Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

3/31/05
Story by Tyler Cundith

JCCC Men’s Track Team 8th at Indoor Nationals

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- The Johnson County Community College men’s track and field team recently registered an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. The team’s eighth-place effort marks the 11th time a JCCC team has finished among the top 10 at indoor nationals. It is the first top 10 for head coach Joe Weis, now in his third season at JCCC.

In addition, eight individuals garnered nine NJCAA Coaches All-America honors. Two of those eight earned NJCAA All-America by finishing as a top three medalists.

Entering the indoor championships, a JCCC pole vaulter had produced a national champion five times, and amassed 51 All-American honors during the history of the track and field program. Last weekend, JCCC increased those totals to six and 54. Freshmen Kyle Dennis of Pauls Valley, Okla, was top medalists, becoming the sixth JCCC athlete to win a national championship in the pole vault. He is the first since Spencer Frame in the 2000 Indoor Championships. Dennis cleared 16'0.75", the fourth-best performance by a Cavalier at indoor nationals. Earlier in the season, Dennis set an indoor school record in the vault with a mark of 16'10" at the CMSU Mule Relays.

Freshman Adam Ergenbright of Midwest City, Okla., earned a third-place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 15'7". That effort earned both NJCAA and Coaches Association All-America accolades. That mark also ranks sixth all-time among JCCC performers in a national competition.

Rounding out JCCCs’ All-America vault crew is sophomore Jake Williams, who placed fourth with a mark of 15'1". A native of Chanute, Kan., Williams joined the Cavaliers’ program after spending his freshman season competing for the University of Oklahoma.

Sophomore distance runner Brian Batliner of Shawnee Mission South, raced to a sixth-place finish in the mile, earning Coaches All-American. He finished with a time of 4:25.58, the sixth-best time by a Cavalier at nationals. Batliner earned two Coaches All-America certificates at the 2004 Indoor Championships. He also was a key member of the cross country team the last two seasons, helping the Cavaliers to fourth-place and eight-place finishes.

Freshman distance runner Evan Cox of Minneapolis, Kan., earned two Coaches All-America certificates at this year’s indoor championships. Cox placed fifth overall in the 1,000-meter with a time of 2:36.25. That time ranks third on JCCC’s all-time national performance list in that event. Cox also ran a leg on the 4x800-meter relay that place fourth with a time of 7:59.45. Joining Cox were freshman Alan Kroll of Lansing, Kan., freshman Justin Simonich of Shawnee Mission East and freshman Tighe VanAnne of Eudora, Kan.