May. 1, 2000

The University of Missouri men's and women's track and field teams sent four athletes to Penn Relays to compete in three different distance races. All four Tigers finished in the top-20 in their respective events.

The highlight of the weekend for Mizzou was Ryan Pirtle. The senior tri-captain automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase. His time of 8:39.64 currently ranks him fifth in the country along with establishing a new school record. Pirtle is an All-American from the 2000 indoor season in the mile. Also in the steeplechase, Adam MacDowell placed 16th with a time of 9:00.34.

Nick Smith also ran an outstanding run in the 10,000m run. His time 29:20.27 was a personal best by nearly 40 seconds. Not only was his time a NCAA provisional standard, it was also a new Missouri record. He broke the previous record held by Steve Fisher from 1977 by more than 20 seconds.

Anna Gullingsrud was the lone female to compete at the Penn Relays. She competed in the 5,000m run turning in a 14th place performance with a time of 16:55.17. That time currently ranks the senior fifth all-time in school history.