April 28, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa--Under the best weather conditions of the season and in front of the 44th-consecutive sellout crowd at Drake Stadium, the University of Missouri track and field teams completed competition in the 98th Drake Relays on Saturday. Among the many highlights of the day, Tiger post-collegian Christian Cantwell won his fifth Drake Relays shot-put title with a 70-foot plus marking. In the women's relays, the Tigers placed three teams in the top five for the second-consecutive year.
INVITATIONAL SHOT PUT: Cantwell (Eldon, Mo.) took his fifth Drake title with a throw of 71 feet, 3¼ inches (21.72m), a season's best on his fifth toss. The sell-out crowd of over 14,000 again thanked Cantwell for his efforts with a standing ovation during his "victory lap". Cantwell tied Al Feuerbach (1971, 72, 74, 75, 78) with five for the most all-time Drake Relays shot put titles.
"Every time, I'm out here, I feed off the crowd tremendously," said Cantwell. "Even when I was in college, it seemed even if I had some minor injury, it would magically vanish because of the excitement. Everyone here appreciates your efforts and you give your best because of that. You feel like a true star here."
Tiger junior Nate Englin was seventh in the same competition, throwing 57-8½.
INVITATIONAL 800s: In the men's special invitational 800-meter run, Tiger post-collegian Neville Miller ran a career-best 1:47.44 in a fourth-place finish. Miller, now a member of the N.Y. Athletic Club, ran a time that will guarantee him a spot in the USA Track & Field Championships upcoming in June. Miller's previous best was 1:47.48.
Tiger assistant coach Derrick Peterson was finished ninth in what he called his last appearance at the Drake Relays.
"This was my 10th Drake Relays, and I love the crowd, and I loved the weather this year," said Peterson. "I wanted to go for my sixth title here, but I'll settle for five."
"I think it was great what Neville (Miller) has accomplished as a runner in the last few years," continued Peterson. "He's kept knocking on the door of being an elite-level athlete, and I think he is well on his way. Showing well with this type of field and going out and racing like he did, it says a lot about his development. It's been great to train with him and see him grow as an athlete. I'm blessed to be one of his training partners."
Tiger post-collegian Ashley Patten placed sixth in the women's invitational 800, clocking 2:10.05.
The Tiger women finished the weekend with three relays placing in the final top five for the second consecutive year. Mizzou has not seen that sort of stretch at the Drake Relays since 1988-89.
WOMEN'S SHUTTLE HURDLE: A new Mizzou school record was broken in the women's shuttle hurdle relay. JaNay Woolridge, Lauren Begany, Lindsey Boldt, and Kaela Rorvig (Columbia, Mo. / Hickman HS) clocked 56.98 in the finals in finishing fourth, topping the old school record set in 2003 of 57.38. The Tigers reached the four-team final with a 58.25 qualifying time earlier in the morning.
WOMEN'S 4x1600: Mizzou's women's 4x1600-meter relay team of Ellen Ries, Emily Baker, Kasey Kimball, and Kristin Hansen finished third, clocking 19:44.13. Hansen anchored the Tigers with a 4:50.0 split. Mizzou has finished in the top five of the event in four of the last six years.
MEN'S SPRINT MEDLEY RELAY: The Tigers' sprint-medley relay team finished fourth with a time of 3:19.03, taking third in their section behind Baylor and Northern Iowa. Greg Bracey and freshman Jerron Forte led off the relay with 200-meter legs splitting 21.9 and 20.9, respectively. Jimmie Jones' 47.6 split in the 400 kept the Tigers in the chase pack. Marcus Mayes' 1:48.6 split in the 800 helped make a four-second gap into a two-second deficit and gave the Tigers an easy third-place finish in their heat.
Today's SMR finish was the Tigers' best since winning in 1999.
MEN'S DMR: The Tiger distance medley relay squad of all underclassmen, Brian Graybill, Jerron Forte, Steve Headrick, and Ben Wade took seventh with a 9:57.99 clocking.
FIELD EVENTS: Sophomore Krishna Lee took her turn this week as a Tiger with a breakthrough performance. Last week at the Kansas Relays, Shernelle Nicholls earned a 12-foot personal best in the women's hammer throw, becoming the second-ranked Tiger all-time in the event with a throw of 191-0. This week, Lee added 20 feet to her personal best in the event, throwing 191-11 (58.50m) to place eighth and earning a spot near the NCAA's top 25. Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois won with a throw of 237-11 (72.51m), adding over 30 feet to the Drake Relays Record.
Nicholls did take third in the women's shot put today, however. Nicholls marked 52-5½ on her fifth throw for her best of the day. Texas' Michelle Carter won the event and took the Big 12 lead from Nicholls with a throw of 56-9¼ (17.30m).
In the men's hammer, senior Bobby Musil earned a season's best mark of 206-8 (63.00m) for a sixth-place finish to land him in the NCAA's top 25.
Quick Agate - Saturday's Events
WOMEN
800m Run (special):
1. Bobbette Stewart, Jamaica, 2:05.63
6. Ashley Patten~, 2:10.05
1500m Run (special):
1. Jenelle Deatherage, Reebok, 4:13.97
4. Amanda Bales~, NYAC, 4:20.85
3000m Steeplechase:
1. Desiraye Osburn, New Balance, 10:03.98
22. Carolyn Rauen, Missouri, 11:18.11
Shuttle Hurdle Relay:
1. Michigan (Wade, Lumbus, LaValley, Ofili), 54.82
4. Missouri (Woolridge, Begany, Boldt, Rorvig), 56.98
4x1600m Relay:
1. Minnesota (Cheever, Yetzer, Anderson, Brown), 19:07.75*
3. Missouri (Ries, Baker, Kimball, Hansen), 19:44.13
Long Jump:
1. Brittney Reese, Ole Miss, 6.37m, 20-10¾ (w: 2.2)
11. JaNay Woolridge, Missouri, 5.85m, 19-2½ (w: 1.3)
Shot Put:
1. Michelle Carter, Texas, 17.30m, 56-9¼
3. Shernelle Nicholls, Missouri, 15.99m, 52-5½
12. Elizabeth Robe, Missouri, 14.64m, 48-½
13. Krishna Lee, Missouri, 14.60m, 47-11
21. Elisha Hunt, Missouri, 13.68m, 44-10¾
Hammer Throw:
1. Brittany Riley, Southern Illinois, 72.51m, 237-11*
8. Krishna Lee, Missouri, 58.50m, 191-11
18. Elizabeth Robe, Missouri, 50.54m, 165-10
19. Shernelle Nicholls, Missouri, 48.81m, 160-2
MEN
800m Run (special):
1. David Freeman, Puerto Rico, 1:46.94
4. Neville Miller~, NYAC, 1:47.44
9. Derrick Peterson~, adidas, 1:51.70
800m Run:
1. Dominic Tanui, UTEP, 1:47.79
9. Jimmie Jones, Missouri, 1:50.42
Sprint Medley Relay (200-200-400-800):
1. Baylor (Harts, Thomas, Summers, Mutai), 3:17.14
4. Missouri (Bracey, Forte, Jones, Mayes), 3:19.03
Distance Medley Relay (1200-400-800-1600):
1. Northern Iowa (Davis, Grenko, Smith, Ulrey), 9:42.69
7. Missouri (Graybill, Forte, Headrick, Wade), 9:57.99
Shot Put (special):
1. Christian Cantwell~, Nike, 21.72m, 71-3¼
7. Nate Englin, Missouri, 17.59m, 57-8½
Discus:
1. John Harper, Kent State, 55.91m, 183-5
17. Bobby Musil, Missouri, 48.78m, 160-0
21. Jason Morris, Missouri, 47.25m, 155-0
Hammer Throw:
1. Egor Agafonov, Kansas, 69.61m, 228-4
6. Bobby Musil, Missouri, 63.00m, 206-8
10. Tyler Dailey, Missouri, 60.80m, 199-6
23. Jason Morris, Missouri, 55.69m, 182-8
* Meet Record
~ Tiger Post-Collegian
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