Feb. 25, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - An exhilarating day for the Missouri Track & Field team ended with a bang Friday night in the first day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Both men's and women's Distance Medley Relay squads won Big 12 titles for Missouri in the final events of the night. The women won the event for the second year in a row and for the third time in five years. The Tiger women repeated as champs with only one returning member, Amanda Bales, from last year's relay team. The men broke the Big 12 meet record with their time of 9:47.13.
A crowd of 1,944 witnessed Kristin Hansen, Whittney Stuart, Trisa Nickoley, and Amanda Bales win the women's DMR in a time of 11:23.98, defeating second-place Baylor by a dominating four full seconds. The repeating champs ended the second leg in fourth place, trailing Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. Then, freshman Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) took the baton for her 800-meter leg.
"It's awesome knowing the strength of your team," said Amanda Bales. "You have so much confidence in your team, that actually see them coming through is an amazing feeling."
Nickoley came from fourth, taking over the lead after her leg of 2:08.7. Then Bales took the baton. Running with the strictest of confidence, Bales led the rest of the way, leaving a few meters between her and Jessa Chance of Baylor. Then, suddenly, in the final 100 meters, Bales poured on the jets, leaving everyone else in the conference behind. The women won their relay by four seconds - Baylor ran in second with a time of 11:28.20.
The men's DMR - made up of Tipper O'Brien, Jimmie Jones, Neville Miller, and Ryan Hampton - broke the Big 12 Championship meet record with a time of 9:47.13. The men's race was more of a back-and-forth battle as five teams at one time led the race. The biggest spark in the relay was Neville Miller's third leg in the 800-meter. Miller took the baton in fourth place and even fell to sixth before overcoming all five teams in the final 150 meters before handing the baton to senior Ryan Hampton. The 1600-meter leg for Hampton was nearly run perfectly. Hampton with ever-present patience held with the same pace, even as Kansas' Benson Chesang and Texas' Erik Stanley sped past. Hampton, before the bell rang for the final lap, passed Chesang and Stanley to take over the lead. Still holding close, the Jayhawks and Longhorns threatened, but in the final 100 meters, Hampton seemingly holding to his original, secret plan, broke out and smashed the rest of the field, crossing the line three seconds before Oklahoma's Kris Glenn.
The day also included several individual feats, a school record, entries into tomorrow's event finals, and overall personal bests.
Senior Serena Ramsey (Waukesha, Wisc.) broke teammate Jill Petersen's school record in the women's 5000-meter with her third-place time of 16:34.87, earning her fifth all-time All-Big 12 honor. The mark, an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, topped Petersen's record by seven seconds. Petersen placed seventh, grabbing an additional two points for the Tigers with a time of 16:57.92.
Senior Neville Miller (St. Louis, Mo.) qualified for the final of tomorrow's 1000-meter run with a three-second, personal-best time of 2:23.44. The time, the second-fastest all-time at Missouri, was the third fastest among the eight qualifiers, six of which timed within a second of each other.
In the men's 5000-meter run, junior Tim Ross put the Tigers on the scoreboard first, placing seventh with a time of 14:14.21, earning his sixth all-time All-Big 12 honor.
Sophomore Tipper O'Brien (St. Louis, Mo.) once again ran the "race of his life" in the men's mile, running a 4:07.05 to qualify for the final. Senior Marquis Davis ran for a season best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.63 to advance to the finals.
Junior Ashley Patten (Clarkston, Mich.) qualified for the finals of the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:54.87. Senior Amanda Bales also qualified in the women's mile to the finals with her time of 4:49.60. Sophomore Jimmie Jones qualified in the 600-yard run with a personal best time of 1:11.01.
All told, five Tiger men and five Tiger women qualified in events ranging from 200 meters to the Mile for tomorrow's finals. That total is up from last year's three women and three men.
Many other Tigers were just short of making the finals, but had breakthroughs along the way. Freshman Michael Barrows (Flint, Mich.) ran the Mile in 4:08.91, placing 10th, running for a seven-second personal best, and coming within a fraction of a second of advancing. Junior Rem Moll was 10th in the 1000-meter run, running for a season best 2:25.84. Junior Nicole Johnson placed ninth in the women's 1000, breaking her personal best by three seconds to place ninth. Junior Kristin Hansen ran for nine-second personal best in the women's Mile, finishing ninth with 4:53.71.
Sophomore Greg Bracey (Milwaukee, Wisc.) also came close to an All-Big 12 honor as he placed ninth in the men's 200-meter dash. Bracey's time of 6.82 in the semifinals was a new personal best and moves him to third all-time at Missouri in the event. Bracey is also a wide receiver on the Missouri football team.
Freshman Elisha Hunt (Linn, Mo.) earned her first career All-Big 12 honor by placing eighth in the women's weight throw with a throw of 57 feet, 3 inches (17.45m). Hunt entered as the 15th seed, but qualified for the finals out of the first flight. Hunt also reclaimed her spot on the Missouri All-Time Top Five list.
Freshmen Trisa Nickoley (Tecumsech, Kan.) and Ashley Guy (Rock Bridge HS/Columbia, Mo.) automatically qualified for Saturday's final in the women's 800-meter because only eight from the conference entered into the event.
Junior Liz Young (Helias HS/Jefferson City, Mo.) earned her second all-time All-Big 12 honor by placing seventh in the pentathlon with 3,431 points. Freshman Kaela Rorvig (Hickman HS/Columbia, Mo.) placed ninth with 3,374 points, just eight points out of All-Big 12 status.
After day one in the men's heptathlon, 2004 Olympian, sophomore Hans Uldal stands in fourth place with 3,050 points, competing against a world-class field that includes 2004 NCAA Indoor Champion, Texas' Donovan Kilmartin, who stands third. Uldal scored a personal best in the 60-meter dash (7.13) and an indoor personal best in the shot put (14.15m, 46-5¼). Sophomore Bjorn Sommerfeldt is in sixth after day one, scoring 2,862 points, 188 above his personal best pace. Sommerfeldt scored personal bests in the 60-meter dash (7.28) and the long jump (indoor only, 6.88m, 22-7). Senior Brandon Goebbert stands 10th after day one, with PRs in the long jump (6.30m, 20-8) and the shot put (11.51m, 37-9¼). Three events, the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and the 1000-meter run, concludes the heptathlon tomorrow.
After day one, the Tiger women stand in third place with 21 points, trailing Nebraska and Colorado. The Tiger men are in eighth with 12 points. The final day will begin tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., with the running of the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles. For complete results, visit mutigers.com, or for live results visit huskers.com throughout the day tomorrow.