he was skinny and not very strong in high school. He has since filled out.

"I've gotten a lot bigger and stronger," he said.

Haines credits assistant coach Chad Williams, who works with Southeast's jumpers, for helping bring out the best in Berry.

Williams, like Haines, credits Berry's work ethic for much of his success.

"He's improved more than three feet since high school. He's just really worked hard at it," Williams said.

Berry has improved steadily since he arrived at Southeast.

As a freshman, Berry placed fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference indoor long jump and fourth outdoors. Last year, he was fourth indoors and third outdoors.

Berry qualified for the NCAA outdoor regionals as a sophomore.

This year, Berry has much bigger goals. First is an OVC title next weekend at the conference indoor meet in Charleston, Ill.

"That's probably my main goal right now, to win the OVC for the first time," he said.

After that, it's to qualify for nationals. Williams believes Berry might still have to break 25 feet to assure himself of a berth, but Berry and his coaches believe that's right around the corner.

"I wanted 25 tonight, but I'll get it next week at conference," he said. "I know I'll probably need 25-something to make it to nationals, but I'm confident I can get it."

And this time, no phone call will be necessary.

Event winners

In addition to Berry's long-jump title, Southeast won five other events in the meet that included athletes from Murray State and Memphis.

Southeast captured four events on the men's side, including a pole-vault title by freshman Lance Altenthal from Cape Girardeau Central High School. He cleared 14-5 1/4.

"He's been doing well for us this year," Haines said.

Freshman T.J. Walls, who is on a football scholarship at Southeast -- he redshirted this past season -- won the 55-meter dash in a time of 6.47 seconds.

"It's tough to do two sports, but he's got a lot of potential," Haines said.

Other winners for the Southeast men were junior Tom Kinder in the 800 (2:02.9) and freshman Dustin Davis in the 3,000 (9:32.1).

On the women's side, the Southeast champion was sophomore Whitney Thomas in the 55 hurdles (8.42).

Southeast athletes used Friday's competition as a tuneup for the OVC meet.

"We held out a lot of people, but the ones that did compete did well," Haines said.

Other Southeast results

Men

Weight throw -- 2. Brandon Colbert, 54-8 1/4; 3. Andy Croxford, 53-5 3/4; 5. Andy Glass, 49-1/4.

High jump -- 2. Ryan Doty, 6-2

Long jump -- 3. Anthony Harris, 23-1; 4. Antione Smith, 21-6; 5. Brandon Simpson, 21-5 1/2.

Shot put -- 2. Colbert, 54-3 1/4; 5. Bill Nekula, 52-10 1/4.

Triple jump -- 2. Harris, 45-7.

55 -- 2. Simpson, 6.56; 3. Smith, 6.69.

800 -- 3. Kyle LeMarbe, 2:09.1

Women

Pole vault -- 4. Audrey Harwood, 10-11 3/4.

Weight throw -- 5. Ashley Brewer, 52-3 3/4.

High jump -- 2. Funtasia Clark, 5-4 1/4.

Long jump -- 2. Deerra Williams, 16-8; 3. Lindsay Hearne, 16-5.

Shot put -- 5. Brewer, 43-10 1/2.

Triple jump -- 3. Heather West, 37-1; 4. Clark, 35-10.

55 -- 3. Precious Elliott, 7.3.