Redhawks' Smith to compete in long jump at NCAA Indoor Championships

It may sound odd, but it took failing on a big stage to convince Southeast Missouri State track and field athlete Blake Smith that long jump was something he could be good at.

"I qualified for the junior Olympics [when I was 12 or 13], and I went to that and I didn't do very good," Smith said following a practice earlier this week. "I scratched all three jumps and I didn't do anything, but that's when I knew I was going to be [successful], or I had a chance. That's when I realized that's what I wanted to do."

He added with a laugh, "I didn't think I was very good, and then all of a sudden I qualified for something, and if I would've jumped what I had jumped coming in I could've placed and that would've been huge, but I didn't do it."

Now the Jackson High School graduate, who won state in the long jump his senior season, has earned the chance to compete on an even bigger stage.

His long jump of 25 feet, 4 1/2-inches, which was good for first place at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship on Feb 28, is ranked 11th nationally and qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Smith, a junior, will compete in the long jump at nationals for the first time in his career at Southeast. His event is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.

"The biggest so far, by far. It's huge," Smith said. "I can't really explain it, honestly. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time, and I'm finally here. After having a terrible season last year, I didn't know if I was going to be getting any better, and then worked hard all offseason and here I am."

He finished sixth at the OVC Indoor Championships last season with a jump of 23-3/4 after finishing third his freshman season with a leap of 23-8 3/4.

Southeast track and field coach Eric Crumpecker and assistant coach Matt Koelling, who works closely with jumpers, both noted the amount of time and effort that Smith put in over the past year.

"You get out of a sport what you put into it, and he realized that early on and has put a lot into it, and he's getting that back now with a trip to nationals," Crumpecker said. "He's going to be even better in outdoor, I think."

Koelling worked with Smith on his approach and running form, which has greatly impacted his success.

"We did a lot of running drills and just worked on my approach a lot because that's what I struggled with -- I scratched a lot last year," Smith said. "We just worked on my approach and getting that dialed in, and now I've been consistent every meet and just working on controlling that speed and getting on the board good. That's what's gotten me here."

Smith's improved speed is evident: He tied the school record in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.19 seconds at the Redhawks Invite on Feb. 21, and broke the school record in the 60 with a time of 6.72 seconds at the Indiana Relays on Feb. 1.

Before the season started he had set goals of 24-5 for the indoor season and 25 feet for outdoor, both of which he's already surpassed.

He watched the national standings throughout the season to see if he would make it in the top 16 to qualify for today's meet, and after about the third week of the indoor season he held one of those spots.

"Then as the weeks went on everybody else jumps farther and stuff, so I'd been bumped off and I was like 17th, so I was right off the edge of not going," Smith said. "Then at the home meet I knew I could do something big, and I put a piece of tape down of what I had to jump past to go to nationals, and my first jump I passed it. I was like, 'Alright, I'm going.'"

The goal for Smith will be to finish in the top eight to earn all-American honors.

"I really think he can get all-American since he's been consistent the past couple meets," Koelling said. "He's jumped 25-4 the past couple meets, and there's only been six or seven guys that jump farther in those past two meets."