by Richard Banks
s has been said, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. In
the case of Rhodes College junior Mike Wottle, however, it runs
great distances.
Having recently set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run, Wottle is beginning to emerge from the shadow cast by his father, Olympic gold medalist Dave Wottle, who took the world’s top prize in 1972 in the 800-meter.
“Yeah, there are a lot of people that expect a lot out of me, simply because of my dad,” says the younger Wottle. “They don’t actually know me, but they’ll see the name and they’ll make some assumptions that I’m an awesome runner. I just shrug it off. I know I’m not going to be a world-class athlete, but I’m just doing it for the fun of it. I just love to compete.”
Wottle credits Rhodes assistant coach Brendan Minihan, the previous
school record-holder in both the steeplechase and the 5,000.
PHOTO BY RICHARD BANKS
Mike Wottle says he's no Olympian – “I just love to compete.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to make these times,” contends Wottle, “without Brendan’s help. He helped me break his records. Besides,” continues the typically modest Wottle, “I wouldn’t have done nearly as well in the 5,000 if he hadn’t allowed me to draft behind him for most of the race.” It should be noted that Minihan, a 1997 Rhodes graduate who ran in the race as an unattached participant, stands at about 5’ 8”, while Wottle is 6’ 4”.
Wottle will run the steeplechase and the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races this weekend in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship held at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Rhodes will attempt to reclaim the championship from Trinity College, who won the event last year after Rhodes had taken the conference title the previous four years.
“I think it’s going to be tough,” says Rhodes track-and-field and cross-country coach Robert Shankman. “Trinity is strong in the [javelin and shot put], and they’re deep in the distance runs,” meaning that even without an outright win in a race, they can still score high if several of their runners finish near the top.
“But while we don’t have as much depth in the distances as in year’s past,” Shankman says, “almost every distance runner [on the Rhodes team] has had PRs in the last two weeks. We’re also doing better in the sprints and jumps than last year, but we’re looking for wins in every race from the 400 to 10,000. We’re going to take that championship back this year.”
Other than Wottle – who, in one week, set school records at 15:25 in the 5,000 and 9:31 in the steeplechase – Shankman expects star performances from several of his team members. Emily Ferguson is expected to do well in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000; 1997 all-American Jason Walter is the conference favorite for both the long jump and triple jump; and Dave “DT” Thomasson, who just set a new school record of 3:57:97 in the 1,500, ran this year’s 10th-fastest time in that event for all Division III schools. Wottle and many of Rhodes’ top performers are juniors, leading to speculation that next year could be even better for both the school’s track-and-field and cross-country teams. n
Saturday at 2:30 Rip Scherer will conduct his fourth spring football game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis returns 16 starters from last year’s 4-7 team, eight on offense and eight on defense.
The biggest questions entering spring drills concerned quarterback, linebacker, and offensive line. At quarterback Kenton Evans, the 6-3 redshirt sophomore from Westwood, is battling Stephen Galbraith and Neil Suber. The battles for starting jobs on the offensive line, however, are just as important as who ultimately calls the signals.
Chris Powers has moved from tight end to center. Last year’s center, Ron Sells, moves to left tackle. He will be joined on the left side by redshirt freshman Artis Hicks (6-4, 275). Hicks is the first lineman from the ’97 recruiting class to break from the pack. Julian Gibson (6-2, 290), Jason Austin (6-4, 309), and David Sherrod (6-5, 316) are other members of that class looking for playing time.
At linebacker, keep an eye on Michael Boatman, converted receiver Ian Williams, and junior-college transfer Corey Irby as they vie for playing time with returning defenders Kamal Shakir, Caspor Stiles, and DeMorrio Shank.
Admission to the spring game is free. n – Dennis Freeland