Tigers Seek Success in Iowa
2/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Feb. 7, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- There is not a pre-national meet in indoor track and field, but the Iowa State University Classic is probably one of the closest things to it.
Approximately 40 schools will compete this Friday and Saturday in Ames, Iowa in a meet that features some of the best track & field athletes in the nation.
One Missouri Tiger to keep an eye on is senior Ann Marie Brooks. The St. Joseph, Mo. native had been nursing a foot injury and will be competing for the first time during the indoor season after becoming a cross country All-American in 2001.
Results and a recap from the meet will be available following each day's events on-line at www.mutigers.com.
Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
While Columbia missed most of the ice storm that hit Kansas City, the track & field teams got a front row seat to one of the worst ice storms to hit South Bend, Ind. last weekend.
When the Tigers arrived at the hotel, they found most of the rooms only had some power. A number of rooms had one light in the bathroom with some heat and hot water, while other rooms had all the power but only cold water. Head coach Rick McGuire simply reminded his athletes that they had probably all been camping before and that it did not need to get in the way of competing well.
By the second night, all the hotel rooms were back up to normal conditions.
Tigers in the Nation
With their provisional and automatic qualifying marks, many Missouri athletes are ranked nationally by their performances.
On the men's side, five athletes are ranked nationally. The newest Tiger to join the ranks is junior Timothy Dunne who provisionally qualified in the 800m Feb. 2 (1:49.84) and is ranked 12th. Freshman high jumper Jesse Sims is ranked 14th this week with his provisional-qualifying leap of 7-1 from the KSU-KU-MU Triangular. Throwers Christian Cantwell, Russ Bell and Micah Shanks are also ranked for the men. Cantwell is ranked third in both the shot put and the weight throw, Bell is fourth in the weight throw and 12th in the shot and Shanks is 14th in the weight throw for the Tigers.
Another new addition to the group is sophomore Christi Myers who provisionally qualified in the high jump after her leap of 5-9.75 last weekend at Notre Dame.
Heavy Competition
The number of ranked athletes at last weekend's Meyo Invitational will pale in comparison to the number of top collegiate athletes scheduled to compete in Ames Friday and Saturday.
In the women's events, there are nearly 50 athletes and two relay teams that are ranked in all but four events. The throws, the high jump and the triple jump will be some of the most interesting events, as 29 provisional qualifiers will participate in one or more of those four events.
On the men's side, approximately 70 athletes and four relay teams are ranked in all but two events. Alabama and Arkansas will have a lot of athletes in the spot light, but the event to keep an eye on is the weight throw. Half of the ranked athletes in the event will be at Iowa State this weekend, including Tigers Cantwell, Bell and Shanks.
Up Next
The men's and women's teams return home in the Missouri All-Comers Meet Feb. 16 at the Hearnes Fieldhouse.
