Redhawks' lone home indoor meet is Friday

With the Ohio Valley Conference indoor track and field meet barely a week away, Southeast Missouri State teams are in need of a tuneup.

Coach Joey Haines is pleased that will be at home as his program hosts its only meet of the indoor season.

The annual Redhawks Invitational will take place at the Student Recreation Center on Friday beginning at 6:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Also competing will be Memphis and Murray State.

"Our athletes always look forward to competing at home," Haines said. "It's a good opportunity for their family and friends to watch them compete.

"The emphasis in this meet won't really be on team scores. It's just one last chance to tune up a bit before the OVC indoor championships."

That event is Feb. 23 and 24 in Charleston, Ill.

Haines said field events will be the focus of the meet. Only a handful of running events will be contested, including the 55-meter dash and 55-meter hurdles.

"Our track is so small, it's just hard to get people to come in here and run," Haines said. "The track is fine for the 55, but when you start going around curves, it's just too sharp, too hard. It's dangerous.

"But we'll have the six field events and those should be very good. The throws and jumps should be strong. For field events, this is a very good venue."

One Southeast athlete who won't compete Friday -- and it has nothing to do with the track -- is senior All-American Miles Smith, part of the gold medal 1,600-meter relay team at the 2005 World Championships.

Smith is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered earlier this year and Haines said Smith will be shut down for the remainder of the indoor season, which includes the NCAA championships March 9 and 10.

"We were hoping Miles would be back," Haines said. "He's getting better, but we just thought it was best to shut him down.

"Miles will come back healthy and he's still going to have a great outdoor season."

Haines said a highlight of Friday's meet will be Southeast junior long jumper John Berry, who is currently ranked 22nd nationally.

Berry has already provisionally qualified for the indoor nationals, but he is not yet guaranteed a spot in the field.

"John is having a great season so far, but he needs a few more inches to make sure he gets in the NCAAs," Haines said. "Hopefully a good home crowd will help him out."

Added Haines: "Overall, it should still be a good meet for people to come out and watch."

Gymnasts at home

The Southeast women's gymnastics team will get another home crack at a highly-rated squad Saturday when Brigham Young visits Houck Field House for a 1 p.m. dual.

BYU is ranked 23rd nationally, while the Redhawks are 35th.

Southeast (10-2) is coming off just its second loss of the season,194.775 to 192.700 Friday at 20th-ranked Missouri.

"We still have a lot of room for improvement, but that was a solid road score for us," Southeast coach Tom Farden said.

The Redhawks' only other defeat came on Jan. 27 at Houck as 25th-ranked Kent State prevailed.

"BYU will be another excellent team coming in here and it's great our fans get to see these kinds of teams," Farden said. "Facing this type of competition will only make us better."