Russ Jewett just wanted to be left alone.
He wasn't being rude. Rather, Jewett was nervous, so he sat in the corner of the Robert W. Plaster Center in late February during the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) indoor track meet on the campus of Pittsburg State University in Kansas.
Jewett has been involved with the Pittsburg State track program since the late 1970s, first as a student-athlete and then as a longtime coach who stepped down in 2021. Still, Jewett remains a senior associate athletic director at the school and a passionate fan.
"I was kind of a mess," Jewett said. "I'm very much emotionally involved still, without question."
Jewett shouldn't have been too worried, though, as his successor, Kyle Rutledge, has maintained the high standard that Jewett had set. The Pittsburg State men's and wom...
