Jan. 11, 2000
Tigers Open Season At Home With Missouri Invitational
The University of Missouri men's and women's track and field team will start its 2000 indoor season Friday (Jan. 14) at the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse by hosting the Missouri Invitational. MU will host Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Arkansas women of the South Eastern Conference. The meet begins with the field events at 4:00 p.m. and the running events at 6:00 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and children over the ages of two.
A Look Ahead At the 2000 Season
The University of Missouri is celebrating a century of track and field in the new millenium. Mizzou has made a name for itself over the past 99 years and hopes to continue this season. During the 1999 campaign, school records were broken were broken throughout the season while All-Conference honors and All-American accolades were at an all-time high. This season the Black and Gold welcomes a team with a quality blend of youth and experience.
Two nationally prominent co-captains lead the way for Missouri. National Collegiate record holder Derrick Peterson enters his senior campaign as one of the best middle distance runners in the country. The senior, who is undefeated at the conference meet, will be looking to defend both his indoor and outdoor Big 12 and NCAA titles this season. Two-time All-American Ashley Wysong set both the indoor and outdoor 800m run school records last season after returning from injury in 1998. The junior will head up Missouri's strong middle distance contingent this year after a spectacular sophomore campaign.
Senior co-captains Ryan Pirtle, Jay Meystedt and Espen Stridenberg are three top returnees for the Tigers on the men's side. Both athletes are eager to make their senior campaigns memorable. On the women's side, Missouri will look to co-captains Heather White, Lindsey Miller and Katie Meyer to continue leading by both performance and example. These three women are all All-Conference honorees who can have great 2000 seasons.
Both teams return a number of successful veterans who scored at the Big 12 indoor and outdoor meets. Add in a number of talented newcomers, the Tigers have all the ingredients for an exciting 2000 campaign.
Middle Distance/Distance
Missouri always seems to turn heads in the middle distance and distance events and this year should certainly be no exception. At the NCAA Championships, Derrick Peterson and Ashley Wysong turned in some of Missouri's greatest performances in recent memory.
Besides Peterson, the Tigers return a full complement of middle distance runners to this year's squad. Senior Damien Smith, junior Blair Hansard and sophomore Timothy Dunne were all members of MU's 1999 Drake Relays champion 3,200m Relay. The Tigers can also look to senior Joel McCune and junior Dan Dellegrazio. Both are seasoned veterans who are expected to be mainstays in Missouri's deep middle distance group. With the addition of freshman Stewart Kimball, named the No. 2 middle distance recruit by Track & Field News coming out of high school, the middle distance events are as deep as ever.
Senior Joel McCune has already earned All-Conference honors in the 1,500m, but can run any event up to 5,000m as well. Pirtle, who has qualified for the U.S.A. Olympic Trials in the 3,000m steeplechase, is MU's top returnee in the event. He will be helped out by junior Adam MacDowell and sophomore Steve Wade. Senior Nick Smith set the school record in the 5,000m run during the indoor season in 1999 and nearly broke the 10,000m school record outdoors.
Providing quality depth for Mizzou in the distance events will lbe Owen Donahue, Mike Larson, Mike Pitts and Greg Speicher. All these men bring a lot of experience to the track and will help the Black and Gold in many areas throughout the season.
Ashley Wysong leads the balanced middle distance group for the women. Missouri can lay claims to several All-Big 12 performers in the events ranging from the 600yd dash to the 1,500m run. Junior Sunny Gilbert was the runner-up at the 1999 Indoor Big 12 Championships and looks to be as strong this season. Seniors Becky Rigel and Jessica Patton are consistent Big 12 scorers who look to close out their Tiger careers with strong campaigns in 2000. Sophomores Becky Froelker and Jennifer Leerssen both opened their Tiger careers with All-Conference runs and have bright futures in front of them.
The women's contingent will be deep into the new millennium in the distance events as well. Junior Justa Dahl is coming off her most successful season as a Tiger where she ran to a NCAA qualifying standard in the 10,000m run. Sophomores Ann Marie Brooks and Kim Moore were two of MU's most consistent performers as freshmen. Senior transfer Anna Gullingsrud had a great 1999 cross country campaign and is and added strength in the 5,000m and 10,000m runs for MU. In the steeplechase junior Katie Meyer is the top returnee for the Black and Gold. Newcomer Kerry Hils should also be a strong contender in the event.
Mizzou will also be able to rely on several other runners to contribute throughout the season including Ashley McLeod and Katie Sekinger. In addition, freshman Amy Chipman and Amy Semith have the ability to impact this competitive group.
Throws
This area has always been strength for Mizzou dating back to the beginning of track and field. It is an exciting time to be a Tiger thrower in 2000. Missouri returns nearly it full complement of throwers from last season's squad. With the addition of the deepest and strongest freshmen class in MU history, this group of athletes will be one to watch.
Senior Darrell Meinke and junior Micah Shanks are Missouri's top returning throwers. Meinke earned a NCAA qualifying mark in the discus while Shanks set school records in the hammer and weight throws.
When looking at the newcomers, Scott Bartlett leads the pack. The redshirt freshman is one of MU's top prospects entering the 2000 season. Freshmen Russ Bell and Christian Cantwell both come to Mizzou ranked in the top ten nationally in the discus. Cantwell has already made his mark at Missouri establishing a new bench press school record for all Tiger athletes. Freshman Gary File, brother of three-time MU javelin All-American Darin File, had the leading javelin throw coming out of high school in 1999.
For the women, senior Heather White will again lead the way in the throwing events. The three-time co-captain for the Tigers is a powerful athlete who has single handedly rewritten the record book in the throws while at Missouri.
Along with White, sophomores Brooke Ennen and Carla Grewe gained valuable collegiate experience last year and will be looked upon to help in all the throwing events. Freshman Leanne Drumright is a talented javelin thrower who can impact the event immediately for the Tigers.
Combined Events
Like the middle distance, distance and throwing events, Missouri is very deep in the multi-events area. Mizzou is very deep in the multi-event area. Mizzou prides itself in this area and has the talents of eight athletes who compete in the multi-events. One of the most talented groups in the country, this fine group of athletes possess the ability to be great at several events.
Espen Stridenberg, a senior All-Conference performer, will be looking to return to the NCAA Championships this season. Stredenberg is also the school record holder in both heptathlon and the decathlon. Freshman Knut Harold Sommerfeldt is a versatile competitor who came to MU after claiming the 1999 Norwegian junior national championship in the decathlon.
Jill Aholt, Michelle Moran, Jill Osenbaugh and Eli Sommerfeldt have all scored at the conference meet during their Tiger careers. These four women were part of MU history at the 1999 Big 12 Championships as five Missouri heptathletes finished in the top-12. Moran also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the heptathlon at the conference meet. These four women along with freshmen Abe Ohneck and Fiona Asigbee will continue to turn a few heads this season.
Jumps
With nine veterans in the line-up, this is one of the most improved areas over the last few seasons for the Black and Gold. This group features a school record holder and four All-Conference honorees.
Headlining this group for the men will be seniors Jay Meystedt and William Hopson. Meystedt is finally healthy and looking to return to his All-League performance level in the high jump. William Hopson had a breakthrough campaign in the high jump in 1999, earning his second All-Conference honor. Newcomer Shomari Benton will also provide valuable points during the season. Providing solid support will be a trio of jumpers, Mike McDevitt, Ochuko Ekpere and Trae Meyr, while Kent Shelton will lead the pole vaulters.
Lindsey Miller is the most successful triple jumper in Missouri school history. The co-captain will be looking to reach the national championships during her senior campaign. Moran and Osenbaugh will also be relied upon heavily in the jumps. Freshmen Ohneck and Asigbee will be able to immediately impact the Tiger line-up as well. Ohneck comes to MU after winning Missouri state titles in the long jump and high jump. Asigbee who the high school long jump at the 1999 Drake Relays.
Sprints/Hurdles
Graduation has hit this area hard as this will be a rebuilding year for the Tigers. Missouri returns two experienced runners in seniors Carlos Posey and Christina Page along with a number of talented newcomers. Posey, a starting cornerback on MU's football team, earned All-League honors and an NCAA qualifying mark in 1999 in the 60m dash. The women's sprint program will be led by Page who has run key legs on Mizzou's nationally ranked distance medley relay.
Missouri's young sprinters bring a wealth of talent to the track. For the men, sophomore Damien Dean is a talented athlete who now has a year of collegiate experience under his belt. Freshman Brandon Worthington, a three-time Missouri high school champion in the hurdles, has a very bright future for the Tigers. The women will look to freshmen Fiona Asigbee, Avis Evans and Kristin Pogemiller who are all great prospects for the Tigers. Asigbee and Pogemiller will primarily run the hurdles while Evans will concentrate on the sprint events. This is a group of athletes that will continually improve throughout the season as they gain valuable experience.
Tigers Perform Well in Classroom in 1999
While the MU track and field teams were gearing up for the 2000 season, they were turning in some outstanding performances in the classroom as well. The women's cross country team had the highest team GPA of the fall semester (3.37) followed closely by the women's track and field team (included the cross country grades) that had the second highest GPA (3.344). The men outperformed the their male counterparts as well in school. Men's cross country had the best team GPA (3.125) with the track and field team (including cross country) turning in the second highest GPA (3.038).
There were also eight track and field student-athletes that earned 4.0's. They were sophomores Ann Marie Brooks, senior Jason Franken, sophomore Jennifer Leerssen, senior Lindsey Miller, junior Michelle Moran, senior Becky Rigel, senior Damein Smith, senior Espen Strindeberg and junior Ashley Wysong.