Tigers Travel To Big 12 Conference Championships
5/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 16, 2001
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri track and field team travels to College Station, Texas for the Big 12 Conference Championships. The meet begins Wed., May 16 at 1:00 p.m. with the decathlon 100m dash. On Thursday, the men's hammer kicks off the competition at 11 and on Friday, the women's discus is the first event.
A Look Back:
Missouri At The 2000 Big 12 Championships
Michelle Moran was the headliner after the first day of competition at the 2000 championships hosted by the University of Missouri at Walton Track Stadium. Moran set the Big 12 day one meet record for points in the heptathlon with 3,418. She also broke the meet record in the high jump (5-10.50). The Tigers also got NCAA provisional times from Nick Smith in the 10,000 (29:51.41) and Kim Moore (35:28.14).
One day two of the meet Moran completed her stellar performance by winning the heptathlon with 5,590 points, which is a school record. Her point totall also made her an automatic qualifier for the national championships that were held in Durham, N.C. Then freshman Christian Cantwell picked up his first conference title with a then-school record 64-6.50 mark in the shot put. He still holds the MU mark in the shot (64-8 set at Emporia State May 12).
On the final day of competition, the Tigers got wins from Derrick Peterson and Ashley Wysong in the 800m.
In all the Tigers had four Big 12 Champions and five qualify for the NCAA Championships (Ryan Pirtle was the other).
The MU men finished in fourth place, while the women placed fifth at the 2000 conference championships.
Cantwell Named Big 12 Co-Athlete Of The Week
University of Missouri sophomore Christian Cantwell was named Big 12 Conference Co-Athlete of the Week for the final week of the regular season.
Cantwell earned first-place honors at the Emporia State Invitational last Saturday with a Big 12 leading mark of 64 feet, eight inches. The sophomore's throw is the 15th longest in the world this year and is currently ranks fifth in the nation. The Eldon, Mo., native improved his season best by nine inches and won the event by more than five feet.
Missouri Gets Four Qualifying Marks At Emporia State
The University of Missouri track and field team got four personal best and four qualifying marks at the Emporia State Invitational Saturday evening.
Sophomore Christian Cantwell took first place and recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying mark and personal best in the shot put (64-8). He was followed by teammate and fellow sophomore Russ Bell, who recorded an NCAA provisional mark (59-0). Bell won the hammer throw with a mark of 201-4 (provisional mark) and Cantwell took the top spot in the discus (193-7, provisional).
Senior Jay Meystedt better his personal record by .25 and won the high jump with a leap of 7-2.50. Redshirt freshman Gary File recorded a 219-9 in the javelin en route to the victory and a personal best.
Coach's Corner
MU Head Coach Rick McGuire (St. Lawrence University, 1969) is in his 18th year coaching the Tigers. He led the 2001 women's indoor distance medley team to the national championship.The 2000 Big 12 Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, McGuire has guided 27 Missouri tracksters to 73 All-American honors. He has been inducted into the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Drake Relays Hall of Fame and has been a member of the 1992 and 1996 Olympic staffs.
McGuire is joined on the sidelines this season by assistant coaches Brett Halter (8th year), Jared Wilmes (1st year), Rebecca Wilmes (2nd year), Matt Candrl (1st year) and Chad Shade (1st year).
