May 28, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The University of Missouri wrapped up a successful run at the 2005 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Tigers Ashley Patten and Amanda Bales added top five performances that automatically qualify them for the NCAA Championships. Sophomore Melanie Uher broke a 12-year old school record in the women's discus, gaining a stronghold on a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Championships. And, sophomore Tipper O'Brien ran a heart-stopping 1500-meter race to seemingly lock-up an at-large bid to the national collegiate meet.
Uher (Wilber, Neb.) threw the disc 166 feet, 7 inches (50.77m) to break Erica Brooks' 1992-school record throw by 11 inches, to place eighth in the competition. The placing earned Uher her first all-region honor of her career, and more importantly, put her in the at-large pool for selection into the NCAA Championships. Her throw today extended her mark to be considered and a comparison amongst the regions show that Uher should be sixth on the at-large list.
The top five placeholders in each of the nation's four regions automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held in Sacramento in two weeks. Positions six thru eight in each event (that declare their intentions to participate in the national meet) are put into an at-large pool of 12 competitors from around the nation. Their top marks from the entire season are compared against each other, then, the NCAA Track & Field Committee traditionally chooses between five to seven participants for at-large entry into each event to fill a maximum total field of 544 men and 544 women.
Junior Amanda Bales (Bettendorf, Iowa) was second in the women's 1500-meter, securing an automatic bid into the national meet, with a time of 4:21.12. Michigan's Lindsey Gallo won her second-straight region title in 4:18.86, passing Bales at the 800-meter mark. Bales was in the lead and ran a steady race to retain second the rest of the way. Bales concentrated on the 5000 meters last year and placed fifth at the region meet.
Sophomore Kristin Hansen (Okoboji, Iowa) placed 10th in the 1500, clocking 4:34.93.
In maybe the gutsiest performance of the weekend by a Tiger, sophomore Tipper O'Brien (Kirkwood, Mo.) came back from yesterday's preliminary in the men's 1500-meter run in which he had to out-sprint three competitors on the homestretch to secure an automatic spot in today's finals to once again pull through in the clutch. In today's race, O'Brien had to do the same, sprinting back from ninth place to take sixth at the line, clocking 3:47.31, coming within four-tenths of a second from automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. With the sixth-place finish O'Brien, like Uher, gets put into the at-large pool. Looking at results around the country, O'Brien, by the looks of it, is fourth among the 12 in the pool, which puts him in almost certain position to advance to the national championships.
Junior Ashley Patten (Clarkston, Mich.) ran a 2:06.22 to place fifth in the women's 800-meter final, becoming another Tiger to advance to the NCAA Championships. Patten, Big 12 Champion in the event, ran well amongst a challenging field that kept scrambling at the top seven positions to the finish.
Senior Marquis Davis (O'Fallon, Ill.) was 16th in the men's 200-meter, clocking 21.39. The event was ran a timed final, due to preliminary rounds being cancelled last night because of adverse conditions.
Jimmie Jones, Jason Jones, Marquis Davis, and Marcus Mayes placed 11th in the men's 1600-meter relay with a time of 3:10.23.
Jason Jones and Davis ended their Tiger careers with the regional. Davis ended as a five-time Big 12 scorer and two-time qualifier for these regionals. Jones (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge HS) ran the race of his life at the Big 12 Championships, a 46.8 split in the 1600-meter relay, to allow the relay team the opportunity to qualify for the post-season.
In team scores, the Tiger women placed 17th with 17 points - the men finished 28th with 7.
The complete NCAA Championship field will be announced on Tuesday. Watch mutigers.com for a complete look at the Tiger field early next week. The NCAA Championships will be held June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.
WEEKEND RECAP
WOMEN Top 5 performances (automatic to NCAAs) 1500m, Amanda Bales (Jr.), 4:21.12, 2nd PV, Jennifer Bennett (Sr.), 3.96m, 12-11¾, 5th 800m, Ashley Patten (So.), 2:05.81 (qual.), 2:06.22, 5th Top 8 performances (in at-large pool) DISC, Melanie Uher (So.), 50.77m, 166-7, 8th, School Record Other Regional Qualifiers 800m, Trisa Nickoley (Fr.), 2:09.15, 12th 1500m, Kristin Hansen (So.), 4:34.93, 10th Steeple, Jill Petersen (Sr.), 11:09.59, 28th PV, Lyndsey Tait (Sr.), no height SP, Lindsey Markworth (Sr.) SP, Elizabeth Robe (Fr.) DISC, Lindsey Markworth (Sr.), 44.70m, 146-8, 13thMEN Top 5 performances (automatic to NCAAs) SP, Conrad Woolsey (Sr.), 18.79m, 61-7¾, 5th Top 8 performances (in at-large pool) 1500m, Tipper O'Brien (So.), 3:46.29 (qual.), 3:47.31, 6th Other Regional Qualifiers 200m, Marquis Davis (Sr.), 21.39, 16th 800m, Marcus Mayes (So.), 1:51.22, 12th 5000m, Ryan Hampton (Sr.), 14:43.95, 22nd 5000m, Tim Ross (Jr.), 15:02.13, 26th 4x400, HJ, Jesse Sims (Sr.), 2.06m, 6-9, t9th LJ, Chris Horn (Jr.), 6.26m, 20-6½, 29th SP, Nate Englin (Fr.), 17.61m, 57-9½, 9th, personal best SP, Bill Hobson (So.), 17.08m, 56-½ SP, Tyler Dailey (Fr.), 16.28m, 53-5 DISC, Bobby Musil (So.), 51.60m, 169-3, 12th DISC, Chris Rohr (Fr.), 48.35m, 158-7, 25th DISC, Jason Morris (Fr.), 46.92m, 153-11, 29th HT, Tyler Dailey (Fr.), 54.03m, 177-3, 21st HT, Jason Morris (Fr.), foul HT, Bobby Musil (So.), foul