May 25, 2004
Heat Sheet | Live Results & Meet Info Recap
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri track and field team begins its third phase of the season this weekend with the NCAA Mideast Regional, held in Baton Rouge, La. The first in a long line of post-season meets, stretching into mid-August, the Tigers will field 24 athletes that have met qualifying marks to appear in the meet. The top five from each event gains automatic entry into mid-June's NCAA Championships.
About the Regional System
Introduced last year, the system used to determine the post-season of NCAA Outdoor Track and Field season is based on four regions. In most events, except the combined events and the 10,000-meter run, athletes must meet a regional qualifying mark in order to reach the post-season. On average in each event, around 25 athletes will compete. The top five finishers in each region will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. Additionally, around two to four at-large bids will get into the NCAA Championships based on performance before the regional meet.
The Tigers are in the Mideast Region, the only Big 12 school in the meet. The remaining 11 will be in College Station, Texas, for the Midwest Regional. The competition in the Mideast Regional is strong with most members from the western schools of the SEC, including indoor men's and women's national champion, LSU, who will also serve as host. Most of the Big Ten schools are in this region with the exception of Penn State, Minnesota, and Iowa.
Tigers Send 24 to Regionals ... all about the numbers
Missouri qualified 24 athletes to participate at the NCAA Regionals in 28 events. In three events, the Tigers will have three to represent. The women's 5000-meters will have Amanda Bales, Jill Petersen, and Katherine Bonugli. Melanie Uher, Lindsey Markworth, and Jamie Wynn will compete in the women's discus. And, in the men's shot put, Conrad Woolsey, Bill Hobson, and Adam Burla will take on the field.
Four Tigers qualified for two events in this year's regional. Last year, Russ Bell qualified for three events, the discus, shot put, and hammer throw. Bell later finished fifth in each, advancing to the NCAA Championships in each. Bales will double in the 5000- and 1500-meter runs, Woolsey and Markworth are both in the discus and shot put, and Jill Petersen qualified in both the steeplechase and 5000-meter runs.
Four in Top Five
Missouri will have four Tigers enter the meet in the top five in the region. That's important because the top five finishers in each event will advance automatically to the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Ashley Patten will have some work to do in the 800-meters. She ranks fifth in the toughest region in the country for the event, but ninth in the nation, and will likely be an at-large selection for the NCAA Championships even if she does not automatically qualify this weekend.
Senior Janae Strickland holds the Missouri record in the women's shot put and the second spot on the regional chart. Her throw of 55-6? at the Big 12 Championships trails that of Mideast leader Aymara Albury from Alabama by six inches.
Seniors Holly Scherder and Gary File enter the meet in the top five in the women's hammer and men's javelin, respectively. Scherder comes in number three on the region list. The Big 12 Champion and school record holder launched a 199-4 toss to win the conference crown and stands only three feet from LSU's Britney Henry for the top spot.
File enters the meet in fifth place in the region. His personal best toss of 228-4 (69.60m) came at the 2002 NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge.
Closer Than You Might Think
Junior transfer Conrad Woolsey enters the meet in seventh place on the region's performers list for the men's shot put and 13th in the nation. His throw of 62-5 (19.02m) is inches away from the top three in the region. And, what a tough region it is for the shot. Indoor National Champ, Ohio State's Dan Taylor, leads the region and is a two-foot favorite to win the competition. Every other placing is in the air in what should be a fun competition.
Junior Jesse Sims is in a similar situation as he is tied for seventh in the region in the men's high jump. Sims is maybe one bar away from entering the top five. A jump above the 2.16m (7-1) plateau might just earn him a spot in the NCAA Championships. Sims has hit his personal-best of 2.20m (7-2?) three times in his career.
Sister, Sister
The Ibe (pronounced e-bay) sisters of Margaret and Comfort both qualified for the 400-meter hurdles on the final two weekends of the season making for an interesting storyline. Comfort was first at the Billy Hayes Classic, finishing with a time of 1:00.80, two-hundredths of a second under the qualifying time. Margaret one-upped her sister at the Ward Haylett Invitational. Margaret became the second-fastest Tiger ever in the event with her winning time of 1:00.55.
Last Year at Regionals
Last year the Mideast Regional was held in Columbus, Ohio. The Missouri men finished in 11th overall, the women took 14th. Now the World Indoor Champion in the event, Christian Cantwell took the region's title in the men's shot put with a toss of 67 feet, 11? inches last year. Russ Bell qualified for three events, the discus, shot put, and hammer throw. Bell later finished fifth in each, advancing to the NCAA Championships in each. The LSU women won the 2003 Mideast Region crown with 95 points. Arkansas won the inaugural regional title on the men's side with 73 points in a five-point race with Auburn.
A Long Way to Go and A Short Time To Get There
The NCAA Regional is the first of the Tigers' post-season meets. Both current and former Tigers will be all over the country and the world competing this summer. Post-collegians Christian Cantwell and Derrick Peterson will be on a tour of their own, preparing for mid-July's USA Olympic Trials. Here's a look at what dates to circle on the calendar.
Complete Schedule
May 28-29, NCAA Mideast Regional, Baton Rouge, La. Monday, May 31, Oracle U.S. Track and Field Open, Palo Alto, Calif. (USATF Golden Spike Tour) TV: tape delay, June 1, ESPN2, 8-9pm (CT) Saturday, June 5, adidas Oregon Track Classic, Gresham, Ore. (USATF Golden Spike Tour) TV: LIVE, ESPN2, 5-6pm (CT) June 5-6, US Olympic Training Center Heptathlon, San Diego, Calif June 9-12, NCAA Outdoor Championships, Austin, Texas TV: tape delay, CBS, June 19, time TBA Participants: Michelle Moran & Fiona Asigbee Friday, June 18, USOC's Titan Games, Atlanta, Ga. TV: Outdoor Life Network (OLN), date & time: TBA Participants: Christian Cantwell Saturday, June 19, Nike Prefontaine Classic, Eugene, Ore. (USATF Golden Spike Tour) TV: tape delay, ESPN2, June 19, 8:30-10pm (CT) June 25-27, USATF Junior National Championships, College Station, Texas Participants: Bobby Musil, Marcus Mayes, Jimmie Jones, Melanie Uher July 3-4, European Cup Combined Events, Riga, Latvia Participants: Bjorn Sommerfeldt, Knut Sommerfeldt, Hans Uldal July 9-18, USATF Olympic Trials, Sacramento, Calif. TV: NBC / USA, various dates and times July 13-18, IAAF World Junior Championships, Grosseto, Italy August 18-29, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, Athens, Greece
Results and More For more information on this meet, visit mutigers.com. A full rundown of each of the Tigers in the meet appears in the notes online. LSUsports.com will have complete coverage of the meet throughout the weekend. Live results of the meet can also be found at LSUsports.com.