Redhawks edged Eastern Illinois for men's title with win

~ The Redhawks edged Eastern Illinois for the men's championship with an easy win in the final event.

Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Illinois were tied Saturday entering the final event of the Ohio Valley Conference outdoor track and field meet, the 1,600-meter relay.

As far as the Redhawks were concerned, the title was in the bag -- and they were right.

The Redhawks' 1,600 relay squad had by far the best time in the conference this season and that unit rolled to victory, setting off a raucous celebration at the Abe Stuber Complex.

Host Southeast had secured its second consecutive OVC outdoor men's championship in thrilling fashion, slipping past longtime conference power Eastern Illinois.

The Redhawks finished with 209 points and the Panthers had 205. Tennessee State was a distant third in the seven-team field with 129 points.

"It was a lot closer than we wanted, but we knew there was no way they could beat us," said Walter Washington, who led off the title-clinching relay. "A lot of people thought last year was a fluke, but we let them know it wasn't a fluke."

Added Washington, as the celebration among teammates and fans went on around him: "To win this here means a lot. We had our home crowd, so we had to show up."

The Redhawks certainly showed up, as they stunned Eastern Illinois for the second straight season. Last year, Southeast snapped the Panthers' string of eight consecutive OVC outdoor championships.

Eastern Illinois rolled to victory in February to claim its sixth straight OVC indoor title, with Southeast a distant second.

Southeast coach Joey Haines knew the Redhawks would have to do most things right during the two-day meet -- and they apparently did.

"I'm so proud of everybody, all the athletes and coaches," said Haines, who shortly after the meet was named the OVC outdoor coach of the year for both men and women, bringing his total of those awards to 19. "Every point counts, and we stress that. They don't believe it, but a meet like this shows that it's true.

"We had a lot of great performances from people who won events and finished very high, but all the other people who placed in the top eight were also really big because they got us points."

Southeast and Eastern Illinois jockeyed for position virtually all meet, but Haines admitted he wasn't all that optimistic when the Panthers claimed the second, third, fourth and seventh positions in the pole vault, the third-to-last event.

With the Redhawks claiming just fifth place in the pole vault, that meant the Panthers had outscored Southeast by 17 points in the event, putting them ahead by 13 points.

Haines knew that, if the Redhawks could just get within a few points entering the 1,600 relay, they would be in good shape.

But that meant dominating Eastern Illinois in the 5,000 meters, even though the Panthers have one of the league's top performers in that event, Brad Butler.

Butler, however, appeared spent after competing in several other events, and he did not finish in the top eight.

Meanwhile, Southeast's Kevin McNab and Kirk Nesbit placed second and fourth, giving the Redhawks 13 crucial points -- and pulling them even with the Panthers.

"They really came through for us. Kirk did great, and Kevin is just a stud," said Southeast distance coach Eric Heins of McNab, who was also third in the 1,500 after winning Friday's 3,000 steeplechase.

Said Haines, "I thought it was over after the pole vault. We had to make up at least nine points in the 5,000. It was unbelievable, the way those guys came through."

That set the stage for the 1,600 relay, which was never in question. Washington built a nice lead, Chris Poindexter expanded it, Alonzo Nelson did likewise and then star Miles Smith punctuated the victory.

Southeast's time was 3 minutes, 12.56 seconds -- good for 10 points -- while runner-up Tennessee State clocked 3:18.77. Eastern Illinois finished third in 3:20.49 for six points.

"When we knew the meet was tied ... that's all we asked," Nelson said. "A lot of people didn't think we could win the meet. They thought Eastern Illinois would win. This feels great."

Nelson defended his title in the 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 51.02 seconds. He was second in the 110 hurdles.

Southeast went 1-2 in the 400. Smith, who earned a gold medal as part of the U.S. 1,600 relay at last summer's world championships in Finland, captured his third straight OVC outdoor title in the 400 by coasting in 46.17 seconds.

Washington was second in a personal-best 47.22 seconds that qualified him for the NCAA regional for the first time.

"I got my regional qualifying time. That was my goal," Washington said. "Miles helped push me those last 100 meters."

Said Smith: "I felt good, nice and relaxed. I'm real happy for Walt. And the best thing is, we won the meet."

Among a host of other clutch performances for the Redhawks, of particular note were freshmen Bilal Hameed and Chris Williams.

Hameed was second in the triple jump with an NCAA regional qualifying distance of 50 feet, 1/2 inch.

Williams was third in both the 100 and 200.

"Those two were huge for us," Haines said. "After a long college season as freshmen, they came through with big points."

Two area high school products scored points in the triple jump as Sikeston's Mike Colon was fifth and Central's Anthony Harris sixth. Harris was also sixth in Friday's long jump.