Feb. 23, 2007
AMES, Iowa--In what will likely become one of the most competitive finishes in the history of the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Missouri held their own in day one of competition in Ames, Iowa. The Tiger men hold the early lead after four of 19 events and are among six squads that have the competitors in the remaining events to challenge for the conference crown.
Men Grab 22 Points in Men's Weight Throw
As expected the men's weight throw was a team-point bonanza for the Tigers. A year after taking the 4-5-6-7 spots, Mizzou took the 2-3-4-6 spots today. No. 9 Chris Rohr (Lee's Summit, Mo.), a sophomore, took second, earning his third All-Big 12 honor with a season-best toss of 68 feet, 5¼ inches (20.86m).
No. 8 Tyler Dailey (Joplin, Mo.) survived a scare to place third at 66-8¾ (20.34m). Dailey was the last man to make the finals group of eight with a marginal throw of 62 feet on his first attempt. On Dailey's fifth-round throw, he unleashed his best of 66-8¾ (20.34m) to initially moved to second before Rohr topped Dailey on his sixth-round throw.
No. 13 Bobby Musil was in second heading into the finals, but was passed by Dailey and Rohr to place fourth at 65-8¾ (20.03m). Junior Jason Morris was sixth at 63-1½ (19.24m). No. 2 Egor Agafonov of Kansas won his second-consecutive title in the event with a NCAA-leading toss of 76-1 (23.19m).
More From the First Day
Senior Tim Ross (Alto, Mich.) placed seventh in the men's 5000-meter run, clocking 14:17.79, just eight seconds off his school record. Ross has scored in the event indoors in each of his four years as a Tiger and is now a nine-time All-Big 12 performer.
Senior Valerie Moll was fifth in the women's 5000-meter run at 16:48.62 to earn her ninth All-Big 12 honor. Lauver scored in three of her four years as a Tiger in the event.
The men's distance medley relay squad of Tim Cornell, Jerron Forte, Steve Headrick, and Dan Hedgecock was fifth in a feverish-race that came down to six teams within four seconds of one another with all six teams squashing the meet record. The Tiger squad finished in 9:46.06. Texas won the crown at 9:43.66 with Colorado second at 9:44.67.
Junior Elisha Hunt (Linn, Mo.), ranked 11th nationally, took second in the women's weight throw, earning her third All-Big 12 honor in the event. Hunt marked 65 feet, 7½ inches (20.00m) in her fourth-round attempt to take the runner-up spot. No. 4 Loren Groves of Kansas State took the title, throwing 67-10¾ (20.69m). Junior Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wis.) earned her second-consecutive All-Big 12 honor in the event, and her third overall with a season-best toss of 59-8½ (18.20m), placing seventh. Tigers Shernelle Nicholls and Krishna Lee was 10th and 11th, respectively.
Freshman Lauren Begany (Fenton, Mo.) earned her first career All-Big 12 honor in placing seventh in the women's pentathlon, scoring a season-best 3,479 points. Begany was helped by a five-second personal best in the final event, the 800-meter run, clocking 2:28.36. Freshman Lindsey Boldt was ninth with 3,237 points.
Sophomore JaNay Woolridge (Jessup, Md.) was a pleasant surprise for the Tigers in the women's long jump. Earning her first career All-Big 12 honor, Woolridge placed seventh in the event with a jump of 19-3¼ (5.87m), surpassing her Big 12 rank of 18th.
The women's distance medley relay squad of Emily Baker, Blossom Nwaneri, Trisa Nickoley, and Ellen Ries finished fifth, clocking 11:39.22.
Track Preliminaries
Sophomore Angela Potrykus (Evergreen, Colo.) won her heat of the women's 1000-meter run in 2:53.86 to qualify for the finals of the event. Potrykus had to battle throughout to take the tape from Baylor's Lauren Hagans.
Junior Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) and sophomore Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) gained entry into tomorrow's final of the women's 800-meter run. Nickoley led throughout in her heat, but was nipped at the line by Oklahoma's Kristi Cook. Nickoley and Ries timed 2:11.95 and 2:12.30, respectively.
In a super-close heat, seniors Marcus Mayes and Jimmie Jones provided much excitement in the men's 800-meter run preliminary. In a blanket-finish among four runners, Kansas' Jack Sachse (1:50.13) nipped Mayes at the line (1:50.15) to win the heat. Oklahoma's Logan Jones was third (1:50.20) with Missouri's Jones at 1:50.25. All four made tomorrow's finals.
Senior Tipper O'Brien (Kirkwood, Mo.) qualified for the men's mile final in finishing second in his heat, running 4:07.65. O'Brien trailed a pack of four runners going into the final backstretch, but pressed for the second-place spot at the end of the final curve. Texas' Erik Stanley held off O'Brien at the line, running 4:07.56.
Men's Heptathlon Day One Report
After day one of the men's heptathlon, senior Hans Uldal stands fourth with 3,031 points and has three events remaining. Uldal ran 7.21 in the 60-meter dash, jumped to 22-11 in the long jump, marked 48-6¼ in the shot put, and cleared 5-11¼ in the high jump. Uldal had the field's best mark in the shot put.
Freshman Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo.) had an outstanding day one, scoring 2,947 points through four events. Adcock ran a personal-best 7.24 in the 60-meter hurdles, added eight inches to his PR in the long jump in marking 21-5½, and advanced his PR in the shot put by 18 inches with a 41-6½ throw. Adcock ended the day with a 6-6¼ clearance in the high jump, being only one of five competitors to clear at that height.
Senior Bjorn Sommerfeldt stands in ninth with 2,916 points. Sommerfeldt gained a personal best in the shot put with a 45-7¼ throw. Sommerfeldt is favored to rise in the standings as his second day has historically been his strongest.
The 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1000-meter run remain tomorrow. Second through fourth place is separated by only 24 points, and less than 150 points separated second through ninth. No. 1 nationally-ranked Donovan Kilmartin of Texas leads the field with 3,270 points.
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