Feb. 13, 2006
AMES, Iowa--The Missouri Track and Field teams completed two days of successful competition at the Iowa State Classic on Saturday. Senior Ashley Patten ran a 2:04.73 in winning the women's 800 to qualify automatically for March's NCAA Indoor Championships, clocking the best time by a Tiger in the event in six years. Along with Patten, Tiger athletes gained or improved five NCAA qualifying marks during the weekend. On Friday, sophomore Elisha Hunt broke, by nearly a foot, the two-year old women's weight throw school record. The Iowa State Classic in 2006 attracted 80 schools and 2,200 athletes from around the country.
Patten Runs Another 800m Instant Classic: It's became commonplace for senior Ashley Patten. Another fast race in the 800 meter, another come from behind victory. On Saturday, Patten overcame a blistering 57-second opening 400 pace in her heat, coming from eighth back in the final 50 meters to steal the 800-meter victory and a fast 2:04.73 clocking. Her time automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Indoor Championships and is the fastest time by a Tiger in six years and one of the top-five best times in the NCAA so far this indoor season. Sophomore Trisa Nickoley improved her NCAA mark, running ninth in 2:07.71.
"The pace went out real hard," said Patten after her race. "I kind of just hung back and finished hard in the end. I found my kick with 50 to go and went for it. I'm very happy, very excited."
At the 2005 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, Patten ran a 2:04.04 to take her third conference crown by running a similar race to that she ran on Saturday, overcoming a super-fast first lap, hanging back, and striking at the right time to take the tape.
Tiger Women's Weight Throw Record Goes from One Mid-Missourian to Another: Sophomore Elisha Hunt (Linn, Mo.) broke volunteer coach Holly Scherder's (Frankford, Mo.) school record in the women's weight throw on Friday evening. Hunt marked an NCAA-provisional qualifying throw of 62-9½ (19.14m) on her fifth throw to top Scherder's record by nearly a foot.
"Coach Halter and I came up with a check-list of things for me to improve on every throw and we practiced that this week," said Hunt. "The week was a little tough, but it was worth it when I hit everything I needed to in the meet."
Scherder came back to the team in 2006 as a volunteer assistant and was present (and keeping score) when Hunt topped her all-time Mizzou mark.
"It's good being around Holly everyday," said Hunt. "She's teaching me some of the little things I need to do to improve my throwing."
Long-Distance Runaround: Davis and Lauver Post Top 5k Marks: Friday night was alright for the Tigers in the 5000-meter run. Senior Valerie Lauver posted an NCAA-provisional time of 16:36.24 in the women's race, placing third in a field of over 65. Her time also catapulted her to second all-time at Mizzou in the event, coming within two seconds of the school record. Lauver is the school's record holder in the outdoor 10,000-meter run (34:07.04).
Senior Josh Davis ran his 5k race in 14:17.03 to place ninth in the men's race. His time also moved him to second all-time in Mizzou history and improved his indoor personal best in the event by 18 seconds.
Freshman Cornell Impresses Again: He may have finished 17th overall in an 81-person field in the men's mile, but freshman Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) once again gave the Tigers a glimpse of what's to come. After hanging back, running a modest 4:15 pace to match his PR in the second-to-fastest heat of the competition, Cornell blasted the jets in the final 400 meters, running a 59.7 final quarter to surge to second in his heat and earn a 4:09.68 clocking.
Post-Collegian Knut Sommerfeldt With Hept PR: Post-collegian Knut Sommerfeldt, four-time Big 12 Champion, broke his personal best in the heptathlon, winning at the Iowa State Classic in the event with 5,702 points, improving his previous best of 5,632 that he used to win the 2003 Big 12 Indoor Championships.
Big 12 Indoor Closes Out February: After the Missouri All-Comers meet this weekend, all eyes will go to the Big 12 Indoor Championships that begin on February 24 in Lincoln, Neb. The Tigers will be challenged by some top-flight competition in nearly every event as the Big 12 has proven to be one of maybe two power conferences in the country.
All-Comers Meet: This upcoming Saturday, February 18th, the Tigers will host the 22nd Annual Missouri All-Comers meet in the Hearnes Fieldhouse. What has now become a mid-February tradition, anyone can enter into as many as 18 track and field events for only $10. Athletes will be put into four groups, pre-high school (ages 14 and under), high school (15-18), college/open (19-39), and masters (40 and older). Sign-up is done on-site and all information can be found on mutigers.com.
The All-Comers meet is always a carnival in itself with a multitude of varying athletic skills, ages, and talent being shown. Historically, performances have ranged from a five-year-old running a 60-meter dash to Christian Cantwell marking the best shot put throw in the world for this decade as he did in 2004 during this meet.