May 18, 2003
AUSTIN, TEXAS - The University of Missouri track and field team had an outstanding day at day 2 of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas today. Three Tigers were crowned Big 12 champions today. Knut Sommerfeldt won his third consecutive title as Big 12 champ in the decathlon, Fiona Asigbee won in the women's heptathlon and Jennifer Bennett won in the women's pole vault. In addition to the great individual performances the Tiger men are in first place and the women are in third after two days in the team competition.
Sommerfeldt won his third straight title in the decathlon at the Big 12 Championships after finishing day 1 of the event in seventh place, 314 points behind the leader. Sommerfeldt said, "This win was the toughest of the past three years for me. Every single decathlete has made progress throughout the year and whomever was able to reach his potential in every event would be able to win. I almost lost it in the high jump on the first day, but I was able to pull myself together and do well on the second day. Without the bomber in the high jump yesterday, I might have been able to break some sort of record. But that's the nature of the decathlon. You have to be aware that something could go wrong and face that fact in order to regroup." Sommerfeldt, who won the Big 12 indoor heptathlon title, won by 16 points over Josef Karas of Kansas State, with 7685 points. Tiger teammates Hans Uldal finished fifth and Brandon Goebbert finished eigth in the event to give the Tiger two additional scorers in the event. Missouri sophomore Jesse Sims also scored for the Tigers by finishing third with a jump of 7 feet, 1.5 inches in the high jump. One day after winning the hammer throw, Tiger senior Russ Bell finished fifth in the men's discus with a throw of 184 feet, 10 inches and teammate Christian Cantwell finished seventh in the event with a toss of 173-1. The Tiger men are in first place after day 2 with 51 points, 13 ahead of second-place Texas A&M.
Fiona Asigbee held on to her day 1 lead to win the women's heptathlon by 34 points over Ashley Selig of Nebraska. Asigbee's point total of 5583 is the third highest heptathlon point total in then nation this year. Asigbee, who won the conference title in the indoor pentathlon, said, "Coming into the 800 meters I knew what I needed to run and I went after it. I knew I coulnd't hold anything back because you never know what will happen in a race like this. None of my events really stood out above the rest. There was some great competition here and I just tried to stay solid and consistent in each event. My worst event was the javelin and it didn't help me much but it turned out not to matter." Teammates Jessica Stockard (5175) finished sixth and Abbe Ohneck (5117) finished seventh in the event. Missouri junior Jennifer Bennett continued her dominance in the Big 12 by winning the conference crown in the pole vault with a mark of 13-1.75. Bennett said, "It feels really good to win this. I'm not going to lie - I wasn't expecting it. I had a good meet. I was ready and feeling good. Today a lot of things came together for me. The key today was making it on my first try. It helped me get focused. I was fast on the runway, had a good plan and followed through with it. I always come into meets wanting to do my best. I don't try to psyche myself out. I just come out to compete and see what happens." Tiger junior Janae Strickland rounded out the scoring for the Tigers on day 2 by finishing third in the women's shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 8.75 inches. The Tiger women are currently in second place behind Nebraska and 13 points ahead of third place Kansas State.
The 2003 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Austin, Texas conclude tomorrow.