Southeast Missouri State's former state champions compete in jumps at NCAA national meet

Southeast Missouri State jumpers Blake Smith and Chris Martin ran down the same runways and propelled themselves into the same sand pits during their high school track and field careers at nearby high schools.

Smith, a senior who graduated from Jackson in 2011, and Martin, a sophomore who graduated from Central in 2013, each won state titles during their senior seasons -- Smith in the long jump and Martin in the triple jump.

Now both will represent Southeast as they compete in those same events at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, beginning today in Eugene, Oregon. The top 24 athletes in each individual event qualified from the two regional meets.

"It's actually pretty shocking, to be honest, because you're in high school and you see this guy competing and you just think you guys are like two different guys -- like you would never think that you'd end up on the same team, accomplishing big things," Martin said.

Smith's and Martin's routes to the national championships were different, but each gives credit to their jumping coaches in high school -- Eric Venable at Jackson and Amy Blattel at Central.

Southeast Missouri State's Blake Smith wins the men's 100-meter dash in 10.58 seconds at the Joey Haines Invitational Saturday, April 4, 2015 at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex. (Fred Lynch)

Venable said Smith's parents recognized their son's ability and interest in track and field during his elementary school days, and he began competing at AAU and USA Track and Field meets.

"When he got into high school, I basically just tried to stay out of his way and make sure I didn't mess him up because he came with some tools and came with a desire to learn, and he'd already had a dad helping him quite a bit," Venable said. "Just to see this culminate, and then still continue at the college level -- and here he is in his fourth year at SEMO and he's still continuing on this pursuit of excellence -- he's competing with the best in the nation."

Smith won the Class 4 state championship in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 6 3/4 inches his senior season and signed with Southeast two days later. He broke the Southeast record with a jump of 25-8 this season.

"You couldn't look at him as you do some athletes and say that, 'Oh, well there's a super talent. All we've got to do is polish that up a little bit and he'll be good to go,'" Venable said. "He was a kid that was still young in a lot of ways, and that physical development was going to have to come along over years. With his dedication with his weightlifting and all his workouts and his track and field workouts -- that enabled him to get to where he is today."

When Martin began his high school track and field career as a freshman, he never had competed in the triple jump. After Blattel introduced the event and he saw immediate success his first year, he "fell in love with" triple jumping, and Blattel knew he had the potential to excel further.

"He had a lot of natural ability, and he was a great listener," Blattel said. "He was very easy to coach because of his natural ability. We would take him through drills and he'd pick up on them really fast. He would probably be a dream to coach for most coaches."

Martin won the Class 4 triple jump in 2013 with a distance of 47-2 3/4. He'd finished second in the event as a junior and fifth as a sophomore.

His longest triple jump of his career at Southeast is 51-8 1/4 in the NCAA West Region Prelims on May 30, which was good for fifth place.

"He was a hard worker, and he was determined every day to come out and get better," Blattel said. "He was very competitive and loved when he got into a meet and someone was beating him -- he was determined to come out and out-jump them -- so his competitive nature was the first thing [I noticed]."

Smith competes in the long jump at 7:15 p.m. today. It's the first time he's made it to the outdoor championships, but he competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships the past two seasons -- once in the long jump and once in the 60-meter dash.

Venable and his wife will be in attendance to watch him compete, which Venable joked was "both good and bad."

"I had to muster up enough strength and fortitude to get on a plane. I've never flown before, so for me, that was a little bit traumatic at 57 years old to get on a dad-gum plane and make this trip," Venable said with a laugh before noting how excited he was about watching Smith compete.

Smith's goal for the outdoor championships is 26 feet, but he also said he'd rather surpass that and jump 8 meters, which is 26-3.

"It's always been a dream of mine to make it to Oregon just because it's where it all happens," Smith said. "I made it to indoor a couple times, but I couldn't quite make it to outdoor. People kept saying it's harder to make it to indoor, so I felt like I shouldn't have a problem making it to outdoor, but I missed last year. Somehow I got it all together at regionals, and then to make it this year is quite special."

Martin will compete in the triple jump beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday. He said he prefers competing later in the week -- just like he would in any other meet.

"The later in the day and the later in the week is better because it gives you time to practice, get used to the field, get used to the runway and the sandpit," Martin said. "I can focus a lot more and I can think about what's going to happen and how big this is. I just take all that in, and I get really excited. It builds up the longer and longer I wait, and once I actually get a chance to compete it all shows once I take that first jump."

Martin's sights are set on Southeast's triple jump record of 53-1, which was set by Keith Presberry in 1986.

"I'm confident in myself that I'll make it to finals and that I will definitely take down the school record that's been up there for a little bit too long," Martin said with a laugh.

"Just really proud of the guy," Blattel said. "He's like my own kid -- I love him to death."

Both athletes had the opportunity to practice at the University of Oregon, where nationals are held, on Monday and said they were immediately comfortable in their surroundings.

"It's actually really amazing because growing up as a kid you think about actually coming to compete in these big meets and compete against all these really great athletes," Martin said. "To finally be able to get this opportunity and to be able to do this is truly a blessing. It's mind blowing, you know? It makes you really feel like you accomplished so much in such a little amount of time."

The top eight finishers in each event earn All-American honors, while the ninth through 16th finishers earn second-team All-American.

It will be the last opportunity for Smith to earn all-American status and the first chance for Martin, who has two years of eligibility remaining after this season.

"It hasn't really bothered me, I guess, just because I'm going to keep doing it after college, so I guess that's one of the reasons it hasn't really sank in," Smith said of it being his last collegiate meet. "I think maybe after I'm done [tonight] that maybe it'll sink in a little bit and I'll realize how fast these four years flew by."

Rushin to compete

Jill Rushin, a three-time Class 4 throwing champion and 2010 graduate of Jackson High School, will close her collegiate career today when she competes in the women's shot put.

Rushin, a redshirt senior, is among three women competing for Missouri after qualifying fourth at the NCAA West Preliminary meet with a throw of 54 feet, 8 3/4 inches.

Rushin finished 12th in the shot put at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, claiming second-team all-American status.