Feb. 16, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
Missouri Track and Field will host the 21st Annual Missouri All-Comers meet this Saturday, February 19. Anyone can enter the meet for as little as $10 and enter into as many as 18 track and field events. Some Tigers will also be in the spotlight including six-time All-American shot putter Conrad Woolsey.
Come One, Come All
The $10 entry fee will get anyone a spot in the meet, into one of four age divisions: pre-high school (14 & under), high school (15-18), college/open (19-39), or masters (40 & up). The entry fee for a collegiate team or club is $100. The meet lends itself to an odd format. At the same time, a six-year old could be running down the track in the 60-meter dash and a 76-year old could be competing in the weight throw.
Double-Record Man
Tiger junior Tim Ross (Alto, Mich.) broke his own Missouri 5000-meter indoor record last weekend at the Iowa State Classic with a nine-second improvement from 2003's time to 14:09.25. Ross broke the school's 3000-meter record two weekends ago at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational with a run of 8:04.86. Ross was a 2004 NCAA Cross Country championship qualifier and is a five-time All-Big 12 performer.
Ross' next venture may be the all-around 5000-meter record, the oldest standing record on the books at Missouri. Kerry Hogan's run of 14:06.40 in the event in May 1972 is well within Ross' reach. In breaking that record, Ross would be one of three Tigers to currently hold three records (indoor and outdoor separate) at the same time, with the other two being Christian Cantwell and sprinter from the 80s, Chidi Imoh.
Petersen Grabs Attention On The Track
Senior Jill Petersen (O'Fallon, Mo) made her name on the cross-country course in 2004 as an All-Midwest Region and All-Big 12 selection, helping lead the Tigers to an 11th-place national finish, but now Petersen is making a name for herself on the track. Petersen broke a five-year old record with her time of 16:41.76, also in the 5000-meter run at the Iowa State Classic. Petersen is a six-time All-Big 12 performer and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Regionals in the 5000 meter and 3000-meter steeplechase in 2004.
Tigers Invade Big 12 List
In looking at the Big 12 performers lists up to the weekend, it appears many Tigers are well within the hunt of Big 12 title hopes, if not the ability to rack up lots of points for the team. Ashley Patten ranks first in both the 800-meter and 1000-meter runs entering the weekend in the conference, the question will remain which, if not both, of the races Patten will run in at the conference championship. Freshman Trisa Nickoley ranks fourth in the conference in the 800, with little room between the first five or six spots. Amanda Bales ranks second in the women's mile with Ryan Hampton ranking fourth in the men's mile. Neville Miller ranks fourth in both the 800 and 1000, with Marcus Mayes in sixth in the 800. Tim Ross ranks fifth in the 3000-meter and fourth in the 5000-meter. Both teams distance medley relays have the top spot entering this weekend. In the throws department, Conrad Woolsey is second in the men's shot put. Bobby Musil and Tyler Dailey have the four, five spots in the weight throw.
16 Provisional NCAA Qualifiers And Still Counting
With three weekends remaining to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, 16 Tigers have secured NCAA provisional qualifying marks, up from 2004's total of 11. While an average of the top 15 listed on the national descending order actually makes the NCAAs, five Tigers fit that criteria heading into the weekend. Ashley Patten and freshman Trisa Nickoley are ranked sixth and tenth, respectively, in the women's 800-meter run. Patten's best mark comes from the Meyo Invitational two weeks ago of 2:06.54; Nickoley ran a 2:07.45 at last weekend's Iowa State Classic to appear on the list. In the men's 800-meter, Neville Miller and Marcus Mayes is 11th and 15th in the nation, respectively. Miller and Mayes both has had both marks come from the Iowa State Classic last weekend. The women's distance medley relay group currently ranks ninth in the country - usually the top 12 relay teams make the NCAA Indoors.
Announcing His Presence With Authority
In his first meet of the season, senior Conrad Woolsey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) reset his indoor personal best, coming within centimeters of his overall personal best with shot put toss of 62 feet, 5¾ inches (19.04m) at the Iowa State Classic. Woolsey stands second on the Big 12 performance list and sixth on the NCAA performers list after last weekend's debut.
Hampton Steals Mile Victory
Senior Ryan Hampton beat out 74 other competitors at last week's Iowa State Classic in the Mile run. Hampton, working from the back of the pack for around eighty percent of the race, took charge, climbing to fifth by the final 100 meters and in an all-out sprint to the finish took the tape at the line, winning in 4:04.14. Sophomore Tipper O'Brien was close behind, closing in at 4:04.74.
The Shot Heard Around the World
Last year at the Missouri All-Comers, you couldn't help to marvel at the extraordinary wide variety of performances from the meet. On one hand you had seven-year olds running the 60-meter dash in around 12 seconds and then you have Tiger post-collegian Christian Cantwell. Cantwell launched the longest shot put throw that the world has seen indoors in the past five years at last year's All-Comers. His throw of 72 feet, ¼ inch (21.95m) was the all-around best for his career up to that point.
His performance spurred him on to win the USA Track & Field Indoor Championship the week after and the IAAF World Indoor Championship two weeks following.
Cantwell Jet Sets This Weekend
Cantwell won't be back to the Missouri All-Comers this year to defend championship of the men's shot put, as he will be competing in Europe. As part of a three-meet stretch over seven days, Cantwell will compete at the Athens, Greece, indoor meeting on Sunday, fly to Madrid, Spain, to throw in another meet Wednesday, and come back to the States before next weekend's USATF Indoor Championships to be held in Boston, Mass. Cantwell currently ranks fifth on the world's season performance list with his best throw of 69 feet, 1¼ inches (21.06m) from the Missouri Invitational in mid-January.
Big 12 Championships Around The Corner
Yep, already here. The Big 12 Indoor Championships are the weekend after the All-Comers meet and what an unpredictable meet it will be. With many of the Big 12's best either exhausting or waiving eligibility after the 2004 Olympic season, many of the events are up for grabs by many of the new up-and-comers in the conference. That also affects team scoring. By an SIDs look at things third through eleventh place on both the men's and women's side could be bettered determined at this point by drawing numbers out of a hat. Thankfully, the conference isn't determined by luck, strategy, yes, strategy in track and field will likely be the determinate that puts the teams in their final rankings place. Who to run in which event and trimming the roster to only 26 are the challenges facing all of the schools of the Big 12 as the quest to become greater than before gets more intense.
All-Comers Results And Coverage
Live results will be available on mutigers.com during the meet, time permitting. A complete wrap-up of the meet, on a busy Saturday around the department, will soon follow on mutigers.com.