April 21, 2004
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - A group of about 20 from the University of Missouri track and field team will participate this weekend in the 95th annual Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The field will include over 9,000 participants, coming from 62 different countries and vary in age range and competitive levels. Many from around the world stage will compete in the relays including Tiger post-collegian Christian Cantwell.
The Field
The Drake Relays field includes over 9,000 athletes, varying in skill and age level, thus is the tradition at the Drake. The Drake Relays are held on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, Iowa.
What to Look for This Weekend
After winning his first ever national and world championship, Tiger undergraduate assistant coach Christian Cantwell will battle in his first meet of the 2004 outdoor season at the Drake Relays. The seven-time all-American will compete along side Tiger junior Conrad Woolsey in the special invitational men's shot put competition on Saturday. Cantwell is a two-time defending champion of the Drake Relays shot put event. The field for the event includes five from the World's top 30 and three from the top 10. John Godina, a two-time Olympic medallist will be throwing against the field along with Reese Hoffa, runner-up to Cantwell at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March. Hoffa currently has the longest throw in the United States for the outdoor season, and the second longest in the world. Also in the field is two-time Canadian Olympian Brad Snyder, he currently is ranked tenth in the world.
Derrick Peterson, another Olympic hopeful from the Tiger post-collegian pool, will run in the special 800-meters along with Tiger volunteer assistant Timothy Dunne. Peterson finished second at the USATF's Indoor Championships in February and qualified for the IAAF World Championships with Team USA. Peterson, a six-time all-American while at Missouri, was the NCAA Indoor Champion in 1999 and still holds the American collegiate record in the event. Dunne earned an all-American honor last year during his senior season. The Jerome, Idaho, native finished ninth at last year's NCAA Championships.
A limited number of Tigers, comparatively speaking, will be competing this weekend due to the proximity of the Big 12 Championships to this year's Drake Relays.
However, that won't stop Mizzou from competing and sending their best. Senior Janae Strickland will compete in the women's shot put. Now in the top 15 in the NCAA performance list after breaking her own school shot put record last weekend, Strickland looks to win her first Drake Relays championship of her career. Also look for senior Holly Scherder in the hammer throw. This could be the weekend the school record holder will break 200 feet for the first time in her career and come close to the USA Olympic Trial qualifying mark.
And what would the Drake Relays be without relays? Well, not knowing that answer for sure, one thing we do know is that Missouri will run in three relays at this year's meet. The women's distance medley relay on Friday will feature Jill Petersen, Jessica Stockard, Ashley Patten, and Amanda Bales. The four-some was responsible for recording the fastest DMR time of the indoor season in 2004 and the second-fastest in school history. Petersen, Stockard, and Bales, along with freshmen Allison Werner, who's running the 1500m this weekend in her home state, won the Big 12 Indoor Championship in the event.
The men's 4x800-relay will have three freshmen leading the charge for the Tigers. Tipper O'Brien, Marcus Mayes, Jimmie Jones will lead off the eight-lap relay with junior Neville Miller taking the baton on the last leg. Missouri has won the men's 4x800 relay four times; the last time was in 2000.
This weekend the Tigers will also run in the sprint medley relay. The race consists of four legs of 200, 200, 400, and 800, meters in length, respectively. Leading off will be juniors Whittney Stuart and Comfort Ibe in the "2s", handing off to sophomore Laura Brandt for the quarter mile. Freshman Allison Werner will take the anchor, half-mile leg. Werner is running in her home state and at the Drake where she had placed 11 times in high school.
Also competing this weekend among others will be junior Jenny Bybee in the high jump. Bybee broke out at last year's relays and finished third in the event.
Missouri's History in the Drake Relays
Missouri has a rich history at the Drake as they have participated in the Drake Relays for all 95 years of its existence. The Tigers have been earned 68 event championships along the way with three coming in 2003. The Tigers have earned the most championship titles, 10, in the 100-meter hurdles, as recently as 1988 with Victor Edet, and as historically as Jackson Scholz earning one of his two titles in 1918. The men's shot put is in second with nine titles being claimed by Missouri athletes.
Recently graduate, Russ Bell, owns the Missouri record in Drake Relays championships. He earned four total, two in the shot put and two in discus. Bell doubled in 2002 earning one of each in both events.
In 2003, pole vaulter Jennifer Bennett earned her first Drake championship and broke a meet record in the process. Bennett will not be back this year to defend the title as she will likely redshirt the outdoor season. Russ Bell claimed a discus title, and Christian Cantwell won the shot put special invitational for the second year in a row.
Patten Third; Woolsey Sixth in the Nation
In her first meet of the outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational, sophomore Ashley Patten took the field by storm, winning the collegiate title in the 800 with a personal-best time of 2:05.43. That time places her third in the nation entering the weekend and tops on the Big 12 performance list. Patten will be one of five Tigers to race in the 800 this weekend.
Conrad Woolsey has faired well this outdoor season. The junior transfer from Northwest Missouri State has come out the gate early as his personal-best shot put throw of 62 feet, 5 inches (19.02m) places him No. 6 in the nation in the event and third in the Big 12 Conference.
Freshmen Leading the Way
The Missouri men are very young. Looking down Missouri's performance list, seven events for the Tigers are led by freshmen. Football wide receiver and Tiger sprinter Greg Bracey leads the Tigers in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Bracey is expected to run the 200- and 400-meters this weekend. Jimmie Jones is tops in the 400-meter dash and roommate Marcus Mayes leads the team in the 800-meters and is ninth on the Big 12 performance list. Austin Kerkhover is the Tigers 400m Hurdle man. Bobby Musil leads the team in the discus throw. And, Bjorn Sommerfeldt is Missouri's No. 1 man in the decathlon and No. 2 on the Big 12 list.
On Top of the Big 12
Now two female Tigers hold the top spot in the Big 12 Conference entering the weekend. Distance runner sophomore Ashley Patten sits first in the 800-meter run. Senior Holly Scherder is number one in the conference in the hammer throw.
Weather, Could Be Worse
The weather in Lincoln, Neb., was warm, as temperatures nudged at 90 degrees. This weekend in Des Moines will not come close. Temperatures are expected to hover in the 60s for most of the weekend, with rain chances becoming greater towards Saturday.
Meet Results and Info
Visit mutigers.com or drakerelays.com following the meet for complete results. A meet report will follow each day of competition