New School Record for Thames on SEC Day One
5/13/2016 12:16:00 AM | Track & Field
The Tigers will continue in Tuscaloosa on Friday and Saturday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Mizzou Track and Field kicked off the first of three days at the 2016 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday (May 12). Out of the ten events contested throughout the day, including the first half of the men's decathlon, the Tigers marked in eight personal records (PR's), three All-Time Top Ten marks, and a new school record in the women's 400m hurdles from junior Valerie Thames.
MEET INFORMATION
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Events will be streamed live on SEC Network+ (via WatchESPN) on Friday and Saturday, with a highlight show airing on ESPN2 on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. CT. Coverage will start at 6:25 p.m. CT on Friday and 2:55 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The SEC in the USTFCCCA Top 25 (Men): No. 1 Texas A&M // No. 2 Florida // No. 3 LSU // No. 4 Arkansas // No. 6 Georgia // No. 9 Alabama // No. 13 Mississippi State // No. 22 South Carolina
The SEC in the USTFCCCA Top 25 (Women): No. 1 Kentucky // No. 2 Arkansas // No. 6 Florida // No. 7 LSU // No. 10 Texas A&M // No. 11 Georgia // No. 13 Tennessee // No. 16 Mississippi State // No. 24 Auburn // No. 25 Ole Miss
#MIZTF RECAP - THURSDAY
Thames entered the weekend's events with the second-fastest 400m hurdles time in school history, after she timed through in 59.10 at the Arkansas Spring Invitational earlier this season. She cruised right through that time with a 57.16 performance on Thursday, qualifying into Saturday's final. That time not only shaves over 1.50-seconds off of her PR, but also takes down the 2012 record by Leslie Farmer (57.80) by over half-a-second.
The day began, though, with Ser Whitaker in the first five of ten events in the men's decathlon. The senior kicked off his final combined event competition of his collegiate career with a series of PR's, starting with a 10.18 finish in the 100m dash, followed by 7.05m (23-1.75) in the long jump, 13.52m (44-4.25) in the shot put, and tied his PR of 1.93m (6-4) in the high jump.
Whitaker closed the day one with a total point tally of 3949, putting him in seventh overall in the field. He will begin his final five events of the competition starting at noon on Friday starting with the 110m hurdles.
Sophomore Valeska Halamicek got events rolling on the track with a new 800m run PR. She just missed on qualifying into Saturday's final with a tenth place crossing in 2:07.57. That mark puts her solidly in the No. 10 spot on the All-Time Top Ten, improving on her previous PR by nearly a second.
Sophomore Mark Sheridan also came away from the preliminary heats of the 800m with a new PR, running 1:52.18 to take 16th in the field.
Senior Markesh Woodson opened up the weekend with his first of two events, timing through with a new PR of 20.85 in the men's 200m dash preliminary round. That mark moves him into No. 7 on the All-Time Top Ten list. Woodson will be back on Friday in the men's 100m dash preliminary.
A series of rain delays, and a power outage during the men's race, pushed the 10,000m runs late into the evening. The women took to the line first, with freshman Jamie Kempfer leading the way for the Tigers with a fourth place finish. Kempfer's 34:13.68 just missed a podium finish, but was good for a PR and new No. 4 All-Time mark. Junior Kaitlyn Fischer was next across the line in sixth, followed by sophomore Ellyn Atkinson in ninth.
In the men's race, junior Ollie Lockley put up a good fight, holding well with the lead pack before dropping back to finish 11th in the field. He was followed by senior Dan Roe in 14th and junior Drew White in 18th.
#MIZTF NOTES
- The week's events will kick off on Thursday morning with the combined events competition, where senior Ser Whitaker will take on his final decathlon as a Tiger.
- The Tigers enter the championship weekend with nine top-five individual rankings in the conference with senior Markesh Woodson, sophomore Karissa Schweizer, senior Sam Dickerson, junior Teylar Adelsberger, freshman Matthew Ludwig, junior Reinhard Van Zyl, and sophomore Alex Pascal.
- Freshman Kahmari Montgomery is the sole SEC Champion returning from the indoor season, after he hit a top-ten world ranking in the 400m dash (45.78). He currently ranks tenth in the conference for the outdoor 400m with his 46.00 PR, the No. 2 time in Mizzou history.
- Senior Markesh Woodson is set to take the blocks for his final conference championship. He is set to take the 100m dash field ranked third with his newest PR of 10.13. Woodson has earned one SEC title (60m dash) and three All-SEC finishes (100m) throughout the last four years.
- Sophomore Karissa Schweizer holds a pair of top-five rankings in the conference, entering the week at No. 3 for the 1500m run and No. 2 for the 5000m. Schweizer currently holds the second-fastest time in school history for the 1500m with her 4:17.46 PR from the John McDonnell Invitational. Her 15:58.09 crossing from the Mt. SAC Relays is the third-fastest time in school history.
- Senior Sam Dickerson ranks fourth in the conference for the 3000m steeplechase, after he ran just off his PR time with an 8:53.83 finish.
- In the women's 3000m steeplechase, junior Teylar Adelsberger holds the fourth-fastest time in the conference this season after she dropped 39-seconds off her previous PR throughout the season. Her current PR of 10:12.39 is the second-fastest time in Mizzou history.
- This week marks the return of freshman Matthew Ludwig after his school record performance in the pole vault at the Memphis Tiger Invitational two weeks ago. Ludwig is ranked third in the conference with that 5.46m (17-11) bar.
- A pair of Tiger men sit within the top five of the men's javelin rankings. Junior newcomer Reinhard Van Zyl leads the duo with his third-ranked toss of 74.54m (244-7), followed by sophomore Alex Pascal at No. 5 (73.52m // 241-2).
- Other events to look out for include the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays, as the Tigers continue to rewrite the record books in the sprint events. So far this season, the Tiger women have ran to two 4x100m and three 4x400m records.
- This week marks the final opportunity for qualification into the NCAA Championships West Preliminary Round. The Tigers already have 31 athletes set to move on into the first round of national championship competition, hosted in Lawrence, Kansas, on May 26-28.
Events at Sam Bailey Stadium will resume at noon on Friday with the conclusion of the men's decathlon, followed by the start of field events at 2 p.m. and track events at 6:30 p.m. For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
#MIZTF RESULTS – THURSDAY
Decathlon (after five events) - 7. Ser Whitaker, 3949 pts.
100m Dash – 4. Whitaker, 10.18 PR
Long Jump – 8. Whitaker, 7.05m (23-1.75) PR
Shot Put – 6. Whitaker, 13.52m (44-4.25) PR
High Jump – 8. Whitaker, 1.93m (6-4) PR-t
400m Dash – 7. Whitaker, 50.74
200m Dash, Women – 21. LaQuisha Jackson, 23.66w // 31. Jacqueline Obi, 24.56
200m Dash, Men – 16. Markesh Woodson, 20.85 PR #7-t // 25. Kahmari Montgomery, 21.13 // 35. Niager Mathis, 21.53 // 37. Beresford Sweeney, 21.72
800m Run, Women – 10. Valeska Halamicek, 2:07.57 PR #10
800m Run, Men – 16. Mark Sheridan, 1:52.18 PR
10,000m Run, Women – 4. Jamie Kempfer, 34:13.68 PR #4 // 6. Kaitlyn Fischer, 34:26.18 // 9. Ellyn Atkinson, 35:39.16
10,000m Run, Men – 11. Ollie Lockley, 30:29.75 // 14. Dan Roe, 31:03.00 // 18. Drew White, 31:55.71
400m Hurdles, Women – 7. Valerie Thames, 57.16q SR
Hammer Throw, Women – 9. Rebecca Keating, 56.20m (184-4)
Hammer Throw, Men – 18. Nick Sublett, 55.82m (183-2)
| #MIZTF LINE-UP - FRIDAY | ||
| 12:00 p.m. | Dec. - 110m Hurdles | Ser Whitaker |
| 12:45 p.m. | Dec. - Discus | Ser Whitaker |
| 2:00 p.m. | Long Jump, Women | Lynnsey Brim |
| 2:45 p.m. | Dec. - Pole Vault | Ser Whitaker |
| 3:05 p.m. | Shot Put, Men | Will Fife |
| 5:45 p.m. | Dec. - Javelin | Ser Whitaker |
| 6:30 p.m. | Long Jump, Men | Tony Carodine // John Warren |
| 6:30 p.m. | 100m Hurdles, Women | Alyssa Felton // Valerie Thames |
| 6:50 p.m. | 110m Hurdles, Men | Charles Graham, Jr. |
| 7:10 p.m. | 1500m Run, Women | Karissa Schweizer |
| 7:30 p.m. | 1500m Run, Men | Will Crocker // Thomas George // Luca Russo |
| 7:30 p.m. | Shot Put, Women | Gabi Jacobs |
| 7:50 p.m. | Dec. - 1500m Run | Ser Whitaker |
| 7:55 p.m. | 400m Dash, Women | Ayo Adewole // Maya Cody // Sandrae Farquharson // Sydney Wells |
| 8:20 p.m. | 400m Dash, Men | Kahmari Montgomery |
| 8:35 p.m. | Javelin, Men | Alex Pascal // Reinhard Van Zyl |
| 8:45 p.m. | 100m Dash, Women | Alyssa Felton // LaQuisha Jackson |
| 9:10 p.m. | 100m Dash, Men | Niager Mathis // Markesh Woodson |
| 9:35 p.m. | 3000m Steeplechase, Women | Teylar Adelsberger |
| 9:55 p.m. | 3000m Steeplechase, Men | Sam Dickerson // Marc Dubrick // Sheldon Keence |
| #MIZTF LINE-UP - SATURDAY | ||
| 11:00 a.m. | High Jump, Women | Karissa Roman |
| 11:30 a.m. | Discus, Women | Gabi Jacobs |
| 11:35 a.m. | Triple Jump, Women | Danielle Williams |
| 11:40 a.m. | Pole Vault, Men | Matthew Ludwig |
| 3:35 p.m. | Pole Vault, Women | Rayce Albino // Alyssa Applebee |
| 3:40 p.m. | Triple Jump, Men | Tony Carodine // John Warren |
| 3:45 p.m. | Discus, Men | Tanner Buschmann |
| 5:40 p.m. | 5000m Run, Women | Teylar Adelsberger // Ellyn Atkinson // Kaitlyn Fischer // Jamie Kempfer // Nicole Mello // Karissa Schweizer // Kate Smith |
| 6:00 p.m. | 5000m Run, Men | Jordan Cook // Will Crocker // Sam Dickerson // Marc Dubrick // Ollie Lockley // Dan Roe // Drew White |
Players Mentioned
