Feb. 1, 2006

                                                                                    

COLUMBIA, Mo.--The Tiger track and field squad is gearing up for an impactful next two weekends as the first realistic attempts at NCAA qualifying marks will begin in the distance events. The first stop is this weekend's Notre Dame Meyo Classic. Events to watch for the Tigers include the distance medley relay, the 800-meters, the Mile Run, and the 3000 meters.

 

Seeing Their Shadows

Tomorrow the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil will jump out his burrow and let us all know how long the remainder of this winter season will be. No rodent needed here to know that the indoor track and field season is already six weeks away from ending. Serious attempts at NCAA qualifying will begin this weekend when the Tigers visit the Meyo Classic, followed by next weekends' visit to the Iowa State Classic.

 

Why Notre Dame and Iowa State? Well, they have oversized tracks, one's that are over 200 meters. Its significance lies in the races on the track, as with a longer course comes a wider turn radius and less effort to turn around those corners resulting in better times and a better chance to earn NCAA qualification marks. Notre Dame's Loftus Center track is 354 yards in length, or one-fifth of a mile, making it one of the largest indoor tracks in the country. The Loftus Center's track surrounds Meyo Field, the Irish indoor football practice faculty.

 

Last Year at the Meyo

Freshman Trisa Nickoley and junior Tim Ross were some of the stars from last year's meet at Notre Dame.

 

Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) ran a blazing 2:07.0 800-meter third leg in the distance medley relay to catch Wake Forest and Michigan from 20-meters behind to give the Tigers the lead into the 1600-meter final leg ran by Amanda Bales. The Tiger women's DMR team placed second to national-champion favorite Michigan, keeping the race close through three legs. The team's total time of 11:19.46 is an NCAA-provisional qualifying mark and the third-best all-time at Mizzou. Junior Ashley Patten (Clarkston, Mich.) led off the relay with a 1200-meter leg split of 3:26. Next, senior Whittney Stuart (Fort Wayne, Ind.) took the baton for the 400-meter, running in 55.1. Then, Nickoley received the handoff in third and handed to Bales who attacked the 1600-meter in 4:50.

 

The Tiger women's DMR team went on to win a second-consecutive Big 12 Championship and placed ninth at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships.

 

Ross (Alto, Mich.) broke Mizzou's 3000-meter record last year at Meyo, clocking a 8:04.86 time, shaving 15 seconds off of his personal best.

 

"That was my goal," Ross said last year. "I didn't tell anybody before the race that I would break it, except for my mom and dad, and felt real good about it during the race. It's great to have both records, but, it's time to take down that 5k record next week."

 

Ross predicted correctly, as at the Iowa State Classic, he broke his own 5000-meter record with 14:09.25 time the week after.

 

Ross is still recovering from an injury suffered during cross country season and will not be part of the this year's Tiger caravan, but an exciting group made up of senior Matt Noonan, 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championship qualifier, sophomore Michael Barrows, and freshmen Garett Jeffries and Dan Hedgecock could be pressing for those times.

 

99^th Millrose Games Also on the Docket

Madison Square Garden is the place, track and field is the event. The Millrose Games is the longest-running invitational track and field event and this year's meet should once again exciting as the second stop on the VISA Championship Series. Tiger post-collegians Christian Cantwell, Derrick Peterson and Timothy Dunne will be among the competitors.  Cantwell will face his familiar foes in the VISA Men's Shot Put. Peterson and Dunne are part of an elite seven-man 800-meter run competition.

 

More info on the event can be found at millrose-games.org. ESPN2 will air tape-delayed coverage of the meet on Sunday starting at 5:30 p.m., central.