Track and Field Heads To NCAA Championships
5/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 30, 2000
The NCAA Championships are headed to Durham, North Carolina as a maximum of student-athletes will compete in the meet, hosted by Duke University. Competition begins on Wednesday, May 31 and continues through Friday, June 3. Missouri is sending a contingent of eight athletes to compete, all in individual events. It marks the first time in recent memory Mizzou has sent such a large number of participants.
For the most up-to-date information on the NCAA Outdoor Championships, visit the NCAA on the Web at www.ncaa.org.
Peterson Looks To Repeat
Tiger senior Derrick Peterson enters the 2000 NCAA competition looking for his third national crown. Peterson claimed top honors at both the 1999 NCAA Championships and finished as the runner-up at the 2000 indoor meet.
Last weekend at the 2000 Big 12 Championships, Peterson claimed his eighth consecutive league title in the 800m becoming the first athlete, male or female, to win the same event all four years in the Big 12. He is the best half-miler to wear the Black and Gold and the 2000 NCAA Championships mark his seventh appearance. In fact, Peterson has raced to All-America honors in five of the six previous NCAA Championships he has competed since arriving at Mizzou.
A Look at the Athletes
Jill Aholt - Heptathlon
THREE-TIME ALL-BIG 12 SENIOR LINN, MISSOURI-RANKED 3RD ALL-TIME IN MU HISTORY IN THE 60M HURDLES -MEMBER OF MU'S 4X100M RELAY RANKED 4TH ALL-TIME -ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12
Senior Jill Aholt is making her first appearance at the NCAA Championships in Durham, N.C. as she will be competing in the heptathlon. Aholt was named the 1995 female High School Heismann Award winner during her senior year at Linn High School.
At the 1999 outdoor Big 12 Championships as 5 Missouri heptathletes earned top-12 performances. Aholt was part of national history at the league championships in 1999 as one of MU's four heptathletes to score over 5,000 points. Missouri became the first school to have four athletes from the same school in the same meet all score over 5,000 points.
The NCAA Championships will be the final meet for Aholt as she concludes her collegiate career. Aholt will graduate in December with a degree in business and marketing education.
Aholt's 2000 Heptathlon Best Performances ...100m Hurdles - 14.47 (Big 12) High Jump - 5-5 3/4 (Big 12) Shot Put - 36-0 (Mt. SAC) 200m - 25.02 (Big 12) Long Jump - 17-5 1/2 (Big 12) Javelin - 127-5 (Big 12) 800m - 2:18.75 (Big 12) Points - 5,339 (Big 12) _____________________________ Florida Relays- 6th/4,829 Mt. SAC Relays- 6th/5,001 Big 12 Championships- 5th/ 5,339 (PNQ)
Christian Cantwell - Shot Put
ALL-AMERICAN (7TH INDOOR, 2000) FRESHMAN ELDON, MISSOURI-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN SHOT PUT (OUTDOOR) -2000 OUTDOOR BIG 12 CHAMPION IN SHOT PUT -U.S. OLYMPIC TRIAL QUALIFIER -2000 BIG 12 INDOOR CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR -OUTDOOR BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD HOLDER IN SHOT PUT
One of the nation's premier shot put hurlers, Christian Cantwell has burst onto the national scene in only his first year as a collegiate. His season best throw of 64 feet, 6 ? inches places him 4th on the national list heading into the NCAA competition. Cantwell is the lone freshman to qualify for the outdoor national meet and has recorded the furthest throw by an American in the college ranks.
Cantwell has already garnered All-American honors in the shot put after placing seventh at the 2000 indoor NCAA Championships. During the 2000 outdoor campaign, Cantwell won the shot put on six different occasions including the Big 12 Championships. At the conference meet, the freshman not only claimed top honors, he also established a new Big 12 meet record with his current personal best mark.
The Eldon, Mo. native, is the Missouri school record holder in the shot put for outdoor and is ranked second all-time in the 35-pound weight throw and shot put for the indoor season. Cantwell was also named as the Big 12's co-Freshman of the Year following the 2000 indoor season.
Cantwell's 2000 Outdoor Results in Shot Put ... Florida Relays- 1st (Invite)/60-9 1/4 (PNQ) Missouri Relays- 1st/60- 1/2 (PNQ) Texas Relays- 8th (Invite)/ 56-4 Tom Botts Invite- 1st/60-6 (PNQ) Kansas Relays- 2nd/59-9 3/4 (PNQ) Drake Relays- 7th/57-9 Missouri Invite- 1st/59-1 1/2 (PNQ) Emporia State Invite- 1st/59-10 1/4 (PNQ) Big 12 Championships- 1st/64-6 1/2 (ANQ)
Sunny Gilbert - 800m
10-TIME ALL-BIG 12 SOPHOMORE ELLISVILLE, MISSOURI-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN 4X400M AND 4X800M RELAYS -2000 INDOOR NCAA QUALIFIER - DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY -DRAKE RELAY CHAMPION - 4X800M RELAY -ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12
The 2000 season has been a "break-out" one for Sunny Gilbert. The Ellisville, Mo. native provisionally qualified for the 2000 indoor NCAA Championships in the 800m run and competed as a member of the Tigers' distance medley relay that placed 10th at the national championships.
Gilbert has twice been the runner-up in the 1,000m run at the indoor Big 12 Championships (1999, 2000) and earned her third consecutive All-Big 12 honor in the 800m following her 4th place performance at the 2000 championships. The junior also ran into the record books as a member of two MU relays this outdoor season as she ran a leg on both the 4x400m relay and the 4x800m relay. The 4x800m relay that Gilbert was a member of claimed top honors at the prestigious Drake Relays.
She is a biology major that was just inducted into the Mystical Seven this spring. Gilbert was also a ARMY National Scholar Athlete.
Gilbert's 2000 Outdoor Results ... Tom Botts Invite- 1st/2:09.16 Kansas Relays- 1st/2:10.84 Missouri Invite- 1st/2:06.03 (PNQ) Big 12 Championships- 4th/2:09.17
Michelle Moran - Heptathlon
8-TIME ALL-BIG 12 JUNIOR, WILDWOOD, MISSOURI-2000 OUTDOOR BIG 12 CHAMPION IN HEPTATHLON -U.S. OLYMPIC TRIAL QUALIFIER -TWO-TIME ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 -BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD HOLDER IN HEPTATHLON HIGH JUMP & DAY 1 POINT TOTAL
Over the past three years has developed into one of the more prominent multi-event athletes in the Big 12 Conference. Is one of Missouri's most consistent performers in the heptathlon as well as the high jump. Since coming to MU from Wildwood, Mo., Moran has earned six All-Big 12 honors and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
In 2000, Moran was the Big 12 Conference champion in the heptathlon after two outstanding days of competition. On day one, she tied the high jump heptathlon record after clearing 5-10 ? and went on to set the Big 12 meet record for points scored on the first day of competition. Her point total ranks her third all-time in Missouri history.
Moran also finished fourth at the 2000 Big 12 Indoor Championships in the pentathlon, the highest finish by a Tiger. Moran is a early childhood and elementary education major who is completing her junior year of eligibility.
Moran's Heptathlon Best Performances ... 100m Hurdles - 13.96 (Big 12) High Jump - 5-10 1/2 (Big 12) Shot Put - 36-5 1/2 (Big 12) 200m - 25.23 (Big 12) Long Jump - 17-8 1/2 (Big 12) Javelin - 130-2 (Florida Relays) 800m - 2:18.77 (Big 12) Points - 5,590 (Big 12) ___________________________________ Florida Relays- 3rd/5,193 (PNQ) Mt. SAC Relays- 3rd/5,145 Big 12 Championships- 1st/5,590 (ANQ)
Derrick Peterson - 800m
2-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPION (1999 INDOOR/OUTDOOR) 5-TIME ALL-AMERICAN (1998-INDOOR, 2ND/1999-OUTDOOR, 5TH/1999-INDOOR, 1ST/1999-OUTDOOR, 1ST/2000-INDOOR, 2ND) JONESBORO, GEORGIA-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN 800M (INDOOR) -8-TIME BIG 12 CHAMPION -U.S. OLYMPIC TRIAL QUALIFIER -AMERICAN COLLEGIATE RECORD HOLDER IN 800M (INDOOR)
Without much attention and little fanfare, Derrick Peterson has cemented his place as one of the best 800m runners in collegiate track and field. Peterson made history last weekend at the conference meet. In the four year history of the Big 12 meet, no other athlete, male of female, has ever gone a perfect eight for eight until Peterson cross the finish line in first.
Peterson won the 800m at both NCAA Championship meets in 1999 and finished as the runner-up at the 2000 indoor national championships. In Durham, he will be looking to cap off his spectacular career by challenging for his third national title and the 17-year old MU record in the 800m that currently stands at 1:46.30.
By claiming both 800m titles in 1999, Peterson became the first Missouri athlete to win an indoor and outdoor championship in the same year and joined Dick Cochran as the only Tiger to win more than one national title while at MU.
He has also been a key member of Missouri's relays during his career, especially during 2000. Peterson anchored MU's 4x800m relay team that finished the season as the best in the country with a 7:16.23. Peterson's split of 1:46.8 brought the Tigers from five meter behind into the lead. Besides holding the indoor 800m school record, Peterson is also a member of three relays that hold MU school records.
Peterson's 2000 Outdoor Results ... Florida Relays- 1st 800m (Invite)/1:47.74 (PNQ) Mt. SAC Relays- 2nd 800m(Invite)/1:49.28 Missouri Invite- 1st 1500m/3:51.25 Big 12 Championships- 1st 800m/1:48.42 (PNQ)
Ryan Pirtle - Steeplechase
ALL-AMERICAN (12TH-MILE INDOOR, 2000) SENIOR DESLODGE, MISSOURI-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN STEEPLECHASE -U.S. OLYMPIC TRIAL QUALIFIER -10-TIME ALL-BIG 12 -TWO-TIME TEAM CAPTAIN -RANKED 2ND ALL-TIME IN MU HISTORY IN MILE AND 3,000M (INDOOR)
One of Missouri's all-time great steeplechase performers, Ryan Pirtle will bring his collegiate career to a close at the 2000 NCAA Championships. Pirtle has had an outstanding 2000 campaign that started during the indoor season in which her garnered All-American honors in the mile.
He automatically qualified for nationals at Penn Relays in a school record time. Lowered his own school record to 8:35.90 at the Big 12 Championships where he finished as the runner-up. A ten-time All-Conference performer, Pirtle has been MU's "go-to" man in the steeplechase during his five year career.
Entering the NCAA meet, Pirtle is ranked 5th in the collegiate ranks as well as in the United States. Pirtle has been a key member of the Tigers middle distance and distance group for the past five years. He is also the school record holder as a member of the distance medley relay team. Pirtle has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. He is majoring in fisheries and wildlife while minoring in biology.
Pirtles's 2000 Outdoor Results ... Florida Relays- 2nd/Distance Medley Relay Mt. SAC Relays- 3rd Steeple/8:47.90 (PNQ) Penn Relays- 4th Steeple/8:39.64 (ANQ) Missouri Invite- 2nd 1500m/3:53.69 Big 12 Champs.- 2nd Steeple/8:35.90 (ANQ)
Espen Strindeberg - Decathlon
THREE-TIME ALL-BIG 12 SENIOR DRAMMEN, NORWAY-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN DECATHLON AND HEPTATHLON -TEAM CAPTAIN -ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 -TWO-TIME NCAA QUALIFIER
Espen Strindeberg is one of the Tigers all-time greats in the multi-events. The 2000 outdoor NCAA Championships marks his second appearance at the national championships. In 1998 in Buffalo, N.Y., Strindeberg placed 13th in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships.
Strindeberg is coming off a third place performance at the 2000 outdoor conference meet where he concluded the decathlon with a personal best in the 1500m. He finished as the runner-up in the heptathlon at the indoor Big 12 meet with a school record performance.
The co-captain will start his MBA in the fall after concluding his undergraduate degree in finance in May. During the 2000 season, Strindeberg posted career bests in both the pole vault and the javelin while coming within 100 points of his personal best in the decathlon prior to the national championships.
Strindeberg's Decathlon Best Performances ... 100m Dash- 11.31 (Big 12) Long Jump- 22-9 ? (Big 12) Shot Put- 42-5 ? (Florida Relays) High Jump- 6-2 ? (Big 12) 400m- 51.73 (Big 12) 110m Hurdles- 14.88 (Big 12) Discus-126-7 (Big 12) Pole Vault- 15-11 (Florida Relays) Javelin - 191-1 (Florida Relays) 1500m- 4:26.48 (Big 12) Points- 7,283 (PNQ) ________________________________ Florida Relays- 5th/7,283 Big 12 Championships- 3rd/7,074
Ashley Wysong - 800m
3-TIME ALL-AMERICAN ('99-INDOOR, 6TH/'99-OUTDOOR, 5TH/'00-INDOOR, 4TH)
JUNIOR, NEVADA, MISSOURI
-2000 OUTDOOR BIG 12 CHAMPION IN 800M
-U.S. OLYMPIC TRIAL QUALIFIER
-BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD HOLDER IN 800M
-10-TIME ALL-BIG 12
-SCHOOL RECORD HOLDER IN BOTH INDOOR & OUTDOOR 800M RUNS
In her third season of competition at Missouri, Ashley Wysong has vaulted into the upper echelon of the women's collegiate middle distance ranks. At her third NCAA meet in March, Wysong not only earned her third All-American honor, but she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials and established a new school record.
Her most recent performance at the outdoor Big 12 Championships set a new school record and clinched her a trip to Durham as she won the 800m run in a championship meet record time of 2:03.60. The previous mark was Wysong's own from the 1999 NCAA Championships, 2:05.38.
Wysong has also been one of Mizzou's valuable performers on its various relays during the outdoor season. She helped lead MU to a new school record in the 4x800m relay at Drake Relays, 8:34.76. The Tigers have claimed three relay titles with Wysong running one of the legs and have placed in the top five on five other occasions.
She is also on the Tiger's top performers in the classroom, having earned three Academic All-Big 12 honors and twice been named a USA Track and Field Association Academic All-American.
Wysong's 2000 Outdoor Performances in 800m: Mt. SAC Relays - 1st/2:05.49 (PNQ) Big 12 Championships - 1st/2:03.60 (ANQ)
