Missouri
Pepsi Invitational
Tigers Shine at Pepsi Invitational
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 10, 2010
EUGENE, Ore. - The Mizzou track and field program saw its women place third overall - ahead of No. 12 Washington - with 141 total points at the 21st Annual Pepsi Invitational at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Sophomore Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.) was the highlight of the day for the Tiger women as she broke her own school record in the 400m hurdles after clocking in at 1:00.09. The Tiger women were topped by only Oregon and Texas A&M, who occupy the second and third spots in the USTFCCCA national polls. The Tiger men finished the meet in fifth with 103 total points. In all, Mizzou claimed three event titles on the day and had five additional runner-up finishes.
The Tiger throwers had a huge day, highlighted by senior Andy Oaker (Steelville, Mo.) and freshman Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) who each claimed shot put titles at the scored meet. Oaker did so by throwing 17.18m (56-4 ½) while Evans measured in at 14.83m (48-8), more than three feet ahead of the next closest competitor, who just happened to be teammate Laura Greenfield (Liberty, Mo.) as she measured in at 13.89m (45-7). Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, Mo.) was third in the men's shot put at 16.01m (52-6 ½) to round out the scorers for the Tigers in the event.
The throwers saw continued success in the discus and the hammer as well. Mosier completed his fine day by winning the men's discus with a personal-best toss of 49.74m (162-4) while teammate Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, Mo.) placed fourth in the event with a throw of 47.37m (155-5). Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Evans finished second and third in the discus on the women's side at 46.65m (153-1) and 46.38m (152-2), respectively.
Cortni Ervin (Marshall, Mo.) was the Tigers' top finisher in the hammer throw on the women's side after measuring in at 50.15m (164-6), a new personal-best in the event. Melissa Coil (Clark, Mo.) and Collins finished fourth and fifth in the event, respectively. Chris Holly (Topeka, Kan.) was the Tigers' top finisher in the hammer throw on the men's side after tossing 59.28m (195-6), placing fourth overall.
Mizzou continued to see success in the 800m run, highlighted by late kicks from both Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan.), who both earned second place in their respective races. Dixon clocked in at 1:50.11 to finish just behind Mac Fleet of Oregon. Moore was paced at 2:08.22, an outdoor personal-best, finishing just ahead of teammate Shannon Leinert (Eureka, Mo.) who was paced at 2:08.67. Tyrell Everett (Wichita, Kan.) was the next men's finisher after Dixon in the 800m run at 1:51.98, just off of his outdoor personal-best time.
Kellyn Fogarty (Marshalltown, Iowa) continued the Tigers' success on the track as he set a personal-best in the 400m hurdles at 53.15 to take second-place overall. Chris Davis (Riverdale, Ga.) placed sixth in the event at 54.05. Fogarty, Farmer and Davis were not the only Tigers to see success in the hurdle events as senior Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo.) placed second overall in the 110m hurdles at 14.13, a new personal-best time in the event. That time is also the eight-best in Mizzou history as well. Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo.) had a strong performance on the short track as well, turning in a fourth-place finish in the 400m dash after clocking in at 48.01.
In the distance and middle-distance events, freshman Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.) was one of the many highlights for the Tiger women as she placed fourth in a very competitive 5,00m run field. She clocked in at 16:41.72, an outdoor personal-best. That mark is also the seventh-best ever by a Tiger runner. Teammates Angela Potrykus (Evergreen Colo.) and Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas) also had fine performances in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Potrykus ran a time of 11:03.12 while Belvis was just behind her at 11:09.18, ranking her 10th on Mizzou's all-time list in the event.
In the 1,500m run, Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) was the Tigers' top finisher after clocking in at 4:26.38, which was good enough for fifth place. Esther Vermue (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) was just behind her at 4:30.06.
Phillip King (Columbia, Mo.) kept things going for the men in the distance events as he finished fifth in the 5,000m run with a personal-best clocking of 14:17.62, which ranks him sixth all-time at Mizzou. Senior Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) also turned in a fifth-place nod in the 1,5000m run, clocking in at 3:49.78, just two hundredths of a second off of the fourth-place finisher.
Heather Green (Jefferson City, Mo.) finished fifth in the pole vault at 3.46m (11-4 ¼), while Meaghan Brougher (Dallas, Texas) and Stacy Swineburg (Camdenton, Mo.) each cleared 1.60m (5-3) in the high jump as that trio combined to score 11 points for the Tiger women. Shawnte Middlebrook (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla.) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the long jump at 5.51m (18-1) and 5.50m (18-0 ½) to add seven more points to the women's score.
Head coach Rick McGuire, who is retiring at the end of the season, was also recognized by the Oregon coaching staff at the meet in honor of his 27 years of dedication to track and field.
Mizzou's combined event athletes will stay on the west coast as they head to Azusa, Calif., for the Mt. SAC Combined Events while the rest of the team will head home tomorrow as they will prepare for next weekend' Kansas Relays. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
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Players Mentioned
