May 17, 1999

Columbia, Mo. - Begining Friday, May 21, the Missouri Track & Field team will be competeing at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The meet is the third conference outdoor meet since the inception of the Big 12, last year Missouri finished seventh in the men's competition and ninth in the women's events. Last year Missouri hosted the conference meet at the Audrey J. Walton Track Soccer Field Stadium, in 2000 MU will again host the Big 12 gathering in Columbia.

PETERSON AFTER HIS THIRD OUTDOOR CROWN; SIXTH BIG 12 800M TITLE They say repeating a championship is the hardest acheivement in sports. If that's true, Derrick Peterson needs another challenge. The junior will attempt to win his sixth consecutive Big 12 800m title this weekend Heading into the conference meet, Peterson has recorded the fastest time of any conference runner during the 1999 outdoor season, 1:48.28. At the 1998 Big 12 meet, Derrick tore up his home track, posting a meet record 1:47.78 at Walton Stadium, more than two seconds better than his nearest competitor. A 1999 outdoor victory would be the third outdoor championship in a row for the Jonesboro. Georgia native.

FILE, KVALVIK, AND STRINDEBERG 1998 RUNNERS-UP; 1999 CHAMPIONS? Three Missouri athletes came within a few points and a couple of feet of adding a Big 12 Championship to their resume in 1998. Darin File was within three feet of repeating as the Big 12's men's javelin champion last season by recording a school record 244-7 throw. However File was the competition's runner-up with Kansas' Scott Russell taking the title with a 247-7 toss. File was the 1997 Big 12 Champion in the event, a meet that was held in Waco, Texas site of the 1999 Big 12 meet. The Multi-Events were nearly swept by the Tigers in 1998 with sophomore Espen Strindeberg finishing out of the top spot in the decathlon by just 35 points and senior Rannveig Kvalvik coming in as runner-up in the heptahlon only 125 points short.

FIVE TIGER HEPTATHLETES CHASING 5,000 One of the historic strengths of Missouri Track and Field has been the heptathlon. Dating back to Teri LeBlanc, who was a 1989 all-American after a fifth place finish in the Heptathlon, the Tigers have annually had a strong athelete for the multi-events. This 1999 Tiger squad is stronger than ever in the event with five quality heptathletes who will challenge for all-Big 12 honors this week. Four of the five have earned 1998 all-Big 12 honors outdoors: Rannveig Kvalvik, Eli Sommerfeldt, Jill Aholt, and Michelle Moran. These four along with Jill Osenbaugh are also attempting to become the first collegiate team to have five 5,000 point heptathlon scorers in the same season. Three Missouri women accomplished the feat last season: Kvalvik (5,346), Sommerfeldt (5,107), and Aholt (5,046). Moran has posted a career high of 4,949 and Osenbaugh has nearly reached the 5,000 mark with a career high 4,954. This week's heptathlon in Waco may be history in the making for the Tigers.

MU KEEPS RUNNING FASTER, JUMPING FURTHER, AND THROWING LONGER That is exactly what the Tiger team has been doing in the two weeks leading to this week's Big 12 Outdoor Championships. At the May 9 Phil Diamond Quad and the May 1 Missouri Invitational, the Tigers set a total of 65 career and season bests. A great sign of what the Missouri athletes hope will be a great conference meet. Last weekend at the Phil Diamond Quad, hosted by the University of Michigan, Missouri posted 30 career and season bests. Of the meets accomplishments, Darrell Meinke's discus performance may have topped the list. The junior registered a 183-9 discus throw, a provisional qualifying mark, and a career best by over 13 feet. With the national qualifying mark, Meinke won his fourth discus competition of the outdoor season, vaulted himself into the Big 12 Conference's top 5 on the year. Sophomore Ashley Wysong set her career best and moved up the national rankings in the 800m with a 2:06.26 provisional time, inching closer to the school record of 2:05.6 set in 1979. Senior Thomas Woods gave a career performance in the Missouri Invitational 400m race May 1. Woods sprinted past the competition to victory in 46.93. Long jumper William Hopson leaped 24-6 1/2, marking a career best in the event outdoors. The jump won the meet's long jump competition by more than three feet!

1998 ALL-BIG 12 PERFORMERS RETURNING FOR 1999 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sunny Gilbert (800m,8th,2:13.82),

Katie Meyer (3,000m,4th,9:58.82),

Women's (4x400m,7th,3:43.23)

Michelle Moran (High Jump,8th,5-5)

Lindsey Miller (Triple Jump,6th,38-9)

Tracey Holloman (Javelin,3rd,161-10)

Eli Sommerfeldt (Javelin,8th,137-1)

Rannveig Kvalvik (Heptathlon,2nd,5,346 points)

Eli Sommerfeldt (Heptathlon,4th,5,107 points)

Jill Aholt (Heptathlon,5th, 5,065 points)

Michelle Moran (Heptathlon, 7th, 4,949 points)

Chad Shade (400m, 6th, 47.33)

Derrick Peterson (800m, 1st, 1:47.78)

Adam MacDowell (Steeple, 6th, 9:09.20)

Men's (4x400m, 6th, 3:08.88)

Judd Price (Shot Put, 7th, 55-3 )

Darrell Meinke (Discus, 6th, 170-5)

Darin File (Javelin, 2nd, 244-7)

Espen Strindeberg (Decathlon, 2nd, 7,355 points)