The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CLAYTON Pritchard came to town and he liked what he saw from high jumpers Kyle Alcine and Daehja Moss as they competed in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations' Aliv Junior Nationals at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium over the weekend.

Pritchard, an assistant coach responsible for jumps at NDSU, will be welcoming the duo in August when they begin their freshmen years as members of the Bison track and field programme.

"I saw them compete very well," said Pritchard, who also serves as the recruiter for NDSU. "Their performances weren't what they expected this weekend, but they competed very well.

"They will only get better as time goes on. They are very young athletes and they are very talented young athletes with a lot of potential, so we are pretty excited to have them at North Dakota."

Pritchard, however, said he's not sure who is more excited as he and the rest of the coaching staff, headed by Don Larson, welcome the two or whether the pair are more eager to become Bison competitors.

"We'll see what happens when they come to North Dakota," Pritchard said. "We want them to come there and compete hard. We know that they will train hard and our goal for them is not just to become conference champions, but we want them to compete in the national meets and perform very well at the NCAAs.

"I think we both have the same expectations for them and if they do what they are capable of, they can achieve those goals."

The two jumpers will take over from Olympian Trevor Barry, who not only competed for NDSU as a high jumper, but he was also on their Bison athletic staff for a short period of time as an assistant coach.

Both athletes indicated that while they had the eyes of Pritchard in the stands, they knew they had to still perform. "My performance wasn't that good today," said Moss, who cleared 1.65 metres or 5-feet, 5-inches to win the under-20 girls' high jump. "It's been a long season but it was a successful season, so I'm okay with my performance."

Moss, who is now preparing for the Junior Pan American/NACAC Championships in Lima, Peru July 21-23, said it was nerve wrecking for her, knowing that Prichard was in the stands watching. "I think that contributed to my performance," she said.

For Alcine, a 2.15m (7-0 1/2) was all he could muster to win the under-20 boys' high jump. And while it was a qualifier for Jr Pan Am, Alcine said he was able to impress his new coach.

"It was great. I could really say that," he stressed. "I really wanted to put on a show for him so that he could actually see me jump over seven feet and he could see what I have to do to improve."

While here to view the pair in competition, Pritchard said he also took the time out to look at other potential athletes that he could recruit for NDSU.

"We are always looking for athletes who can help the team out," he said. "Our immediate goal is to get them to become conference champions and the long time goal is to get them to perform at the NCAA.

"We come down here because there is a lot of good talent here. So it's always fun to come here and watch them compete. It's pretty exciting because these athletes here love to compete."