Missouri
NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships
Stockard Finishes 11th, Tigers Advance Three At NCAA Championships
6/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 10, 2004
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Missouri track and field squad finished day two of the NCAA Championships on Thursday in Austin, Texas. The weather was considerably better with temperatures in the low-90s and partly sunny conditions, a far cry from yesterday's four-inch day-long rainfall. Sophomore Jessica Stockard finished 11th overall in the women's heptathlon and three Tigers advanced to their event finals after finishing in the top 12 in preliminary rounds.
Stockard (Godfrey, Ill/Alton HS) finished the two-day long heptathlon in 11th place overall. Her final score of 5,256 points was one point from Oregon's Abby Andrus in 10th place and seven points from Nebraska's Sara Jane Baker in ninth.
After ending day one at 1:00 a.m., early Thursday morning due to the eight-hour rain delay, the heptathletes started day two at 2:00 p.m. Stockard hit a heptathlon personal-best of 18-5 (5.61m) in the long jump, placing herself in ninth overall after the event. An average javelin throw of 91-10 (29.10m) placed Stockard 16th after the six events. The final event, the 800-meter run, jumped Stockard five spots, finishing third in her heat with a time of 2:20.35.
"Jessica Stockard had a great year," said Dr. Rick McGuire, head track and field coach. "She finished 20th here last year as freshman and now 11th. She battled the elements and competed hard. I'm thrilled with her, but she's disappointed she couldn't finish higher. We can relate what she did today as what a team does at the NCAA Championships. When a team finishes 11th in the country, they feel pretty good about themselves, it's just the same for an individual in a national event. Jessica finished 11th in the country and that's something to be proud of."
Senior Holly Scherder (Frankford, Mo./Bowling Green HS) advanced to Saturday's women's hammer final after throwing for a near personal-best toss of 197 feet, 4 inches (60.14m). With that, her second throw, Scherder catapulted to the 12th spot and held there for the remainder of the competition. Scherder entered the competition ranked No. 17 on the list of performers, but was able to work her way to the final 12.
"I didn't even know I made the final until coach (Brett Halter) came up and hugged me," Scherder said. "I didn't think my throw was very good because the ball slung pretty wide to the left. I'm excited to be in the finals and can't wait until Saturday."
Scherder, in her first NCAA Championship meet, will look to become the first female Tiger to earn all-America honors in the event. In 2002, former Tiger, Russ Bell, finished ninth to earn Missouri's only all-America distinction in the event.
Making her third appearance at the NCAA Championships, senior Janae Strickland (Houston, Texas) qualified for the women's shot put final to be held Saturday. Strickland, on her second throw, put her day's best of 54-4? (16.57m).
Junior Conrad Woolsey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) qualified for the finals of the men's shot put, throwing for 61-2? (18.66m) on his third and final throw. Woolsey was an indoor all-American this year with a ninth place finish.
Sophomore Serena Ramsey (Waukesha, Wis.) took 18th in the women's 10,000-meter run, finishing in a time of 36:23.49. This was Ramsey's first NCAA Track & Field Championships. She is second all-time in Mizzou history in the event and three-time all-Big 12. At the outdoor Big 12 Championships, Ramsey finished third in 10k.
Sophomore Ashley Patten pulled up in her heat of the 800-meter run preliminaries and was unable to finish. Patten earned all-American honors after a ninth place finish at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Action continues tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Sophomore Hans Uldal will compete tomorrow in the first day of the men's decathlon and junior Jenny Bybee will vie for a top spot in the women's high jump.
For complete results, visit mutigers.com or texassports.com.
