McMurry War Whoop (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 9, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 24, 1999 Page: 3 of 6
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War Whoop - Page 3
Wednesday March 24 1999
Parris Pole Vaults to Championship
McMurry Athlete Shines
in NCAA Division III meet
Brad Parris cleared the
bar at 16-4 34 in Ada
Oklahoma Friday night to
win the NCAA Division III
pole vault championship
and to write another page
in both McMurry athletic
and Parris family history.
Sabrina Griffin of
McMurry also competed
in the quartermile. She
finished third in her heat.
Brad became McMurry's
first National Collegiate
Athletic Association
(NCAA) track champ and
McMurry's first All Ameri-
can. It was also Parris' first
major triumph.
The Parris victory made
him the first collegiate
champion and first All
American on a team
coached by Barbara
Crousen who took over
the McMurry men's and
women's track teams in
the spring of 1998.
Brad's father Ricky
Parris competed for
McMurry and won the Na-
tional Association of Inter-
collegiate Athletics (NAIA)
vault titles indoor and
outdoor in 1971 and
1972 the last crowns
gained by an athlete from
the Reservation.
Brad's mother is Dr. Pug
Parris McMurry physical
education professor. His
father now teaches in
Abilene Public Schools.
In the past McMurry
had at least four outdoor
champions but the victo-
ries were scored when the
school was a member of
the NAIA. McMurry
joined the NCAA in 1996.
This is the first time
McMurry has competed in
track since 1990.
Brad qualified for the
NAIA meet two years ago
but owing to a mixup was
not declared a competitor
until after the deadline.
When he arrived at the
meet to vault he was not
allowed to enter.
There were six pole
vaulters at the Ada event
March 12. Parris was the
last to jump and he
cleared the bar on his sec-
ond try. None of the oth-
ers managed to get over.
Parris' jump was loftier
than last year's winner
Ryan Loftus of Rose-
Hulman who only man-
aged to sail over at 16-0
34.
"I had been clearing 17-
6 in practice" Brad said.
"I had two good jumps at
17-1 but my hamstring
was bothering me and I
was a little fatigued. My
timing was not there. I
wasn't staying down on
my swing drive."
"I thought Brad did a
good job for someone who
had not vaulted in a
couple of weeks and was
about 65 to 70 percent
healthy" father Ricky
Parris said.
Brad has nursed a groin
injury suffered earlier in
a racquetball class. He has
also had trouble with a
pulled hamstring.
"It feels great to be a
national champ" said
Brad.
Gypsy Ted Art
Gallery soon to
reopen in style
A Grand Re-Opening
will mark the return of
McMurry's Gypsy Ted Gal-
lery at 2117 Hunt Street
on Saturday March 27
according to Linda
Stricklin.
There will be a Trash
and Treasures fund rais-
ing garage sale in connec-
tion with the event. Those
wishing to donate items
for the sale should contact
or telephone Prof.
Stricklin.
Hours for the Re-Opening
will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday and 12 noon to
5 p.m. Sunday.
ATHLETIC TRIO: NCAA pole vault champ Brad Parris left stands with his par-
ents Dr. Pug Paris McMurry PI professor and Ricky Parris who also brought
pole vaulting championships to McMurry during his undergrad days.
Award-winning Ray
comedy is scheduled
on McMurry stage
"Just One of Those
Things" the prize winning
play by Brandon Ray will
be presented April 13-17
in the Ryan Little Theatre.
This romantic comedy is
set in New England.
Cast will include Marc
Dr. A.C. Sharp
Physics prof to
judge science fair
Dr. A.C. Sharp Mc-
Murry physics professor
has again been asked to
judge projects submitted
to the International Sci-
ence and Engineering Fair.
Dr. Sharp has been ac-
tive in student physics
projects judging both lo-
cally and nationally.
Philadelphia will host this
year's national event in
May.
HELP WANTED: Someone to sell caps & shirts
to school organizations on comission. Apply
YOUR IDEAS 727 S. Treadaway
McWhorter Doug Jeter
Denise Cox Johnny Reyes
and Dehna Mikuls.
Charles Ilukill directs
while Johnny Reyes de-
signed scenery and Chris
Beinemann designed
lighting.
Two McMurry plays
Ray's comedy and "Vic-
tor" by James Bernsen
both won in a competi-
tion held by the Texas
Educational Theater As-
sociation and were pre-
sented at the January
TETA convention in Austin.
AMERICAN 1 HR.
CLEANERS
1 HR. DRY CLEANING!
FAST BLUE JEANS
2318 S. 14TH
LOCATED ACROSS FROM CAMPUS
Students papers
to be published
in journals
Articles by Amy Wilson
and Betsy Wingcrt recent
McMurry graduates in
history will soon be
published in scholarly
journals.
Wingert's article "Scot-
tish Capital in the West-
ern Racing Industry" will
be published in The West
Texas Historical Associa-
tion Yearbook. Wilson's
article "Windmills Cattle
and the Railroad: The
Settlement of Llano
Estacado" will appear in
The Journal of the West.
Both were written
originally for McMurry's
History Writing Seminar.
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McMurry War Whoop (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 9, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 24, 1999, newspaper, March 24, 1999; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth104610/m1/3/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting McMurry University Library.