Tigers Wrap Up Kansas Relays

Saturday, April 17

Lawrence, KS

AllDay

Missouri

Kansas Relays

4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

April 17, 2010

Complete Results

Complete Results | Friday Recap

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The Mizzou track and field program wrapped up competition at the 83rd annual Kansas Relays at Memorial Stadium on Saturday (April 17) and saw several of its relay teams perform really well. In all, Mizzou earned three relay titles and saw Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, Iowa) earn the men's 800m run title, giving Mizzou four event titles on the day.

Early in the day, the Tiger relay teams came out and claimed three event titles Saturday morning. First, the men's sprint medley relay team, comprised of Clifton Leake (Dallas, Texas), Matt Pickerel (Columbia, Mo.), Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo.) and Tyrell Everett (Wichita, Kan.), claimed the event title by more than five seconds after clocking in at 3:26.67. The women's team of Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla.), Sierra Gant (Wichita, Kan.), Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.) and Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan.) took second place at 4:01.85, just more than a second off of the winning pace.

The relay teams continued to see success as the Tigers swept the 4x880-yard relay races on Saturday. The men's team posted the best time in the event at the KU Relays since 2002 by clocking in at 7:39.25 due in large part to a blistering final leg by Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.). Everett, Rick Scheff (Atlanta, Ga.) and Ricky West (Scarborough, Ontario) also ran in the race. The women's team was equally as impressive in the event as senior Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) gave the Tigers a lead that they did not relinquish on the first leg as the foursome clocked in at 9:09.73, about 22 seconds ahead of the next-best team. Chelsea Chrisman (Eureka, Mo.), Esther Vermue (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and Moore ran on that relay team.

Staying in the middle-distance events, Irwin won the men's 800m run with a season-best time of 1:50.51 while Scheff finished third at 1:53.63. Shannon Leinert (Eureka, Mo.) took second place in the women's 800m run at 2:10.51 while teammate Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.) took third at 2:12.92. Vermue finished in fourth overall after coming in at 2:13.95. The men's 4x400m relay also took second overall at 3:12.83 to round out a great day for the Tiger relay teams.

After qualifying with the third-best time in the women's 400m hurdles yesterday, Farmer ran to the same place, clocking in at 1:00.69, just 0.60 off of her school-record pace. Chris Davis (Riverdale, Ga.) was the Tigers' top finisher in the event on the men's as he clocked in at 51.96 to take fifth place in a very competitive field.

After advancing to the finals in the 400m dash yesterday, Blackwell took sixth place overall in the event finals with a time of 48.49. He improved his seeding in the race by two spots with that time as he entered with the eight-best qualifying time in the event. Mims was the Tigers' top finisher in the 400m dash finals as she clocked in at 1:00.27 to earn eighth overall.

After a successful two days in the throws on Thursday and Friday, the Tigers continued to see success in the ring as Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.) placed fourth overall in the women's discus at 46.80m (153-6). Freshman Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) also had a strong performance in the discus as she finished sixth at 45.02m (147-8).

Daniel Hunter (Hallsville, Mo.) was the Tigers' top finisher in the men's high jump as he placed ninth at 2.00m (6-6 ¾). Staying in the jump events, freshman Tucker Bounds (Columbia, Mo.) finished first in his flight at 6.76m (22-2 ¼), earning him 11th overall in a field of 25. Mims was Mizzou's top placer in the women's long jump as she leaped 5.78m (18-11 ¾) to take 10th overall. Heather Green (Jefferson City, Mo.) placed 11th in the women's pole vault after clearing 3.50m (11-5 ¾) on her first attempt.

Mizzou will be back on the road next weekend as they head to the Drake Relays, one of the most prestigious meets in the nation during the outdoor season. Former Tiger thrower Christian Cantwell will be inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame at the meet, joining current head coach Rick McGuire in the hall. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.

###