Southeast Missouri State's Carter qualifies for NCAA Division I Indoor Championships

~ The southeast long jumper's top performance ranks 10th nationally

Blake Carter's record-setting indoor track and field season has led him to a coveted place.

It was announced Monday that Carter, a Southeast Missouri State junior, qualified for this weekend's NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in the long jump. His competition will be Friday on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Ark.

"My first time going," said a beaming Carter following an early afternoon workout Monday at the Student Recreation Center. "It was definitely a goal of mine."

And one that isn't easily attained, especially during the indoor season. Qualifying individuals must rank in the top 16 nationally.

Carter, tied for 10th nationally with a school-record mark of 25 feet, 6 inches, is the lone top-15 ranked long-jumper from a non-major conference. He is only the second Southeast athlete to qualify for Division I indoor nationals.

Former Southeast five-time All-American and world-class 400-meter runner Miles Smith made it to indoor nationals three times before completing his eligibility in 2008.

"It's an extremely tough field to make. To be in the top 16, against all the great programs across the country, it's not an easy accomplishment," Southeast coach Eric Crumpecker said. "He's definitely in some elite company, to be ranked 10th in the nation. He has really worked his butt off to make him what he is."

Carter ripped off his record-setting jump on home turf during the Feb. 15 Redhawks Invitational at the Student Recreation Center. He broke the previous school mark of 25-1 1/2 set by John Berry in 2008 and also set a Student Rec Center record.

"I knew it was big," Carter said of his record jump.

And that wasn't Carter's only record performance of the season as he broke Southeast's indoor 60-meter dash mark with a time of 6.76 seconds during a meet at Eastern Illinois in early December.

"No complaints here," a smiling Carter said of his season as a whole.

Carter won the long jump and was second in the 60 at the recent OVC Indoor Championships.

"He's definitely had a great year," Crumpecker said.

Carter, a graduate of Fort Zumwalt North High School in O'Fallon, Mo., was an NCAA Regional qualifier during the 2012 outdoor season, when he placed third in both the long jump and triple jump at the OVC meet. He was also third in the triple jump at the 2012 OVC indoor meet.

That came after an injury-plagued freshman season that limited Carter to a handful of meets.

"I've pretty much been healthy the last two years," Carter said.

Carter has his sights set on a top-eight finish, which would mean All-American honors. Crumpecker said that goal is realistic.

Florida's Dendy Marquis has the nation's top long jump by a fairly wide margin at 27-1, followed by LSU's Damar Forbes (26-5 3/4) and Arkansas' Raymond Higgs (26-1).

After that the top jumps are fairly bunched together, with a distance of 25-10 ranking No. 4.

"If I perform to the best of my ability, I should make All-American," Carter said.

Rushin shines

Former Jackson High School standout Jill Rushin, a sophomore at Missouri, just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Rushin ranks 20th nationally in the shot put with a career-best mark of 54-8 1/4 attained during the recent Southeastern Conference Championships. She placed second to earn all-SEC honors.

"I never placed all-conference in the Big 12, so it feels great to get my first medal at SEC's our first year," Rushin said on the MU athletics web site. "My goal was to PR, and I did that. So I'm happy with my performance."

Rushin, a 2010 Jackson graduate, qualified for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships as a redshirt freshman by placing 12th at the West Regional.