Jump around

Jim Dilling won four NCAA high jump
titles during his career at Minnesota State

Jim Dilling,  a Minnesota State high jumper who captured the NCAA Division II outdoor title in 2005 and 2007 and indoor national titles in 2006 and 2007, isn't quite done yet.

A five-time All-American during his MSU career, Dilling claimed the USA national outdoor track & field high jump championship in 2007 and competed at the world championships as a member of Team USA that same year.  He's battled through injuries since then, but judging by recent results, finally appears to be healthy again.  The Fon du Lac, Wis., native was in Mankato this past week and stopped by for a chat.

What's being going on in your career since you left MSU in 2007?
JD:  Well, after the 2007 season, where I finished up at MSU and then made the USA world team, I met Cliff Rovelto (head track & field coach at Kansas State and head high jump coach for Team USA) and became friends with Jesse Williams (USC high jumper), who was training with Coach Rovelto. So I moved to Manhattan, Kan., and have been based out of there the last three-four years.  I originally went to train for the 2008 Olympic Trials and stayed.  Around that time I began to deal with some foot injury issues and some issues with my achilles tendon.  I tried to deal with that nonsurgically for about a year, but then I ruptured the bursa sac at the 2009 USA championships and had an MRI where they found a tear. I had surgery in fall of 2009 and another in March of 2010.  So, I basically sat out for 16 months and missed the 2010 USA championships. But I started training again last year, opened with my first meet this past February and had my best opening-height ever (7-4.25) at the Kansas State Wildcat Invite.  Then I placed fifth at indoor nationals and trained for outdoor nationals where I went 7-5.34 - my best result since the 2007 season.

What are you doing now?
JD:  I just got back from Europe after six weeks of competing.  Now we'll go back to Kansas to train for a couple months to train for the Pan Am Games, which take place in Mexico in October (he's a member of Team USA).  After that I'm coming back to MSU work on my master's, to help coach the Mavericks and to train for my last season.

Last season?
JD:  Well, possibly my last season.  The Olympic Trials for 2012 London are in Eugene in July. We'll give it a shot there and see how it goes.

What are your chances?
JD:  We'll see what happens that day.  You have to jump two rounds and you have to finish in the top three at the end. I've met the world standard (7-5 3/5), so that's my goal.

Here's a question.  Cuba's Javier Sotomayor set the high jump world record in 1989 when he became the first to clear 8 feet (in 1993 he upped his record to 8-0.5)  Can anyone approach that these days?
JD:  That's a good question, I don't know.  At his time, Sotomayor was Usain Bolt - someone with freakish talent and way better than anyone else in his event.  Someone who comes along once every century.  You never know, there's a few guys.  Ivan Ukhov has consistently been going 7-9, 7-10 indoors this year.

Eventually, Jim, long-term, what's in store?
JD:  We'll see. I have these short term goals now.  If you recall, I came here originally to play football and ended up high jumping, so you never know what life is going to hand you.  I'd like to take this high-jumping thing as far as I can. 

It's great to be a Maverick.  Be sure to follow us on twitter at @msumavericks.

Gone Fishin'

Minnesota State asst. women's hockey coach Jon Austin
(pictured second from the left) captured the 2011 Fort Frances
Bass Championship title in July.

Minnesotan's aren't just known for hockey or for loving the Vikings and the Twins (or the Mavericks!).  As you may know, they also like to fish.

Several members of the Minnesota State Athletics department are active and experienced outdoorsmen and women.

One such Maverick coach earned the 2011 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship title, which took place July 17-23 on Rainy Lake in Ontario.

Along with his fishing partner Richard Rud, assistant women's hockey coach Jon Austin finished in a tie for top honors with a three-day total weight of 52.42 pounds.

A short story regarding Jon's victory is located here.  You will note that it's kind of difficult to determine who Jon's main sponsor is as we don't see any ads located on the sweatshirts he's wearing. Congrats to our own Fishin' Magician!

You could have a bumper car, bumping

Jim Dilling

A couple of notes as we move forward through the dog days of August.

Former Minnesota State high jumper Jim Dilling, the 2007 USA Outdoor Track and Field national champion, has battled through injuries the past couple of years, but appears to be healthy and now ready to resume his career at the international level.  A five-time All-American and four-time national champion (two indoor, two outdoor) for the Mavericks,  Dilling finished 12th at the Viersen Internatinionales Hochsprung meet held in Germany Saturday with a 2.18 meter effort (actually tied for fifth, but finished 12th on misses).  Dilling was sixth with a leap of 2.26 (7-5 3/4) at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 26th in Eugene, Ore.

After moving up from rookie ball Kingsport of the Appalachian League, former MSU righthanded pitcher Bret Mitchell debuted for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the Class A New York-Penn League Sunday.  Mitchell, who had gone 5-1 with a 2.95 ERA and struck out 38 batters in 39.2 innings for Kingsport, went the first 4.2 innings and gave up one earned run and six hits as the Cyclones claimed a 6-4 win over the Staten Island Yankees.  Mitchell played one season for the Mavericks and helped lead MSU to league and regional championships and a spot in the NCAA Division II national tournament before getting drafted in 2010 by the New York Mets in the 12th round (362nd overall).

It's great to be a Maverick!

Not Forgotten - Korey Stringer

Korey Stringer 1974-2001

When it comes to weather, those of us who live in Minnesota are extremely familiar with a couple of "extended stats" numbers other than temperature and wind speed to determine how it feels outside. In the winter it's wind chill which measures the effect of wind on air temperature. Simply put, the windier it is, the colder it feels. In the summer heat index combines heat and humidity. The more the humidity we have, the warmer it feels.

The weather in Mankato today is what you would expect for this time of year.  It's the morning of August 1st and the temperature is heading toward 90 degrees and while the humidity stands at 87%, it's continuing to rise.  The air feels heavy and if you're outside for an extended period of time, without any exertion, you will sweat through your shirt.

It was like this ten years ago and the Vikings were in camp on campus.  Hot and humid with the heat index well into triple digits.

That night, my wife Lori was watching the six o'clock news and said "Hey, Perry (Dyke) just said that they took Korey Stringer to the hospital today."

Stringer was a 27-year old offensive tackle coming off of an All-Pro season. Checking in at 6-4 and 335 pounds, the former Ohio State Buckeye had suffered heat stroke after a full-pads, full-contact practice on a day when the heat index in Mankato was nearly 110 degrees.

I responded to Lori with a casual "No need to worry. Those big guys always struggle with the heat this time of year and one or two of them always end up in the hospital during camp.  They'll pump him full of fluids, cool him down and he'll be back on the field in a day or so." 

It seems so flippant now.

At about 4:00 a.m. the phone rang in our house.  I used to occasionally get calls at that time in the morning from my college buddies.  No so much anymore and in the rare times those calls come now, it's usually not good.  This was one of those times. It was Tom West from the Vikings media relations department. I can't remember his exact words, but he was calling to say that Korey Stringer had passed away and that the Vikings would need some assistance with the media attention the organization was expecting with the developing story.

And, obviously, it was a big story.  Stringer was one of the top young offensive linemen in the National Football League on a team that included high-profile players such as Duante Culpepper, Randy Moss and Cris Carter.  Later that day, the national media descended on Mankato and MSU and at a press conference held in the Centennial Ballroom (the largest room we had available to accommodate the large contingent of journalists), Denny Green, Carter and Moss all gave testimonials to Stringer. It was sad and gut-wrenching and I'll never forget Moss struggling through a tear-filled ten minutes at the podium in trying to convey his sentiments for his fallen teammate.

Things have changed since that day. 

Green and Culpepper are both out of the NFL, reunited with the United Football League's Sacramento Mountain Lions last fall.  Carter is an analyst for ESPN and Moss is a free agent, looking for a team to play for after spending the 2010 season with three different teams, including a short-lived four-game stint with Minnesota. 

Stringer's death brought about major changes to how NFL teams run training camp and, in particular, heat stroke prevention.

"The awareness has became greater, certainly (relative to heat stroke prevention and recognition)." said Jeff Chambers, MSU's director of sports medicine. "It changed our approach. We've became more acutely aware of signs of heat stroke. We were doing a lot before, but now there's much more stress on rehydration, monitoring weight loss, practice duration and timing, etc."
  

It's ten years today and, hopefully Korey Stringer's passing wasn't in vain with lessons learned and no Viking falling on the Blakeslee Stadium practice fields. 

Post post Note:  About an hour after I posted this, Randy Moss announced that he was retiring.  I also thought I might add these links -  Vikings honor 10th anniversary of Stringer's death & Vikings Remember Stringer.

Where or where.

MSU's Blakeslee Stadium & Highland Complex in 1962

Named for former athletic director and coach C. P. Blakeslee, who spent forty years at MSU (1921-1961), Minnesota State's iconic football field - Blakeslee Stadium - opened in 1962 and undoubtedly harkens back to a different era.

In response to its burgeoning enrollment during the late 1950s-early 1960s, the school was making the transition from its lower campus (Valley Campus) location to upper campus (initially known as Highland Campus).  In addition to the football stadium and spreading over 240 acres, new construction also included Crawford and McElroy dormitories, Wilson Campus School and the physical education complex, which included Highland Arena (renamed later in honor of Bob Otto), the Highland Pool complex and the Field House (later renamed in honor of Bud Myers). The student union and other buildings had yet to be constructed.

It took until the 1970's, but eventually the entire campus shifted to the area atop the hill. Many of the buildings that used to make up the school's campus have been repurposed with Old Main now serving as an independent and assisted living option for choosy seniors and the Searing, Buck and Cooper dormitories now known as Cherry Ridge and Colonial Square apartments.

In the last ten years on the newer campus, change has also been afoot with Otto Arena retrofitted and now serving as the center piece to MSU's excellent campus recreation offerings. Myers Field House was torn down and totally rebuilt. Beautiful Taylor Center came online in 2000, but Blakeslee Stadium remains mainly untouched from its original state.

An earthen berm was added on the south end a few years ago, but the stadium still seats around 6,500 and the cramped press box still crowns the stands on the west side of the field.  The sight lines are unmatched. Unlike many football facilities from this era, Blakeslee was built with out a track so fans get an unusually close up view of the action and the original concessions, bathrooms and ticketing areas give the facility an old-timey feel.  The fields that MSU legends Bernie Maczuga, Jim Leitzke and Bob Bruer patrolled sported real grass, as does the Blakeslee turf of 2011.

So when you take a look at this list trumpeting the Top Six College Football Stadiums in NCAA Division II, remember this.  There's something to be said for character and charm.

Trending

All the evolution we know of proceeds from the vague to the definite.  Charles Sanders Peirce


Thought we might make it easy on you.  Lots of links listed below regarding the recent announcement by five current members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association - University of North Dakota, Nebraska Omaha, Minnesota Duluth, Denver, Colorado College, along with Miami University of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, that they would be forming a new men's college hockey league with a scheduled start-up set for 2013-14.

• National Collegiate Hockey Conference Announced - Brad Schlossman, GF Herald
• WCHA Statement Regarding Announcement of new league - wcha.com
• CCHA Intends to Be Viable - Paula Weston, uscho.com
• We Are Exciting to Secondary Six - Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey Blog
• National Sentiment - Shane Frederick, Mankato Free Press
• A few new league details emerge - Joe Paisley, CS Gazette
• New League - Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune
• Big Ten Schedule Link to New League Unlikely - Andy Baggott, Madison.com
• New League Officially Born - College Hockey Inc.
• NCHC Launched after intense build-up - Jack Connelly, uscho.com
• NCHC Unveiled - nhl.com
• Realignment could alter rivalries - Kevin Gorg, Fox Sports North  
• News:  A tough day for the WCHA - St. Cloud Times 
• New League Forms, WCHA Looking to Expand - Bemidji Pioneer

Carrying On

Thought we might take a look at this year's National Hockey League Draft, given the fact that it's taking place in St. Paul at Xcel Energy Center.  A place our Mavericks are familiar with having played a trio of WCHA Final Five games there (1999-00 vs. Minnesota and 2002-03 vs. Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth), along with a regular-season game vs. Minnesota in 2004-05 and again vs. the Golden Gophers in Nov. of 2008 in the WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase.

While no current Mavericks are expected to be selected this year, a total of 12 former and/or current members of the purple and gold have been chosen, beginning with defenseman Tom Anderson when he was picked in the seventh round, 111th overall by the California Golden Seals back in 1974.

A few notables regarding MSU's draft history.  Of the 12 selections, four have played in the NHL (Tim Jackman, David Backes, Travis Morin and Jon Kalinski). Forward Tyler Pitlick owns the distinction as the highest MSU draftee at #31 and in Justin Jokinen, one is a current Maverick. Ten of the draftees were native Minnesotans and two were Canadians (Chad Brownlee and John Kalinski).

SIDEBAR - Brownlee's recently-completed video for his new single Carried Away is available here.

Here's a look at MSU's draft history over the years.

Name Yrs @ MSU Drafted By Year Round # Tom Anderson* 1975-77 California 1974 7th 111 Eric Burrill* 1990-92 NY Rangers 1987 9th 178 Dan Brettschneider* 1989-92 Washington 1987 12th 240 Tim Jackman 2000-02 Columbus 2001 2nd 38 Jake Brenk* 2000-05 Edmonton 2001 5th 154 David Backes* 2003-06 St. Louis 2003 2nd 62 Chad Brownlee* 2003-07 Vancouver 2003 6th 190 Travis Morin 2003-07 Washington 2004 9th 263 Jon Kalinski 2005-08 Philadelphia 2007 6th 152 Andrew Sackrison* 2007-11 St. Louis 2006 5th 124 Justin Jokinen* 2008-SA Buffalo 2008 4th 101 Tyler Pitlick 2009-10 Edmonton 2010 2nd 31 *selected while a member of high school or junior team

Lots of 2011 NHL Draft coverage available here.

Enjoy the weekend. It's great to be a Maverick!

Super Bowl Hardware

As mentioned in the previous post, former Maverick offensive lineman Adrian Battles received his Super Bowl ring today.  This is what it looks like.

Didja Know?

A few things about Minnesota State Athletics you might not have been aware of.

Elisha McSweeny

The National Basketball Association draft is slated for June 23rd.  And although no Minnesota State players will be selected this year, MSU has had one player chosen in the annual event, which has been held every year since 1947.  Center/foward Elisha McSweeney was picked in the tenth round (171st overall) by Cleveland in 1976. 

The Green Bay Packers are doling out Super Bowl championship rings tonight (Thursday, June 16) at a ring ceremony. Former Minnesota State offensive lineman Adrian Battles, who played for the Mavericks from 2005-09 and was a member of the Packers' practice squad during their 2011 championship run, will be a recipient of a ring.

The 1979-80 Maverick men's hockey team that captured the NCAA Division II national championship scored 293 goals in 40 games.  Turns out that's an all-division record with MSU's 293 besting the 292 goals scored by the University of Maine in 1992-93.  Plattsburgh State, with 290 goals in 1985-86, owns the Division III mark.

It's great to be a Maverick!

Maverick Minor League Update

Minnesota State has a pair of former righthanded pitchers and an outfielder on minor league professional rosters this summer.

Bret Mitchell, selected by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 2010 Major League Draft, is on the roster of the Kingsport Mets of the Appalacian League (Rookie).  Kingsports starts its season June 21st.

Chris Odegaard, selected by the Diamondbacks in the 23rd round of the 2009 MLB draft, started the spring with Visalia of the California League (Advanced A), but was recently reassigned to South Bend of the Midwest League (A). Odegaard currently sports a 0-0 record and has a 0.00 earned run average and has eight Ks in 7.2 innings in six appearances with the Silver Hawks.

Mark Dolenc, who is in his sixth season of professional baseball after the Twins took him in the 15th round of the 2006 draft, is playing the outfield for New Britain of the Eastern League (AA).  Dolenc is currently hitting .275 in 40 games with the Rock Cats.

This year's MLB Draft is slated for June 6-7-8.

It's great to be a Maverick!