University of Missouri
Big 12 Championships
Patten Wins Third Big 12 Title
5/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 15, 2005
MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Missouri Track & Field team completed competition in the Big 12 Championships in Manhattan, Kan., on Sunday. In what is arguably the toughest conference in the World, the Tiger women placed seventh - the men ninth. Some outstanding individual performances included junior Ashley Patten becoming a three-time Big 12 Champion, winning the women's 800-meter run in 2:04.04, the second-best time this season in the NCAA. In addition, Patten and sophomore Marcus Mayes earned automatic entry into the USA Track & Field Championships.
Patten (Clarkston, Mich.) had to come from behind to take the title with her personal best, also earning a U.S. Championship `A' qualifier. With 400 meters remaining, Patten was in second as a fast pace, set by Kansas State's Lysaira Roman-Del Valle with an opening lap of 58 seconds, kept the Tiger and the pack two seconds behind. As the Wildcat started to fade in the final 50 meters, Patten kicked on the jets, to take the title by 62 hundredths of a second.
Patten's time is not only the second-best clocking for the season in the NCAA, it ranks as the sixth-best ran by an American for the year. The performance was also the second-best ever in the Big 12 Championships; only former Tiger Ashley Wysong ran a faster (2:03.96) at the 2000 Big 12 meet. Wysong is also the school's record holder (2:02.94).
Freshman Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) ran an outdoor collegiate best in the same race, placing fifth with a time of 2:07.81.
In the men's race, sophomore Marcus Mayes (Sand Spring, Okla.) went toe-to-toe with some of the best half-milers in the country and placed sixth with a 1:47.78 time, a personal best by over a second. The race's winner Texas Tech Olympian Jonathan Johnson (1:44.86), set a blistering pace of 50 seconds for the opening lap to help push the top seven in the race over the U.S. Championship `A' standard.
The `A' standard automatically qualifies Mayes and Patten for late-June's USATF Championships in Los Angeles.
Junior Amanda Bales (Bettendorf, Iowa) continues a successful season, placing second in the women's 1500-meter run with a time of 4:18.78. The time is eighth best on the NCAA list and ranks as the second-best ever by a Tiger. Later in the day, Bales placed fifth in the 5000 meter with a time of 16:38.55. Bales, now a 13-time All-Big 12 performer, has qualified for the NCAA regional at both distances.
Junior Kristin Hansen (Milford, Iowa) earned her first All-Big 12 honor, placing sixth in the 1500 meter, clocking 4:26.48. Junior Valerie Lauver (Allen, Texas) placed eighth in the 5000-meter run, running 16:46.55. Lauver placed fourth in the 10k on Friday night.
Senior Marquis Davis (O'Fallon, Ill.) became a three-time All-Big 12 performer with the best conference finish in his career with a 21.48, fifth-place showing in the men's 200-meter. Senior Jennifer Bennett (Ashland, Mo.) scored in her sixth conference meet, placing fifth in the women's pole vault, clearing 12-9½ (3.90m). Senior Jill Petersen (O'Fallon, Mo.) took fifth in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, running 10:45.29, earning her eighth spot on the All-Big 12 team.
Sophomore Greg Bracey (Milwaukee, Wisc.) scored in his first conference meet, taking seventh in the men's 100-meter dash, clocking 10.61. Sophomore Melanie Uher (Wilber, Neb.) placed sixth in the women's discus with a throw of 160-1 (48.79m), earning her second straight All-Big 12 honor.
In the men's discus, sophomore Bobby Musil placed sixth with a throw of 174-4 (53.15m). Freshman Jason Morris qualified for the NCAA regional with a throw of 166-8 (50.79m), placing 11th. The Tigers have three qualified in the event.
Senior Jesse Sims wrapped up his conference career with a seventh-place showing in the men's high jump, clearing 6-8¾ (2.05m). Senior Margaret Ibe Umah scored in the women's 400-meter hurdles with an eighth-place showing.
The men's 1600-meter relay of Jimmie Jones, Jason Jones, Marquis Davis, and Marcus Mayes qualified for the NCAA regional championships for the first time this year with a seventh-place time of 3:09.83. The women's relay of Whittney Stuart, Ashley Patten, Trisa Nickoley, and Laura Brandt scored for the team with an eighth-place time of 3:43.88, making them the fifth-best relay team all-time at Mizzou.
In the team scoring the Missouri women earned 55 points for a tie for seventh with Oklahoma State. Nebraska won their first women's title since 2000 with 126 2/3, topping Texas by 10 points.
The Tiger men took ninth with 44½. Texas Tech won their first Big 12 title in team history with 149½, beating Nebraska by 13 points.
The meet can be seen on Fox Sports Midwest on Thursday and Saturday of next week. Check local listings as airing of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game may preempt the show on Thursday. Check big12sports.com for clearances of the showing of the meet around the country on all of FSN's networks.
Next for the Tigers qualified is the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships to be held in Bloomington, Ind., on May 27-28. Around 30 Tigers have earned qualifying marks for entry into the meet. The top five in the regional will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held in Sacramento in mid-June. A complete list of Tigers qualified for the meet will be released on Tuesday.
For more information on Tiger Track & Field, visit mutigers.com
Players Mentioned
