UMR - Men's Track Miners

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UMR Track/Cross Country Coaching Staff

STERLING MARTIN enters his fifth season as the head coach at the University of Missouri-Rolla after leading the Miners to another successful season in the 2006-07 school year.

Following a strong 2005-06 campaign, UMR followed that with its highest-ever finish at an NCAA Division II championship meet when it tied for 12th at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. UMR had three All-America performers at that meet, with Tyrone Smith finishing second in the long jump, Lucas Handley taking third in the pole vault and Jordan Henry coming in seventh in the pole vault. The Miners also had two national qualifiers in the outdoor season.

The Miners followed up a third place finish at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships by placing second during the outdoor season. UMR had six all-conference performers at the indoor meet -- which also saw Jarryd Dean land the league's "Freshman of the Year" award -- then had seven all-league efforts during the outdoor championships that included three conference titles.

The Miners had four All-America performances in the 2005-06 season, led by Tyrone Smith's second place finish in the long jump at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. Smith also had a fourth place at the indoor national meet, while Lucas Handley and Heath Groom also secured All-America honors at the outdoor championships.

In addition, the Miners had their highest finish as a team at the outdoor meet as they ended up in a tie for 20th, while finishing second in both the indoor and outdoor meets in their first appearances at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships. UMR was also ranked in the final power rankings in 19th indoors and 15th outdoors.

In Martin's first two seasons as head coach, the Miners received an All-America performance from J.R. Skola in the pole vault, the third year in a row in which he earned the award, and national meet appearances from Tyrone Smith and Rodrick McDonald. The Miners have had two straight solid seasons under Martin and had four conference championship performances last year at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association indoor and outdoor championships, including a one-two finish in the 800-meter run.

Martin came to UMR from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa where he served as the head coach for the track and cross country programs in 2003. Prior to that, Martin had been the head men's track and cross country coach at Bowling Green State University for four years before the institution eliminated the program following the 2001-02 season.

In his one season at Morningside, Martin coached two members of that team to the NAIA national meet. He has coached a number of student-athletes to All-America honors during his coaching career, including four distance runners to such status.

Martin also served as the head men's cross country coach at his alma mater, Drake University, from 1993 to 1997 and was an assistant coach in the men's and women's track programs there for eight seasons beginning in the 1990-91 season.

He began his coaching career after graduating from Drake in 1987 at the University of Northern Iowa as a volunteer assistant coach in the men's track program for two seasons, then spent a year as a volunteer assistant in the men's and women's programs at Iowa State during the 1989-90 season.

Not only have the Miners shown great improvement on the track, but they have also continued their outstanding performance in the classroom. UMR has had one of the top academic teams in NCAA Division II in both cross country and track and field throughout his tenure.

BRYAN SCHIDING is in his fifth season as the assistant coach in cross country and track and field. His primary duties involve working with the sprinters and hurdlers, as well as with the jumping and throwing events.

Schiding was named as the NCAA Division II regional "Coach of the Year" for the Great Lakes Region following the 2007 season after the Miners posted their highest finish ever at an NCAA championship meet. The men's team finished in a tie for 12th overall at the indoor nationals with all three of its individuals -- whom Schiding worked with during the season -- placing in scoring positions at the meet. Tyrone Smith finished second in the long jump, while Lucas Handley took third and Jordan Henry seventh in the pole vault.

The Miner sprinters and field event competitors have had great success under Schiding's guidance. In his first four years at UMR, he has had athletes set 38 new school records and has had 79 all-conference performances. UMR has also seen two individuals earn the Great Lakes Valley Conference "Freshman of the Year" award and had 50 individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships with 10 earning All-America honors.

UMR has had a great deal of national success in the pole vault, where J.R. Skola and Lucas Handley each earned two All-America awards apiece in the pole vault over the last four seasons and Jordan Henry earned a seventh place finish at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships. In addition, Whitney Rasmussen finished fifth in the high jump at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in 2005 -- as the only freshman on the podium in that event -- while Jamie Webb earned eighth place honors in the 100-meter dash at the 2005 outdoor championships and also earned league championships in the event.

One of the more decorated individuals in track recently has been Tyrone Smith, who earned numerous awards for his performances in the long jump including two national runner-up finishes and a fourth place showing in the event at the 2006 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Smith, who was named as the top field athlete for the Great Lakes Region for the 2006 indoor season, was the Great Lakes Valley Conference champion in the indoor (2006 and 2007) and outdoor long jump as well as the indoor triple jump in both 2006 and 2007; he was named as the GLVC "Male Athlete of the Year" for the indoor track season. During the summer of 2006, Smith set the Bermuda national record in the long jump in the North America-Central America-Caribbean Games held in the Dominican Republic and competed this summer at the Pan American Games in that event in Rio De Janiero, Brazil.

In addition, the Miners have recorded their highest finishes as a team at the national level, coming in a tie for 12th indoors in 2007 and in a tie for 20th at the 2006 NCAA outdoor meet. UMR has finished second at the last two GLVC Outdoor Championships and has placed second and third in its two appearances at the league's indoor meet.

Prior to joining the UMR coaching staff, Schiding served as an assistant track and field coach at LaSalle University in Philadelphia for the three seasons. He coached both the men's and women's field events and also worked with the sprinters and hurdlers. The men's team won the Atlantic-10 indoor championship in 2003 -- its first title in seven years -- and finished second in the conference during the outdoor season. Meanwhile, the women's team had a second place finish in at the league's indoor meet in 2002.

He has helped coach teams to a total of five Atlantic-10 Conference championships, including two men's and two women's titles in cross country, and those teams established 11 new school records during his three seasons on the staff.

Schiding was the team captain while competing at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.,, from where he graduated in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He set the school record in the indoor long jump and won conference titles in the long jump (twice) and triple jump; he earned seven all-conference awards during his career at Bucknell. Schiding also competed in the sprint and hurdle events as well as the relays.

He earned his masters degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from LaSalle. Schiding currently resides in Rolla with his wife, Stephanee.

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