January 16, 1999
Columbia, MO - The Missouri Tiger men's and women's track teams won their season opener Saturday afternoon. MU hosted the Missouri Indoor Invitational and won the event with 201.50 points on the women's side and 182 points on the men's. Illinois State finished in second for both men's and women's with 156 and 153 points respectively, Wichita State was third on both sides with 118.5 (women) and 108 (men) and UMKC finished fourth for men (68) and women (57).
13 Missouri athletes won their individual events, including junior Lindsey Miller who broke a nearly nine-year old school record with a 39-10 3/4 triple jump. Senior Adam Ford won the high jump with a 7-2 spring that also marked him as a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships. Junior All-American Derrick Peterson won the 1,000m race with a 2:28.22 time, which was also the best time by a Big 12 runner in that event this season. Senior Erin Windler ran lead leg for the women's Distance Medley Relay and helped the Tigers to a victory in the event, in her first race in nearly a year. Sophomore thrower Micah Shanks finished fourth in the 35 lbs. weight throw, but broke his own school record with a throw of 51-3 ft, he also finished second in the shot put at 52-5.
MU wins also came from Ann-Marie Brooks (mile), Rannveig Kvalvik 55m hurdles), Kristian Fagerland (400m), Claudia Brown (600yd), Chris Shade (600yd), Becky Froelker (800m), Ashley Wysong (1,000m), Michelle Moran (high jump), Thomas Woods (200m), and Justa Dahl (3,000m). Also MU's men's and women's 4x400 relay teams gained wins Saturday, the women with a 3:55.35 time and the men with a 3:16.09 mark.
Missouri's wins came courtesy of their strong middle distance and distance running. 17 Tigers placed in the 1-4 slots of those races with MU winnning seven of ten middle distance and distance races. Missouri's dominance of the distance relays also keyed the victories. Only the men's Distance Medley Relay team was unable to pull out a win of the four distance relays and they finished second to UMKC by less than a second.
Junior William Hopson gave a strong performance in the long jump, leeping 23-2 and to a second place mark. Junior Jill Aholt placed third in the women's long jump and third in the 55m hurdles for MU.