Missouri
Northern Iowa Invitational
Goebbert Achives Great Gains During First Day At UNI Invite
1/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Jan. 28, 2005
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The Missouri Track and Field squad opened the weekend Friday with the first day of competition in the Northern Iowa Invitational in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Senior Brandon Goebbert ended day one of the heptathlon in sixth place, but more importantly added 150 points to his first-day personal best, possibly on his way to gaining an NCAA qualifying mark.
Goebbert (Hinsdale, Ill.) gained three personal bests in the four events of the day, finishing day one with 2,712 points and in sixth place in the "Gold" Division amid steep competition. Goebbert started the day with a best in the 60-meter dash, running in 7.26. Next, Goebbert hit an indoor best with a long jump of 20 feet, 7 inches (6.27m). The shot put, the third event, proved mediocre for Goebbert, but he stood 81 points above his PR pace. Goebbert's best event of the day was his final, the high jump. Goebbert cleared four heights on one attempt and made the bar at six feet, 3¼ inches (1.91m) on his second to earn a new best in the event, gaining an additional 53 points to his optimal first day in the heptathlon.
Goebbert has already made huge strides in the 60-meter hurdles and pole vault events this season, two of the three remaining Saturday. With these marks, Goebbert could be on the way to obtaining an NCAA provisional qualifying mark (5,200 points).
In the men's "Purple" Division, senior Benjamin Vrbicek (Jefferson City, Mo.) and redshirt junior Sterling Hayden (St. Louis, Mo.) sets in second and third place, respectively, after day one. Vrbicek gained 2,564 points, spurred with a personal best in the 60-meter dash. Hayden ended day one with 2,534 points, with bests in the long jump and shot put events.
In the women's pentathlon, freshman Kaela Rorvig (Columbia, Mo./Hickman HS) finished in eighth place in her first combined event competition of her career, scoring 3,383 points. Redshirt junior Liz Young (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias HS) took ninth place with 3,255 points.
Tomorrow the Tigers will continue competition in the men's heptathlon and all the rest of the track and field events starting at 10 a.m. Missouri will be facing Big 12 foes Nebraska and Kansas State along with Big Ten schools in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. For a complete wrap-up of the meet tomorrow evening, visit mutigers.com.
