May 10, 2005

Over the past weekend at the Billy Hayes Classic in Bloomington, Ind., Missouri Track and Field sophomore Tipper O'Brien ran the fastest race at 1500 meters than any other Tiger has in 31 years, becoming the 24th squad member to qualify for late-May's NCAA Mideast Regional in the process, a week before this weekend's Big 12 Championships.

O'Brien (Kirkwood, Mo.) clocked 3:44.14, good for fifth-place in a stacked field in the meet's invitational 1500-meter run. The time was the best Missouri has seen since the 1973 NCAA Championships when Missouri Hall-of-Famer Charlie McMullen ran a 3:41.90 (which would convert to a 3:59 mile).

Junior Kristin Hansen won her race in the women's 1500, running in 4:28.31. Freshman Jason Miller won the men's high jump with a leap of 6-8¾ (2.05m)

DUNNE, PETERSON RUN NEARLY IDENTIICAL TIMES IN DIFFERENT LOCALES
What's the difference between Bloomington, Ind., and Kingston, Jamaica? Not much if you're post-collegians Derrick Peterson and Timothy Dunne. Peterson ran Saturday at the Jamaica International Invitational in their capital city against some serious competition, showing well with a third-place clocking. Peterson's time of 1:47.44 was oddly-close to Dunne's time in Bloomington. Dunne won his 800-meter race in 1:47.45 on Friday, gaining his first U.S. Championship `B' qualifier with his season best. Dunne and Peterson are one of seven current or former Tiger collegians that will be part of late-June's USATF Outdoor Championships in Los Angeles, vying for spots on the IAAF World Championship team.

STAGE IS SET - Big 12 Championships
Tomorrow, look for a preview of the upcoming Big 12 Championships to be held starting Friday in Manhattan, Kan.