Indoor Season in Review | Cross Country in Review
Top Three Performances | Indoor Bests | Outdoor Bests
July 1, 2004
Track & Field is one of the most "misunderstood" sports of them all. But, during an Olympic year, people turn their eyes and ears towards the sights and sounds of the most ancient sport without a care about the logistics. People may not understand the nuances that go with the sport, like training, administration, and even how people qualify for that next level, but people do understand the concept. The first one to the tree wins; it's that simple.
For the 2004 Missouri Track & Field team, it was that easy. In the outdoor season, Missouri added four more all-Americans to the list that is now over 160 long. All four who earned that distinction weren't even considered to be ones that would finish that high in the national meet, but when the day came, those Tigers knew the concept, the first one to the tree wins.
Talking about trees, Christian Cantwell, 6-6, 330, just a year after finishing his days as a collegiate Tiger has quickly earned huge respect on the World scene as being one of the best shot putters around. With the Olympic Trials just around the bend, Cantwell has established himself on the IAAF World Rankings list on the top. His throw, just short of 74 feet, at an early-June meet in Oregon has been the longest throw by anyone on the planet Earth for the year entering into July. His prospects are high too, although he's still a young 23-year old, Cantwell is by many accounts the favorite to win the gold medal at the Athens Olympics this August. Cantwell would say he has a good shot of doing so, but he'll be the first to say it's not so easy.
"America has the best shot putters in the world," Cantwell said. "Five in the top 10 come from this country. I've got to be aware of the guys behind me if I have any chance of making it out of Sacramento."
Sacramento is the site of the USATF Olympic Team Trials in July. If Cantwell, finishes in the top three he will have become the 20th Track & Field Tiger to have been on an Olympic Team. Natasha Kaiser in 1992 and 1996 was part of the nation's 4x400 Olympic relay team. She won silver with the team in Barcelona in 1992 and is the most recent Tiger to have been on an Olympic team.
Derrick Peterson is also on the Olympic radar screen. The 1999 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion, Peterson will travel to his second Olympic trials. In 2000, Derrick came with in millimeters of the final in the 800-meter run. In the past two years, Derrick has one of the top five fastest times in America and will have some experience on his side heading to the trials.
Now it's time to recap all that was with the collegiate season and even add in some moments from post-collegiate Tigers looking forward to the next step.
College Station Relays & Mutlis
Our outdoor season adventure begins in College Station, Texas, for Texas A&M's Multis & Relays. Coming from a cold and snowy indoor season, it was nice to be in Texas in March.
Senior Holly Scherder picked up from the indoor season where she left off, by breaking another school record. Scherder broke the weight throw record in the indoor season, and at the College Station Relays, she broke the school's hammer throw record. Not only did Scherder break the record, but she bettered it by ten feet to 190-4 (58.02m), and broke her previous PR by 15 feet.
Altogether, the Tiger throwers earned six marks in their first outdoor meet to qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional. Conrad Woolsey hit an outdoor PR with a shot put of 61-9?, finishing second.
Lindsey Markworth and Jamie Wynn broke PRs in the women's discus.
Sophomore Jessica Stockard started her outdoor season on the right foot, earning a personal-best score for day one in the heptathlon and ending the competition with an NCAA provisional score of 5,138.
tanford Invitational
If you're not a huge track fan, you might think the only reasons to go to California are to either surf, get a tan, or just to see one of their many, many national parks. But, if you're a distance runner, there is another reason, to run fast. It's something about the way it may be hot in the day time, but it's cool enough at night to make the times better. Go figure.
At the Stanford Invitational, that theory was put to the test.
Sophomore Ashley Patten ran for a personal-best time in the 800-meters and earned the top spot on the collegiate list for a winning time of 2:05.43. Patten became the second-best performer in school history with the run, an accomplishment she repeated from the indoor season.
Since Patten's run was in daylight, our theory hasn't been proven yet. Let's rewind to the night before. First off, sophomore Tim Ross jumped to second all-time in school history with a time of 14:12:23 in the 5000-meter run, a personal best. Next, sophomore Chase Hall ran for a time of 29:29.18 in the 10,000-meter run, a personal best. In the women's 10,000-meter run, sophomore Serena Ramsey jumped to second all-time in school history with a time of 34:44.63, a personal best. Sophomore Valerie Lauver also fought her way into the Missouri top five in the 10K with a time of 34:55.64, a personal best.
So far, four sophomores, four personal bests, four in the all-time top five, four earning post-season qualifying marks. Still not convinced?
Junior Jill Petersen and senior Katherine Bonugli both ran for personal bests in the 5000-meter run and earned regional qualifying marks, clocking in at 16:38.58 and 16:53.45, respectively.
Oh, okay, so it may be true. Or, Stanford's track could not be big enough, that's another theory. But, I don't think that conclusion holds much water. The moral of the story is that when traveling to California, be sure to get a good run in.
Also, keep this in mind, Neville Miller ran for a personal-best time of 1:51.10 in the 800. When you read the end of outdoor recap, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Missouri Relays
At the first day of the Missouri Relays, Holly Scherder decided to keep stealing the headlines. Her second throw of 195-1 at the women's hammer throw became a new school record, by nearly five feet. But, not being too satisfied with the performance, Scherder, on her final throw hit 196-5 (59.87m), again another school record. Soon, Scherder's record of breaking records is going to soon sound like a broken record.
Jill Petersen broke the Relays record in the steeplechase, winning in a time of 10:44.50 and gaining her second event entry into the NCAA Regional. Freshman Melanie Uher made her first big impression into Missouri Track & Field with an NCAA Regional mark of 163-2 in the discus, moving to the school's all-time top five. Conrad Woolsey's shot put of 62-5 became a new PR and was the first time the junior had hit the 19-meter mark (19.02m). The women's 4x800-relay team of Kristin Hansen, Amanda Bales, Ashley Patten, and Allison Werner broke the MU Relays record, winning in a time of 9:14.47. Neville Miller took the title in the 1500, and Jenny Bybee and Alicia Cannady tied for the high jump crown.
Tom Botts Invitational
The 2004 version of the Tom Botts Invitational with the guests--Iowa, Iowa State, and Notre Dame--had many twist and turns, funky weather, and a 7x400 relay. On the second day, the weather cancelled the women's pole vault, men's shot put, and the regular 4x400 relay. But, the weather couldn't deter the Tigers from fairing well in their events, and it couldn't stop them from having fun.
Holly Scherder once again won in the women's hammer, and was named as the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet. The Tigers swept the high jump events, junior Jesse Sims won on the men's side; Bybee took the women's crown. Freshman Tipper O'Brien finished as the number one collegian in a rainy 1500, showing once again his ability to get the job done. Remember, the first one to the tree wins (a reference to an earlier statement).
The Tigers took the 1-2-3 spots in the 5000 with Chase Hall, Josh Davis, and David Mertens leading the charge.
At the end of the day after the 4x400 relay was cancelled and once the senior day ceremonies wrapped up. It was time for some fun in the rain, thus, the exhibition co-ed 7x400 relay. Yes, team members were basically cherry-picked by random by assistant coach Rebecca Wilmes to run one of the legs for their made-up teams. The great thing about the relay is that it ended up being a close race. Freshman Austin Kerkhover became the last leg for his team and had a good 150-meter lead. That was until Tiger post-collegian Derrick Peterson was handed the baton for the final lap. In the driving rain, Peterson caught up the freshman, but until the finish line. Peterson edged Kerhover out by 11 hundredths of a second, drawing the Missouri Relays to a close. It may have seemed like a silly idea at first to even run the race, but it got everyone back to the roots of the sport of track and field. That's at least how it started at Missouri, the first TEAM to the tree, wins.
Nebraska Quadrangular
Just when you think you may have seen it all, then the Nebraska Quadrangular comes on the schedule. The meet with Mizzou, Nebraska, Colorado State, and Indiana had all the making of a great meet except for a couple of problems, thirty-mile-an-hour winds and a severe lack of officials.
Having not many officials and a 4:00 p.m., start time were cause for a unique situation since most of the throwing events were done only two at a time. By the time the women's shot put and men's discus came around, especially in the second flight, it was dark. There was limited lighting, provided by the nearby football stadium, that just hosted NU's Spring Game, and by two-sets of three flood lights on two posts. So, not really ideal conditions. But, just as the Missouri mantra goes, work with what you've got and get the job done. That's what senior Janae Strickland did.
Strickland reset her own school record with a toss of 54-2, 18 inches past her previous record. Not bad for not even getting to see the ring very well, let alone, the toss itself.
Also in the dark, the women's 4x400 relay team of Whittney Stuart, Jessica Stockard, Laura Brandt, and Ashley Patten won with a time 3:45.08. The women's 4x100 team of Stuart, Stockard, Brandt, and Comfort Ibe ran the fourth-fastest time in school history, clocking in at 46.62.
Because of the winds, many of the track times weren't even worth mentioning, it just became a day to race and win and not get a spectacular time. However, senior Sonya Yamnitz won the women's steeplechase crown.
Drake Relays
What's fun about the Drake Relays? Sure, a lot, but of course, it's the relays. This year was no exception. The Tigers didn't travel the same the number to Drake Relays as usual due to the proximity of the Big 12 Championships, but the effort was the same and the results were just as good.
The women's distance medley was going to be a show. Usually ran as an indoor event, it was time to have a good face-off with two indoor conference champions. Missouri, the Big 12 Champs, went face-to-face with Big Ten Champs, Michigan. For an 11-minute race it was one with lots of drama, many lead changes, and a close finish.
Jill Petersen ran the opening 1200-meter leg in about 3:33.1, placing the Tigers in fourth. The 400 leg went to Jessica Stockard, running to a third place standing for Missouri. Next, Ashley Patten ran a personal-best of 2:05.40 for her 800 leg that put the Tigers neck-and-neck with the Wolverines. Then the real drama came, Amanda Bales ran the 1600-meter leg in 4:38.7 and was in a back-and-forth battle with Michigan's Lindsay Gallo throughout the four laps. The classic battle came down to the final 100. Gallo passed Bales in the last 20 meters to give Michigan won this round, but it proved to be a battle to keep watching for. As one day, it may be for a national championship.
The men ran a 4x800-relay started by three freshmen, Tipper O'Brien, Marcus Mayes, and Jimmie Jones. The crew was anchored by junior Neville Miller who continued to improve running a PR of 1:49.6, giving the team the fifth-best in school history by clocking in at 7:25.16.
It's funny, every time you hear Drake Relays and think Christian Cantwell. As a moderate-rain fell, the Tiger post-collegian opened his outdoor season with his third consecutive Drake win. Sure, he may have been disappointed with his best toss, which happened to be his only fair toss of the day, of 67-8? (20.64m). But, it wasn't a bad way to start the season.
Derrick Peterson and Timothy Dunne, two more Tiger post-collegians, fared well in the 800. Peterson took third; Dunne finished fourth.
Big 12 Championships
Welcome to Norman, Okla., for the Big 12 Championships and the first meet on Oklahoma's new John Jacobs Field. What's going to happen here? Who knows, just hang on for the ride. Again, storylines were abundant; the Big 12 Championships were definitely no exception. First, let's get out of the way that the women's team finished fourth, and the men took eleventh. But, this season in particular wasn't so much about team finishes, as it were about some amazing individual ones. The next couple of years will start to showcase some of the best team finishes Missouri has seen, but you first build on that with the individuals, another odd thing about track and field.
Two individual performances come easily to the mind, those by Holly Scherder and Jessica Stockard who earned indvidual Big 12 Championships.
Scherder, of course, broke the school record, again. This time throwing the hammer 199-4 (60.76m) and winning the first female Big 12 throwing title for Missouri.
"I was feeling real great out there and I knew I could do it," Scherder would later say. "I was a little jittery last night and couldn't sleep, but once I got into the final, I got relaxed and did what I could do."
Scherder threw for a preliminary-best of 181-11, giving her the lead going into the finals. However, conference leader, Oklahoma State's Delisa McClain passed Holly on her first throw of the finals. Scherder topped McClain on her fifth throw one flying 190-4. McClain couldn't match and Scherder stepped into the ring on her final toss knowing she was the champ and still let out her career-best on her final throw.
Sophomore Jessica Stockard finished day one of the heptathlon in second place with a personal-best of 3,338 points, trailing only Kansas State's JaNelle Wright. Then day two came. In the sixth event, the javelin, came a turning point. Wright fouled all three throws, basically dropping her from the top spots and opening the door to Stockard who threw for a PR in the event. It all came down the final part of heptathlon, the 800-meter run. Stockard entered with the lead, but in second place was Baylor's Jordan Willman, whose personal-best was near 2:12, Stockard was 2:18. At that pace, Willman would take the crown; in fact, Stockard could not lose to Willman by more than four seconds. Stockard kept with Willman the entire way, running for a three-second PR with a time of 2:15.46 and trailing Willman by less than a second. Stockard won with a personal-best score of 5,378 points. A Tiger has now won the Big 12 heptathlon in back-to-back years. Fiona Asigbee took the crown in 2003.
"I'm very excited and I can't believe that I won," Stockard would say. "I'm very thankful things fell my way. I really didn't know I was in first until Coach McGuire told me. Then I knew I had to stay close in the 800, but I had so much adrenaline that I just went for it."
We may as well tell this story, because, well, it's one to remember. The first event of the Championships, the decathlon 100-meter dash was started not once, but twice. Unfortunately, the first heat started at the alternate finish-line for the other direction, making the race, well, a few-meters short. When Texas' Donavan Kilmartin crossed the finish line in 9.76, which would be a world record, you knew something was up. These things happen, so what do you do? You just wait 30 minutes and run it again.
Sophomore Hans Uldal was one of those decathletes in the first heat. It didn't really affect him too much, since he finished the Big 12 Championships in second place. His final score of 7,329 qualified him for the NCAA Championships (that's a story to read later) propelled by a personal best in the pole vault.
Oh, yeah, Janae Strickland broke the school's shot put record again. Strickland bettered her PR by 16 inches, throwing for 55-6? (16.92m). Her second place finish now makes her a five-time All-Big 12 performer.
Sophomore Amanda Bales had an amazing double on the final day. Bales took fifth in the 1500 after being accidentally tripped by Colorado's Renee Mativier at the end of the last lap. Bales got up, and at one time came back to challenge for second and settled with a time of 4:29.74. Then, less than three hours later, ran the only track 5000 meters of her career, finishing in sixth. Bales in two full years has become an eight-time All-Big 12 performer.
Twenty-five Tigers were named All-Big 12. The women's fourth place finish repeated the placing from the 2003 outdoor and 2004 indoor seasons.
Billy Hayes Classic
The Billy Hayes Classic in Bloomington, Ind., was one of two meet remaining for Tigers to earn NCAA Regional Qualifying marks, and many didn't let the opportunity go unused.
Senior Comfort Ibe ran the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.80 to qualify for the regional, she earned a spot in the final at the Big 12 Championships. Neville Miller kept improving his personal-best, this time running in 1:49.41 and qualifying for the regional meet.
Gary File hit a season-best of 218 feet (66.47m) improving his NCAA regional mark. Junior David Mertens won the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:24.01.
Audrey Walton Combined Event
The inaugural Audrey Walton Combined Event, hosted by Missouri, was a chance for Tiger post-collegian Michelle Moran to shine. Although the weather wasn't the best, rain the first day, cloudy and cold the second, Moran made the most of it and qualified for the Olympic Trials on the way to a new stadium record, a new-personal best, and an inaugural win.
Moran's 5,698 points broke her old PR by almost 150 points. Day one was ended on high note for Moran, she timed in a personal best in the 200. She started day two with an explosion. In the long jump, no one could have predicted what she did on her first jump.
"I really didn't know what to do," Moran said. "I have never been in the air that long, and when I landed I knew I had done something special."
Moran jumped for 19-4?, three inches above her previous personal best. After a solid javelin throw of 119-3, she was in second going into the final event, the 800. Moran ran for another PR with a time of 2:15.31 for the title crown.
Moran will be going to her second Olympic Trials this July, she also qualified in 2000.
Ward Haylett Invitational
Kansas State hosted the Ward Haylett Invitational and was on their track for the first time since 2000. The R.V. Anderson Track was remodeled, resurfaced and was the place where six more Tiger secured spots in the NCAA Regionals at the last minute. Kansas State is also the host of the 2005 Big 12 Championships.
Margaret Ibe joined her sister, Comfort, as gaining entry into the NCAA Regional with a time of 1:00.55 in the 400-meter hurdles. The time was just one-hundredth of a second off the school record. Two freshmen, Marcus Mayes and Bobby Musil also qualified in their events. Mayes ran for a PR in the 800 with a time of 1:49.94. Musil grabbed a regional qualifying mark in the men's discus with a toss of 172-4 (52.54m). In the women's discus, sophomore Jamie Wynn hit a personal-best earned a qualifying mark with a throw of 153-6 (46.72m). Senior pole vaulter Lyndsey Tait cleared the bar at 12-3? to earn an NCAA regional mark. Tait also entered into the Missouri all-time top five. Junior Adam Burla also gained entry into the NCAA regional with a toss of 54-1? (16.49m) in the men's shot put.
In the men's shot put, Christian Cantwell won again. He set a new stadium record with a throw of 69-3? (21.11m).
The 4x400-relay team of Josiah James, Marcus Mayes, Jimmie Jones, and Neville Miller, won their event in a time of 3:15.31, a new track record.
NCAA Mideast Regional
The object of the game at the NCAA Regionals is to finish in the top five in your event to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Five Tigers answered the bell to automatically advance to the next step. LSU was the host of this year's region in Baton Rouge, La., a far cry from Columbus, Ohio, site of the 2003 regional where it was cold, rainy, and windy during the majority of the second day.
The weather was warm, very warm in fact. But, senior Janae Strickland says she thrives in the southern heat and humidity. The Houston, Texas, native brought home the regional title throwing for 55-1? (16.80m), a new region record, in the heat.
Junior Jenny Bybee earned entry into the national championships with a fourth place finish in the high jump. Bybee was one of four that went over the 5-8? (1.74m) bar. Since only five advance, a jump-off had to occur. Bybee was the only one of the four to clear 5-9? (1.76m), giving her the fourth place finish and a new season-best.
The only Tiger to have participated in more than one event at the regional was junior Lindsay Markworth. She qualified for both the shot put and discus, and ended the season on a solid note in the shot put, throwing for 47-10 (14.58m) for a new personal-best.
Amanda Bales ran in only her second 5000 meters on the track in her career, and ran for a new personal best, breaking her time from the Big 12 Championships by 20 seconds. Bales finished fifth to advance to the NCAAs.
The Mizzou women finished ninth in the region; the men finished 27th.
NCAA Championships
Another meet, another bizarre start, for Jessica Stockard especially. Stockard's day one at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, will be one to remember as she had to wait over eight hours to complete day one of the heptathlon. Stockard started her day at 12:30 p.m., with the first event, the 100-meter hurdles. A light rain started to fall, but Stockard earned a personal best in the event running in 14.14 seconds. Naturally, warm-ups for the next event, the high jump began, and then lightning hit Texas' Mike Myers Stadium, suspending the start of the event.
A moderate rain continued to fall through 3:45 p.m.; however, meet officials decided to press on. Stockard cleared two bars before another delay was called for once more lightning was spotted in the area. But this time, the rains of Austin wouldn't let up so easily. Rain started to fall at the rate of three inches per hour, nearly flooding the infield and track. Luckily, the rain stopped at 9:15 p.m., letting the high jump to resume around 9:45.
The next event, the shot put, began at 11:35. Stockard finally concluded her day at 12:43 a.m., with the running of the 200-meter dash. Stockard faired very well despite the conditions, finishing day one with 3,266 points and in sixth place.
Day two for the heptathlon was considerably better, but a rain filled day was replaced with a day in the upper-90s. Stockard pressed on and finished in 11th overall with 5,256 points, seven from ninth. Stockard started the day with a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 18-5.
Day two was also a happy day for Holly Scherder. Entering the meet No. 17th on the performers list, Scherder was not expected to get out of the qualifying round. But, again the concept "the first to the tree, wins" was in effect. Scherder threw close to her personal best, hitting 197-4 and advancing to the finals.
"I didn't even know I made the final until Coach Halter came up and hugged me," Scherder said.
In her first NCAA Championships, Serena Ramsey seemed in pretty good control during the 10,000-meter run. The sophomore ran in 36:23.49, finishing in 18th, an improvement from being 25th on the seed list.
Amanda Bales on the final night finished 13th in the nation in the 5000-meter run, only having run in the event three times in her career. She clocked in at 16:59.27.
On day three, Jenny Bybee finished 16th in the women's high jump, clearing a new season-best height of 5-10 (1.78m). On her best and the two previous bars, Bybee missed on her first two attempts, but still was able to clear on her third.
The final day may have been one of the most exciting days in Missouri Track & Field history.
Hans Uldal started the day in 16th place in the men's decathlon, scoring personal bests in the 100-meter dash and shot put events in day one. Uldal and Coach Matt Candrl knew his day two would be his best.
Uldal, a sophomore, led the day off with his third personal best in the competition, running for 14.71 in the 110-meter hurdles, moving to 15th overall. The discus, Uldal's seventh event, is where the Norwegian broke through. With another personal best, throwing for 153-6, Uldal put himself in seventh place on a great pace.
At the same time, senior Holly Scherder was wrapping up her collegiate career, finishing 12th in the hammer throw and earning her first All-America honor. Scherder became only the second Tiger all-time to earn the honor. Russ Bell finished ninth in the event in 2002 for Missouri's first.
Uldal then moved to the pole vault around 4:30 p.m., by this time the heat and humidity of southern Texas started to peak. Uldal was at the event for nearly two hours, clearing six bars along the way and hitting a personal-best height of 15-1 (4.60m) and propelling to sixth overall after eight events.
While Uldal was sweating at the pole vault, senior Janae Strickland was comfortable in the women's shot put. Again, Strickland, a person who thrives in the heat, was able to throw for 55-2. Strickland finished in eighth, scored a point for the team, and earned her second All-America honor.
Uldal then moved to the javelin, throwing for a decathlon PR and moving to fifth overall with a toss of 197-4.
Then the final event, the 1500-meter run was next. Standing with 7,048 points after nine events, Uldal knew that if he ran near his personal best of 4:27, he could end with 7,820 points, a score that would be an Olympic "B" standard, a new Missouri record, and possibly finish him in fourth place. With six personal-bests in the bag from earlier in the two days, Uldal decided to go for it.
Uldal came out at his PR pace for the first three laps, needing to finish with the final in around 73 seconds. Coming around the final turn, Uldal still was ahead of Minnesota's Travis Brandstatter, who came into the run in fourth place, one point up on Uldal. But, as Uldal finished the turn, he appeared to have lost a big part of his pace. The fight in the Tiger started to overrun his body. In the final 50 meters, Uldal fell to the ground, twice.
Eerily, at the exact same time, junior Conrad Woolsey hit his personal best in the men's shot put, throwing for 62-7? (19.09m) on his second toss, pushing him to the finals. Woolsey would finish in seventh place, wrapping up an impressive year as a Tiger, being the only to earn All-America honors in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
With the crowd of 14,000 yelling, screaming and encouraging, Uldal stumbled to his feet and dragged his body across the finish line, still placing above a quarter of the field in the run, timing in at 4:50.92. Luckily, Uldal did not slide anywhere in the standings. Placing in fifth, Uldal ended the competition with 7,661 points, slightly behind fellow Norwegian, Knut Sommerfeldt's school record of 7,685 points.
Uldal earned Missouri's first All-America honor in the decathlon. But, more importantly, on that day he showed the true heart of a champion, and a true heart of a Tiger. His efforts may have seemed to be too risky to some, to try to go all out after two straight days of competition in the wearing heat and humidity. But, to most, Uldal's efforts were not only brave, but honorable and unforgettable. What was put on that track that day was an all-out effort, pushing a heart, mind, and body to its extremes. Those who witnessed his actions over those 36 hours were not only impressed, but they were also awe-stricken and inspired. His performance should go down in Missouri history as being one of the gutsiest, inspirational, and stirring of all-time for any sport.
USA Track & Field Junior National Championships
The season has now come full circle, starting the season in March and now nearly wrapping up the season three months later in College Station, Texas. This time Texas A&M was host to the USATF Junior Nationals.
Many of Missouri's incoming freshmen where performing and did very well. But, Missouri's freshmen left an impact as well. Particularly in the 800-meter run.
Marcus Mayes and Jimmie Jones finished 2-4 in the finals of a very close 800. Mayes earned a spot on the Junior US National team, next traveling to Grosetto, Italy for the IAAF World Junior Championships.
Melanie Uher finished seventh in the women's discus. Bobby Musil was 18th in the men's discus.
...more and beyond...
Remember that you were supposed to keep in mind Neville Miller's personal-best time of 1:51 that he ran in the Stanford Invitational. Three months later, the walk-on Junior ran a team-leading 1:48.64 at the Northern Iowa Olympic Qualifier. How about that? The St. Louis native "gets better and better" says Coach Jared Wilmes.
But, as in that old Olympic year adage, it's still not over, with the USATF Olympic Trials right around the bend. Seven current and former Tigers will compete in Sacramento, Calif., for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team that will travel to Athens, Greece. Bear in mind, the first one to tree ... wins.