Missouri
Cyclone National Track & Field Qualifier
Bennett, Patten Solidify A Spot In The NCAA Championships
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
March 6, 2004
AMES, Iowa - Members of the University of Missouri track and field squad spent Saturday at the Cyclone Last Chance Qualifier held at the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, Iowa. Sophomore Ashley Patten and Senior Jennifer Bennett earned NCAA provisional qualifying marks that catapulted them into top spots on the national performance list and likely will qualify them for next weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.
Athletes making provisional marks are not guaranteed spots in the NCAA Championships. Around 14 to 16 top competitors in each event will be selected to compete in next weekend's championships. A listing of which place athletes are on the national qualifying list as of press time are based on last weekend's performance list and does not take into account the other seven national qualifying meets held around the nation this weekend. Once final performances are submitted and the appropriate declarations are made, coaches are notified of their athletes spot in the NCAA Championships on Monday afternoon.
Patten (Clarkston, Mich.), coming off winning the 800-meter title at last weekend's Big 12 Championships, improved her personal best by 2.5 seconds and jumped to 11th on the national performance list in the event with a winning time of 2:05.97. If selected, Patten will compete in her first NCAA Championship of her career.
Bennett (Ashland, Mo.) completed a season-best mark of 13 feet, 3? inches (4.05m) in the women's pole vault which would also place her 11th on the national performance list with her first provisional mark of the season. Earning her first all-American honor with a sixth place national finish in the 2003 indoor season, Bennett holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the event.
Also improving his NCAA provisional status was junior transfer Conrad Woolsey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.). Woolsey's shot put of 62 feet, ? inch (18.90m) improved his status on the national performance list from 12th to 11th. Woolsey was the 2001 NCAA Division II champion in the event while at Northwest Missouri State University.
The trio of Patten, Bennett, and Woolsey will likely be Missouri's representation in the NCAA Championships next weekend. Official bids will be announced Monday.
Freshmen Jimmie Jones and Marcus Mayes gained their first provisional qualifying times of their career. Mayes' time of 1:50.03 and Jones' time of 1:50.20 were personal-bests by over a second. Also hitting a personal best was junior Ryan Hampton earned a two-second personal-best in the mile run with a time of 4:03.30.
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