May 8, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The University of Missouri track and field squad competed in the 26th annual Billy Hayes Classic Friday afternoon and evening. Much of the competition happened under the lights as the meet finished at 11:00 p.m. Two Tigers added their name to the list of NCAA Regional Championship qualifiers from Mizzou. Senior Comfort Ibe qualified in the 400-meter hurdles, and junior Neville Miller hit the time in the 800-meters.
Ibe (St. Louis, Mo.) ran her 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.80, two hundredths of a second under the qualifying mark. Ibe earned all-Big 12 honors last week with a sixth place conference finish.
Miller (St. Louis, Mo.) finished as the second fastest collegian in the 800-meters with a regional qualifying time of 1:49.41, nearly a full-second better than his previous personal-best.
Gary File (Beloit, Kan.) won the men's javelin by over 15-feet with a seasonal-best mark of 218 feet (66.47m). File already qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional at the beginning of the season, but now moves into the top five in the region with the mark.
Freshman Bobby Musil (Pawnee City, Neb.) set a new collegiate personal-best in the men's discus with a toss of 164 feet, 7 inches (50.03m).
Junior David Mertens (Ballwin, Mo.) took the title in the men's 3000-meter run, winning with a time of 8:24.01.
For complete results, visit mutigers.com.
The Tigers will now host the Audrey Walton Combined Event Carnival on Thursday and Friday, May 13-14. Some of the best heptathletes and decathletes in America and from around the world will compete on Mizzou's home track. For more information on the meet check mutigers.com on Tuesday for a complete breakdown of the competition to take place.
For the rest of team next Saturday, May 15, will be the last chance to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships. The Tigers will travel to the Ward Haylett Invitational in Manhattan, Kan., to achieve the marks. The meet will be the first at Kansas State's new track facility and will feature Mizzou, Nebraska, Kansas, and others.