No. 18 @MIZ_TrackField Ready to Take On NCAA Preliminary Round

5/25/2016 5:08:00 PM | Track & Field

Events in Lawrence, Kansas, will begin on Thursday and go through Saturday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A record group of 30 Mizzou Track & Field athletes are in Lawrence, Kansas, this week to take on the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round. Starting on Thursday (May 26) and lasting through Saturday (May 28), the 13 men and 17 women will look to claim their spot at the NCAA Championships next month in Eugene, Oregon.

This is the largest group ever to have qualified for this first round of NCAA competition, surpassing the 2012 qualifying group of 27. And that isn't the only record the Tigers have hit heading into the next stage of the post-season, as the men's team earned their highest national ranking ever earlier this week, coming in at No. 18.

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Qualification into the NCAA Preliminary Round is based on the top 48 ranked individuals, top 24 relays, in the west region. Only the top 12 in each event will advance into the finals in Eugene.

Events at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence will begin on Thursday, May 26, and go through Saturday, May 28.

Live Broadcast (courtesy of KU Athletics)
Thursday – Starting at 4:25 p.m. CT
Friday – Starting at 4:55 p.m. CT
Saturday – Starting at 5:55 p.m. CT

#MIZTF NOTES
The Tigers are heading into the NCAA Preliminary Round after a few record weeks for the men's team, after they claimed their highest finish ever at the SEC Championships (eighth). That placing launched the team into the highest national ranking in team history, coming in at No. 19 in the May 16 poll released by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association). They continued climbing through the rankings this week, taking over the No. 18 spot based on their entries into the Preliminary Round.

Among the highlights out of this group are eight school record holders, including the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams, who are the first women's relays in school history to make it into the NCAA Preliminary Round.

This is yet another highlight for the women's sprints group as they continue to rewrite the Mizzou record books. Their latest historical performance came during the SEC Championships, when the squad of freshman Maya Cody, junior LaQuisha Jackson, senior Alyssa Felton, and junior Sandrae Farquharson timed through with a new 4x100m school record (44.40). Farquharson and Jackson returned to join junior Valerie Thames and senior Ayo Adewole in the 4x400m, hitting yet another record time (3:34.20).

That 4x400m relay was just one of four school record performances for Thames during the SEC Championships weekend, as she hit all-time bests during the preliminary (13.25) and final (13.18) heats of the 100m hurdles, and the preliminary heat of the 400m hurdles (57.16). She enters this weekend ranked 15th in the 100m hurdles for the west region, and ninth in the 400m hurdles.

Freshman Kahmari Montgomery is also riding quite a bit of momentum after the SEC Championships, earning his second conference crown in the 400m dash with a new school record and one of the fastest times in the world (45.13). He is ranked second in both the west region and the NCAA in the 400m dash, and also enters ranked 18th in the 200m dash.

Joining Montgomery in the 200m dash field is senior Markesh Woodson, who is just one of three Tigers in this group to be a four-time Preliminary Round qualifier. Woodson qualified in the 200m with his 20.85 PR from the SEC Championships. His primary event, though, is the 100m dash, where he ranks third in the region and seventh in the NCAA with his 10.13 PR from earlier this season.

On the women's side, junior LaQuisha Jackson is also set to double-up in the 100m and 200m dashes. She is ranked 24th in the region in the 100m dash (11.47) and 13th in the 200m with her school record performance of 23.10.

Freshman Matthew Ludwig rounds out the list of school record holders for the weekend, as he returns to competition after an All-SEC finish in the pole vault two weeks ago. He is ranked sixth in the field with his school record bar of 5.46m (17-11).

Seniors Tony Carodine and Sam Dickerson join Woodson as the only Tigers in this group to have qualified for the Preliminary Round all four years. Carodine comes in ranked tenth in the triple jump with his PR from the SEC Championships (15.86m // 52-0.50), while Dickerson holds the No. 26 time in the west region for the 3000m steeplechase (8:52.50).

Other top ten ranked Tigers in the field include junior Reinhard Van Zyl (javelin, No. 5), sophomore John Warren (triple jump, No. 7), sophomore Karissa Schweizer (5000m run, No. 8), sophomore Alex Pascal (javelin, No. 8), and junior Will Crocker (1500m run, No. 10).

WHITAKER ALREADY THROUGH TO EUGENE

One Tiger can rest easy this week, however, as senior Ser Whitaker already booked his ticket to the NCAA Championships for the decathlon. The men's decathlon and women's heptathlon are the only events that forego the preliminary round process, taking the top 24 ranked athletes from across the country directly into the championship final.

Whitaker is the first Mizzou athlete to qualify in the combined events since Lars Rise, who had a streak of All-American finishes from 2008-2011. He claimed his spot after a PR performance during the SEC Championships, tallying up a total of 7488 points to place sixth in the conference. That performance also moved Whitaker up into No. 5 on Mizzou's All-Time Top Ten list.

Events at Rock Chalk Park for the Tigers will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday (May 26) with sophomore John Warren in the men's long jump. Events on the track will kick off shortly after with junior Valerie Thames taking on the 400m hurdles at 4:30 p.m. CT. For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.

UPDATED SCHEDULE (AS OF 05/27)
A series of storms pushed events back on day one of the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round. In anticipation of more storms rolling through Lawrence, Kansas, on Friday and Saturday, all events will be run as a quarterfinal with the top 12 athletes advancing into Eugene as noted below.

The 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and hurdles will advance the heat winner and the next six fastest times.
The 1500m will advance the top two finishers, plus the next four fastest times.
Relays will advance the top three from each heat, plus the next three best times.
The 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 10k runs will advance as printed, with the top 12 finishers advancing.

*#MIZTF LINE-UP - FRIDAY*
8:00 a.m.	10k Run, Women	Kaitlyn Fischer // Jamie Kempfer
8:40 a.m.	10k Run, Men	Ollie Lockley
9:00 a.m.	Long Jump, Men	John Warren
9:20 a.m.	100m Dash, Women	LaQuisha Jackson
9:45 a.m.	100m Dash, Men	Markesh Woodson
10:10 a.m.	400m Dash, Women	Maya Cody // Sandrae Farquharson
10:30 a.m.	Javelin, Men	Alex Pascal // Reinhard Van Zyl
10:35 a.m.	400m Dash, Men	Kahmari Montgomery
11:00 a.m.	800m Run, Women	Valeska Halamicek
11:30 a.m.	Pole Vault, Men	Matthew Ludwig
11:50 a.m.	400m Hurdles, Women	Valerie Thames
12:45 p.m.	3k Steeplechase, Women	Teylar Adelsberger
1:25 p.m.	3k Steeplechase, Men	Sam Dickerson
2:30 p.m.	Discus, Women	Gabi Jacobs
2:30 p.m.	Long Jump, Women	Lynnsey Brim
5:30 p.m.	Pole Vault, Women	Rayce Albino // Alyssa Applebee

*#MIZTF LINE-UP - SATURDAY*
9:00 a.m.	Triple Jump, Men	Tony Carodine // John Warren
10:00 a.m.	4x100m, Women
10:15 a.m.	4x100m, Men
11:00 a.m.	1500m Run, Men	Will Crocker
11:30 a.m.	100m Hurdles, Women	Alyssa Felton // Valerie Thames
12:30 p.m.	Triple Jump, Women	Danielle Williams
12:30 p.m.	200m Dash, Women	LaQuisha Jackson
12:55 p.m.	200m Dash, Men	Kahmari Montgomery // Markesh Woodson
1:20 p.m.	5000m Run, Women	Karissa Schweizer
2:30 p.m.	4x400m, Women