Feb. 24, 2005
Tiger Note: Both Nickoley and Patten won Big 12 Indoor titles in 2005 -- Patten in the 1000-meter run, Nickoley in the 800-meter. Nickoley was also on the winning distance medley relay team
Missouri freshman Trisa Nickoley knows that if she's lagging behind during a workout, she's going to get an earful.
Junior All-American Ashley Patten will turn and order her teammate, "Get up here, T."
Patten knows the importance of having a teammate with her at the front of the pack. For two years, Patten's had no one who could keep up with her. She's had to rely on herself emotionally and physically for motivation.
"If you're having a day where you're not feeling great and there's nobody there to tag you along, you might not push yourself as hard," Patten said.
Patten, the Big 12 Conference's reigning 800-meter champion, and Nickoley begin competition today at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lincoln, Neb.
Nickoley will be taking over the 800 for Missouri this season as Patten moves up to the 1,000. The move will allow the Tigers pick up points in both events for an improved team score. It won't hurt Missouri's chances in either event. Patten is tied for the best time in the Big 12 this season in the 800 with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2 minutes, 6.54 seconds - good for fourth in the NCAA. But Nickoley isn't far behind. The freshman out of Tecumseh, Kan., is fourth in the Big 12 and 10th in the NCAA with a 2:07.45.
"To have two kids in the same event in the top 10 currently ... it's exciting," assistant track and field coach Rebecca Wilmes said.
Patten, a native of Clarkston, Mich., has a good lead in the 1,000. Her time of 2:46.05 is nearly two seconds better than the No. 2 runner, Kansas State's Lysaira Roman-Del Valle.
"My strength's gotten a little bit better," Patten said. "And we were looking at our team aspect and where we can have all the races covered."
Nickoley has seemingly been right alongside Patten since the pair met in 2003 at the USA Track and Field Junior Championships at Stanford. The Missouri coaching staff was already eyeing Nickoley, who had run a 2:10 as a freshman at Shawnee Heights High School. So at the national meet, Wilmes prodded Patten to give a good showing.
"She was like, `We're recruiting this girl. If you go out there and win, maybe she'll come to our school,' " Patten said.
Patten won the race. Nickoley was second. That cinched the deal.
Nickoley, who's father bought her a Missouri track T-shirt her freshman year of high school, chose to compete at Missouri over Kansas State.
"I knew she was from Missouri, and I was still kind of looking at Missouri, so I had it in my head that we could possibly be teammates some day," Nickoley said. "I thought it was really cool that we came 1 and 2 then.
"That was a big deciding factor. I wanted to train with somebody that was the same caliber but was a little better so I could improve and learn from her training."
It's been a good combination. Patten, a cross country runner, is more strength-oriented, while Nickoley is speed-oriented. They have learned from each other as the situations dictate. They're running similar workouts to what they've been used to, but each is getting faster and performing better.
"We run the same workout every year," Patten said. "Friday, we ran the fastest 3-by-300 workout that I've ever run at this university. Running alongside her is just great, because we'll both feed off of each other."