Missouri Tracksters Travel To NCAA Indoor Championships
3/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
March 8, 2001
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri track and field team travels to the NCAA Championships at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville Mar. 9-10. The MU women, who finished fifth at the Big 12 Championships Feb. 23-24, received 18 votes and are ranked 10th in this week's Trackwire.com National Poll. The Tiger men finished sixth at the conference championships.
The Tigers qualified nine athletes overall, but three individuals and the women's distance medley relay team made the final cut. Sophomore Christian Cantwell is an automatic qualifier in the weight throw and shot put. He threw a school record and automatic mark of 70-3.75 in the weight at the KU, KSU, MU Triangular Jan. 26. His 63-6.75, which is also an MU record, in the shot put was posted at the MU All-Comers meet Feb. 17. Cantwell is also the Big 12 Champion in the shot put (62-0.5 Feb. 23).
Big 12 Champion Ann Marie Brooks is an automatic qualifier in the 3000-meter run. She ran 9:23.01 at the Iowa State Cyclone Invitational Feb. 9, then took the Big 12 Championshipthe following weekend with a time of 9:16.47. Senior Ashley Wysong provisionally qualified in the 800m on the last weekend of the indoor season. Wysong posted a time of 2:07.67 at the Iowa State Last Chance Qualifier Mar. 2, and ran 2:07.10 at the Nebraska Last Chance Qualifier Mar. 3.
Brooks and Wysong join sophomore Kerry Hils and senior Sunny Gilbert on the Big 12 Champion distance medley relay team. The Tigers hold the nation's top time of 11:12.81 in the DMR.
The Tiger men finished 15th at last year's national championships and the women placed 38th.
