Feb. 26, 2005
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Missouri Track & Field team grabbed three more individual conference titles on Saturday at the final day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lincoln, Neb. A total crowd of 5,315 over two days witnessed Missouri win a team-record five event championships on the way to dual sixth-place team finishes.
The five total event championships gives Missouri a new team record for Big 12 competition and included both young and older Tiger competitors stepping up in the toughest competition in America.
The Tiger women placed sixth in the team competition with 64 points, the team's highest score since 2000. In comparison, the women placed fourth in 2004 with only 56½ points. The Tiger men placed sixth as well with 66½ points.
Junior Ashley Patten (Clarkston, Mich.) won her second Big 12 Indoor title, taking the women's 1000-meter run in championship meet record time of 2:45.96, a personal best. Patten won the 800-meter title in last year's Big 12 Indoor. Patten is now a five-time All-Big 12 performer.
Senior Conrad Woolsey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) won the men's shot put title with a new personal-best throw of 63 feet, ¾ inches (19.22m). In one of the most exciting field events of the championship meet, Woolsey took the lead with his second throw of 62-5 (19.05m) and led into the finals. Then, Kansas' Sheldon Battle, on his final throw topped Woolsey with a toss of 62-11 (19.19m). The final throw of the competition belonged to Woolsey, and, in his normal fashion, pulled through in the clutch, but this time for the Big 12 title. Woolsey in just his second year as a Tiger is now a four-time All-Big 12 performer.
In all, the men's shot put accounted for 16 of the Tigers' points as junior Bill Hobson placed fifth with 57-11 (17.65m, new personal best) and freshman Nate Englin took seventh with 56-6¾ (17.24m, new personal best) in addition to Woolsey's win.
Freshman Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) won the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.31. Iowa State's Ada Anderson, seeded as the conference leader, was disqualified in the race, and finished before Nickoley. Nickoley won her second Big 12 title, as she was the 800-meter leg on last night's winning distance medley relay. Nickoley became the first individual Tiger to win an indoor conference championship as a freshman since Christian Cantwell won the men's shot put in 2000. Nickoley is also the first woman to win a conference indoor championship as a freshman in Missouri history.
The middle-distance crews put up big points for the Tigers, accounting for 30 points on the women's side and 21 points on the men's.
Sophomore Marcus Mayes (Sand Springs, Okla.) was in the toughest competition of them all in the men's 800 meter. The top seven entered were also in the top 15 on the national performers list coming into the weekend. Mayes, defeating 2004 Olympian Jonathon Johnson of Texas Tech, placed third with a time of 1:49.61. Mayes is now a three-time All-Big 12 performer.
Senior Neville Miller (St. Louis, Mo.) added to an exciting weekend by placing third in the men's 1000-meter run. Miller, a member of the champion distance medley relay team, crossed the line in 2:25.40, earning his fourth All-Big 12 honor of his career.
In the women's shot put, senior Lindsey Markworth (Lexington, Mo.) placed fourth with a personal-best toss of 49-3¾ (15.03m), earning her fourth All-Big 12 performance. Markworth jumped to second all-time at Missouri in the event as well. Freshman Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wisc.) placed seventh with a personal-best performance of 47-7¾ (14.52m).
Senior Serena Ramsey (Waukesha, Wisc.) scored 12 points individually for the Tigers as she took third in today's 3000-meter run to match her third-place finish in the 5000-meter yesterday. Ramsey ran in 9:33.63 in today's 3k to earn her sixth all-time All-Big 12 honor.
In the men's 3000-meter, senior Ryan Hampton (Liberty, Mo.) ran in 8:10.55 to place third, grabbing his fourth All-Big 12 honor of his career.
Sophomore Jimmie Jones (Detroit, Mich.) placed fifth in the 600-yard run and leaped into Missouri's all-time top five with a personal-best time of 1:10.35.
Another third place finish was grabbed by senior Amanda Bales in the women's mile. Bales ran in 4:49.55 to secure her eleventh All-Big 12 honor of her career.
Sophomore Tipper O'Brien became a two-time All-Big 12 honoree with his run in the men's mile. His time of 4:10.40 earned him a seventh-place finish.
Senior Marquis Davis delivered a sixth-place finish in the men's 200-meter, coming in at 21.63, matching yesterday's preliminary round time.
Senior Jesse Sims earned his fourth All-Big 12 honor, tying for seventh in the men's high jump with a jump of 6-10¾ (2.10m).
In the men's heptathlon, sophomore Bjorn Sommerfeldt and senior Brandon Goebbert both earned NCAA provisional qualifying marks and placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Sommerfeldt scored 5,308 points on the heels of a personal best in the pole vault and 1000-meter. Goebbert won his fourth all-time All-Big 12 honor.
The Nebraska men and women swept the team competition for the second year in a row.
The Tigers also placed better than Kansas on both the men's and women's side, picking up two points in the Border Showdown, presented by Midwest Ford Dealers. Kansas still holds the series lead, 11½ to 7½.
For complete results visit mutigers.com or huskers.com.
USATF Indoor Championships
Today at the USATF Indoor Championships in Boston, Mass., Tiger post-collegians Derrick Peterson and Timothy Dunne qualified for tomorrow's final in the 800-meter run. Dunne ran a season best of 1:48.64 - Peterson timed in at 1:49.37.
Christian Cantwell placed fourth in the men's shot put with a throw of 67-6 (20.57m), and Janae Strickland was second in the women's shot put with a throw of 53-7¾ (16.35m).
The meet will be shown partially live on ESPN on Sunday beginning at 2:00 p.m., central.