April 8, 2000
The University of Missouri men's and women's track and field teams took 24 athletes to the Lone Star state to compete in the 73rd annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. The prestigious event was held in Austin, Texas at the Mike A. Meyers Stadium from Thursday to Saturday, April 6-8.
MU has many performances that made people take notice in an event that saw over 5,000 high school and collegiate athletes competing. At final count, the Tigers claimed one victory and 16 top-12 performances. The meet showcased some of the top collegiate athletes in the country for a sneak preview of what lies ahead at the NCAA Championships in Durham, N.C. at season's end.
Mizzou's headliner for the weekend was Kerry Hils as the freshman was the Black and Gold's lone champion over the weekend. Following a 1 hour rain delay, Hils was victorious in her first-ever 3,000m steeplechase. Not only did Hils win the events, she broke the school record by over four seconds. However, the Missouri freshman was not done there, she also established a new Texas Relays record as well along with smashing the Mike A. Meyers Stadium record with her time of 10:46.05.
On the first day of individual competition, Anna Gullingsrud was MU's lone competitor. In the women's 3,000m run, Gullingsrud ran to a fourth place finish with a time of 9:55.75.
Also in the track, three Tiger relays placed in the top-5. The women's 4x800m relay team of Sunny Gilbert, Hils, Jennifer Leerssen and Ashley Wysong finished second (8:46.26) to Miami. Mizzou's women's DMR team of Gilbert, Wysong, Leerssen and Ann Marie Brooks ran to another runner-up performance to Arkansas. Their time of 11:36.17 was good enough for No. 5 all-time in school history. The men's DMR team that consisted of Derrick Peterson, Timothy Dunne, Damien Smith and Phil Councilor placed fifth overall in a time of 9:56.28.
In the field events, Missouri continued to place athletes in the top-12. Senior captain Heather White led the charge for the MU women placing 6th in the hammer and 11th in the discus. Both her throws of 171 feet, 3 inches in the hammer and 146-8 in the discus were season bests.
For the men, freshman Russ Bell was the man leading the way. In the collegiate shot out, Bell placed 5th with a throw of 54 feet, 9 inches. Later in the afternoon, Bell competed in the Invitational discus. He was the only freshman to make the finals where he placed 6th overall with a throw of 184 feet, 2 inches. Bell recorded three throws over 180 feet within the competition.
Fellow hurler Micah Shanks finished 8th in the collegiate shot put with a heave of 54 feet, 3 inches. It was the furthest Shanks has ever thrown this early in the outdoor season. The junior also placed 10th in the hammer throw with a toss of 181-6. All-American Christian Cantwell continued his streak of top-8 finishes in the shot put at Texas. The freshman placed 8th in the invitational shot put with a throw of 56 feet, 4inches. He also turned in an 12th place performance in the collegiate discus event throwing 160 feet.
Missouri will split the squad this upcoming weekend as 14 members of the team will be heading to Walnut, Calif. to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays. The remainder of the team will be staying in Columbia, Mo. to compete in the 4th annual Tom Botts Invitational. The meet begins on Friday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. and continues on Saturday, April 15 at 9:00 a.m. at Walton Stadium.