Dec. 5, 2007
written by McClain Thompson and Tom Lewis
As Dr. Rick McGuire begins his 25th season at the helm of the University of Missouri Track and Field program, he will be working with 40 All-Big 12 performances and 12 returning NCAA Mideast Regional qualifiers from a terrific 2007 indoor and outdoor season.
Centered on an accomplished group of throwers, McGuire's men's squad is poised to improve on a fourth-place showing at Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships and an eighth-place performance at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship. The men's team must replace seven names synonymous with Missouri Track and Field—decathletes Hans Uldal and Bjorn Sommerfeldt, 800-meter runners Marcus Mayes and Jimmie Jones, distance runner Tim Ross and throwers Bobby Musil and Bill Hobson.
“That's a big hole,” McGuire said. “At the same time, we look at the team that's returning and are really excited. In candor, we haven't spent a minute in the fall thinking about what we lost because we are so excited about the team we have.”
A rash of injuries led to seventh and eighth place showings at the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor meets, respectively, in 2007 for the Tiger women.
“The women's team has similar areas of strength as the men, and while we didn't have the losses to graduation in the magnitude that the men had, we've had losses to health of the same magnitude,” McGuire said.
Anchored by middle distance runner Trisa Nickoley, heptathlete Kaela Rorvig and a proven squad of throwers—Elisha Hunt, Krishna Lee, Shernelle Nicholls, and Elizabeth Robe—McGuire sees the Tiger women scoring well in the more important, larger meets.
“Those five or six are good as anybodies five or six,” McGuire said. “And in the right setting, because of those half a dozen stars are really good and some of them do multiple events, we could have some really strong showings in highly competitive meets.”
Another staple of Missouri Track and Field is unparalleled success in the classroom. An astonishing 39 Tigers, including a conference-high 19 men, made Academic All-Big 12 Track and Field teams a year ago.
Thrower Tyler Dailey was named to the Big 12's Spring “Good Works” Team for his community involvement. In June, Dailey garnered a spot on the 2007 ESPN the Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-America Cross Country/Track & Field Team. It was the fourth consecutive year Missouri has had an athlete on the prestigious list.
“These kids are really smart,” McGuire said. “I anticipate continuing the tradition of outstanding student and academic achievement.”
Men's Combined Events
The two greatest decathletes in Missouri history—Bjorn Sommerfeldt and Hans Uldal—have exhausted their eligibility, but the next generation of Mizzou decathletes, which includes veteran Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo. / Oak Park HS), has arrived. Adcock, now a sophomore, concluded his freshman season by claiming the title of “America's greatest athlete under the age of 20” when he won the decathlon at the USATF Junior Championships in Indianapolis. His victory qualified him for the Pan-American Junior Games in Brazil where he took home Silver.
“Nick has had a tremendous fall,” McGuire said. “He is learning the discus, pole vault, and long jump. He looks in every way to be much improved from a year ago, and he was fantastic a year ago.
“What an exciting athlete he is, every day in every event that he might just do something pretty amazing. You know what [football] Coach [Gary] Pinkel says about [Jeremy] Maclin: 'I'm sure glad he's on my team.' Same thing here.”
Continuing the pipeline from Norway, insert frosh Lars Rise (Trondheim, Norway / Adolf Oeien HS) to the equation. Rise, who with 7,348 points had the 12th-best junior decathlon score in the World last year (Adcock's was 17th). Rise is a two-time Nordic Junior Champion which includes the best competition from Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. In 2007, Rise was 12th in the European under-23 Championships. With a personal-best score of 7,462 in the using-junior-implements decathlon, his impact could be felt immediately.
“I wouldn't trade our two guys for any other two on any other team, and as they grow together they will be a force,” McGuire said.
Adcock and Rise will be competing in what McGuire says is the nation's best conference for decathletes.
“You couldn't take two other conferences in the country, add them together and be as competitive as the Big 12 is [in the decathlon],” McGuire said. “You'd be hard pressed to make a case for any other sporting area in the Big 12 that is stronger nationally than the decathlon.”
Men's Throws
A year ago, the Missouri men had 14 all-conference performances in the throwing disciplines, they sent four hammer throwers to the Mideast Regional, and scored an astonishing 22 points in the weight throw at the Big 12 Indoor meet.
“We lost big people and big points out of throws area, but we think we might be better than last year,” McGuire said. “We feel like we will be highly competitive in every one of the throws disciplines. Obviously, we have a fabulous coach in Brett Halter and that nucleus has us feeling really, really excited and looking forward to seeing the season unfold.”
Returning for the Tigers are two All-Americans: Chris Rohr (Lee's Summit, Mo. / Lee's Summit North HS) and Tyler Dailey (Joplin, Mo. / Joplin HS). Add school record holder Jason Morris (St. Louis, Mo. / Priory HS), six-time All-Big 12 and regional qualifier Nate Englin (Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View HS) and Andy Oaker (Steelville, Mo. / Steelville HS)—a thrower McGuire considers to be “the next star”—and you can see why the coach is so excited.
Rohr, a junior, has earned All-American status twice in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships. As a freshman, he finished 11th; last winter he improved four spots and threw a personal best 69-3¾ (21.13m) on the way to a seventh-place showing. He redshirted during the 2007 outdoor season after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw in 2006.
Dailey's All-American nod came last season at NCAA Indoors where he finished ninth in the weight throw. The senior is a four-time NCAA Mideast Regional qualifer, a four-time All-Big 12 performer, and was victorious four times during the 2007 indoor season.
Morris is one of the squad's more consistent performers. The senior has qualified for the Mideast Regional all three seasons in both the discus and the hammer throw. In addition to his four All-Big 12 performances, Morris is the school record holder in the hammer throw (218-11, 66.73m).
Another staple of consistency, Englin has earned All-Big 12 honors three times in the outdoor shot put, qualified for the Mideast Regional three times in the same event and has competed for the Tigers in both indoor throwing disciplines all three seasons, taking three additional All-Big 12 honors. Last season, Englin was the conference's outdoor runner up with the shot.
Oaker has a great frosh season, which included an All-Big 12 honor in the shot, under his belt after coming to Missouri last season with High School All-American credentials (Track & Field News, USA Today). He was a four-time MSHSAA Class 2 champ and holds state records in the shot put and discus.
Two additional throwers to keep an eye on are senior Dave Borchardt (St. Louis, Mo. / Vianney HS), who was ninth at the Big 12 Outdoors and the Mideast Regional in the discus, and talented freshman Patrick Fitzgerald (Eagleville, Mo. / North Harrison HS) a four-time Missouri State High School Athletic Association state champion.
“We add to that an aspect of the throws that hasn't been there for a few years and that's the javelin,” McGuire said. “We have two newcomers that we are really excited about.”
John Thies (Cape Girardeau, Mo. / Central HS) spent two years as a pitcher on Tim Jamieson's baseball team, but he has since traded in his glove for a javelin.
“He certainly has the physical tools, and he has yet to throw one throw ever in competition,” McGuire said. “It is fair to say we are really excited about him and it's also fair to say that we are going to be patient to let him develop. If he does, we think we are back strong in the javelin again.”
Asa Wyatt (Poplar Bluff, Mo. / Poplar Bluff HS) has impressed McGuire throughout fall practice: “[He was a] high school quarterback, and he's got a rifle of an arm. He hasn't touched a javelin in his life until a month ago and he's making rapid development.”
Men's Middle Distance/Distance
Sixth-year senior Tipper O'Brien (Kirkwood, Mo. / St. Louis University HS) a 4:02 miler, leads a young group of middle distance/distance runners ready to join the elite of the Big 12 Conference.
Juniors Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo. / Hickman HS) and Garrett Jeffries (Clarkson Valley, Mo. / Marquette HS) are McGuire's keys to the middle distance/distance puzzle. Cornell has been a leg on two All-Big 12 distance medley relays and placed 16th in the 1,500-meter run at the Mideast Regional last spring with a time of 3:49.15. Jeffries has an All-Big 12 recognition to his name as well after placing seventh at last spring's Big 12 Outdoor 10-kilometer race (31:00.74).
“Garrett Jeffries and Tim Cornell are exactly who we wanted three years ago and every minute they've been here they are right kids to here,” McGuire said. “They have worked hard and grown appropriately as athletes and each had opportunities to contribute to the team and have done that. They are now on the precipice of establishing themselves as veteran stars.”
Sophomore Dan Hedgecock (St. Louis, Mo. / Ladue Horton Watkins HS) came to Missouri in the same recruiting class as Jeffries and Cornell, but redshirted during the outdoor season along the way. He earned an at-large bid to this fall's NCAA Cross Country Championships where he finished 125th with a time of 31:21.2 for the 10-kilometer race. On the track, he is a three-time All-Big performer, twice as a member of the indoor distance medley relay and as a freshman in the Big 12 Outdoor 5000-meter run.
Brian Graybill (Liberty, Mo. / Liberty HS), a redshirt junior, has an Academic All-Big 12 honor to go with the All-Big 12 honor he earned on the track during last winter's indoor season, when he placed seventh in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:27.31.
“Brian kind of goes under the radar, but he's an A-plus student in engineering, a brilliant kid, great student leader and this great utility infielder for the track team,” McGuire said. “The kid does just whatever it takes to help his team and he's All-Big 12, so he's a pretty handy guy to have around.”
Three true freshman—Phillip King (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge HS), Kyle Rood (St. Peters, Mo. / Fort Zumwalt South HS) and Dan Quigley (St. Louis, Mo. / CBC HS)—all contributed significantly as true freshman for the Tiger cross-country squad.
Billy Bell (Chesterfield, Mo. / Parkway Central HS) and Michael Barrows (Flint, Mich. / Powers Catholic HS) bring veteran skills and depth to the Tiger distance core. Both with cross country experience, look for this duo on the 3000- to 10,000-meter runs.
Three additional freshmen and one sophomore have been chosen for the task of replacing Marcus Mayes and Jimmie Jones in the 800-meter run. Two hail from Georgia—Chris Davis (Riverdale, Ga. / Riverdale HS) and Rick Scheff (Atlanta, Ga. / St. Pius X HS)—while Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo. / Westminster Christian Academy) looks to build off a diverse high school career that saw him win both the MSHSAA Class 3 400-meter dash and triple jump crowns. Steve Hedrick (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville HS) is the lone sophomore. He was a part of the distance medley relay team that placed seventh and earned All-Big 12 honors with a fifth place showing at Indoors.
“We think with that group we have very exciting runners, and six of them are freshman, and we get to watch it unfold,” McGuire said. “We know for sure we have great athletes, and if they happen to [perform well], we have a chance to be very strong.”
Men's Sprints
In September, one of the most accomplished athletes to ever wear the Black and Gold, Derrick Peterson, was hired as a full-time assistant to work with Missouri's sprinters. The 2004 Olympian won two NCAA titles, eight Big 12 Conference championships and was named All-American six times. Peterson is still the American collegiate record holder in the indoor 800-meter run after his winning time of 1:45.88 at the 1999 NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis.
"I couldn't be happier," McGuire said at the time. "Derrick has been such a big part of our Missouri Track Family for the past ten years, it's just a natural fit for him to now move into a full-time coaching role. While Derrick is certainly one of the greatest Missouri Track and Field athletes ever, and is known for his extraordinary career as a middle distance runner, he is also an astute student of the full range of events in the sport of track and field."
Peterson begins the difficult task of replacing Greg Bracey, who was a three-time All-Big 12 Performer and two-time Regional qualifier while also serving as a wide receiver for the Tiger football team. Sophomore Jerron Forte (Kansas City, Mo. / Center HS) will lead a young group of sprinters after turning in an outstanding freshman season that saw him clock indoor team best in the 200-meters (22.77) and 48.83 and 400-meters (48.83). Forte was a member of four All-Big 12 relays in 2007.
Men's Jumps
As a true freshman, Brian Hancock (Monroe City, Mo. / Monroe City HS) didn't skip a beat from his record-breaking high school career. The four-time MSHSAA pole vault champion and Class 2 record holder, turned in two All-Big 12 performances and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in his first collegiate track season. Hancock was eighth at Big 12 Indoors with a vault of 16-7½ (5.07m) and then improved to seventh at Big 12 Outdoors after vaulting 16-10¾ (5.15m). During the offseason, Hancock neared the school record by clearing 17-5¾ (5.33m) in a July street-festival in Kentucky.
“He took six hours off between MU's season and his summer training which means he probably didn't take a minute off,” McGuire said in noting Hancock's feats during the summer.
Hancock is joined by two talented freshman—Matt Willingham (Cape Girardeua, Mo. / Central HS) and Scott Betsher (Lee's Summit, Mo. / Lee's Summit North HS).
Betsher and Willingham already have an interesting, and friendly, rivalry between each other. Betsher claimed the MSHSAA Class 4 title as a junior in 2006 with a personal-best leap of 15-0; Willingham clamed the Class 4 title in 2007 with an equal personal best of 15-0 his senior year.
Captain Jason Miller (Stafford, Va. / Colonial Forge HS), an all-conference high jumper, qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the triple jump a year ago.
“He has matured physically and he is a great leader,” McGuire said of Miller. “He was nearly a unanimous choice from the team to be captain. The kids just admire, respect and love this guy.”
McGuire said Montel Evans (Kansas City, Mo. / Hickman Mills Senior HS) has had a terrific fall and will be a player at the conference level in the horizontal jumps.
“Montel has become a different athlete; a young kid became a young man,” McGuire said. “He's been a great leader and role model right in the heart of everything the team is doing.”
Women's Combined Events
Kaela Rorvig (Columbia, Mo. / Hickman HS) earned her third All-Big 12 honor in the combined events last spring when she placed fifth in the Big 12 Outdoor heptathlon. In 2006, she scored points for the Tigers with a fifth place showing in the Big 12 Outdoor heptathlon as well, adding an eighth place showing at the Big 12 Indoor pentathlon. Rorvig had to redshirt last indoor season due to a hamstring injury.
Sophomores Lauren Begany (Fenton, Mo. / Lindbergh HS) and Lindsey Boldt (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa / Mt. Pleasant HS) were 10th and 13th respectively in the USATF Junior Championship heptathlon in June. Boldt scored a personal best 4,767 in the event in placing third at the Drake Relays.
“Both look better today than they did their best day a year ago,” McGuire said of Begany and Boldt. “They are excited. I am excited.”
Women's Throws
As with the men, the Tiger women throwers have strength, and strength in numbers, in all of the disciplines. Last season, Missouri qualified 10 performances for the Mideast Regional, including an NCAA-best four shot putters.
“And just like on the men's side, our throwers show up and they know we are there,” McGuire said.
Elisha Hunt (Linn, Mo. / Linn HS) has senior eligibility indoors and a junior standing for the outdoor season. Hunt busted on to the national scene after shocking the field in placing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships with the weight, earning Mizzou's first female All-America honor in the event with a personal-best toss of 68-2½ (20.79m). At the conference indoor meet, Hunt has placed runner-up in the past two years. Hunt also qualified for the outdoor regional with the shot and the hammer.
Senior Shernelle Nicholls (St. Andrew Parish, Barbados / The Alexander School) had a phenomenal year in 2006, a year after transferring from NAIA's Missouri Baptist. Nicholls earned her first NCAA All-America honor in placing eighth in the shot at the outdoor NCAA meet in Sacramento. But, that was only the beginning. Nicholls throughout the season captured three Barbadian National Records with the shot, discus, and hammer. Following the NCAA meet, Nicholls earned a bronze medal with the disc at the NACAC (North American) Championships with a PR of 167-9 (51.15m). In addition, Nicholls earned a spot on her country's Pan-American Games team that competed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In conference competition, Nicholls was the league's runner up with the shot at the outdoor meet and third at the indoor meet.
Junior Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo. / O'Hara HS) also had a fantastic ride in 2007. Lee fought through regional competition during the outdoor season to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in both the shot put and hammer throw. Lee's hammer toss of 199-6 (60.82m) at the regional in the Tiger home facility, captured her school record. Lee also captured her personal best with the shot at regional with a mark of over 52 feet to finish runner-up in the Mideast.
Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wis. / Waukesha West HS) enters her senior campaign as a three-time NCAA Regional qualifier with the shot. In 2007, Robe was also a threat with the hammer throw, making regional competition in the discipline for the first time last year. Robe is a seven-time Big 12 scorer, placing as good as sixth at last year's conference indoor meet with the shot and in the hammer throw at the outdoor meet.
“Robe, is arguably one of the best multi-throwers in the conference and has consistently been a come-through thrower in the conference meet,” McGuire said. “She just finds her way on to the medal stand all the time, and there is absolutely no reason to think that this year will be any different.”
Freshman Hope Harris (Clinton, Mo. / Clinton HS) comes to Missouri with four state championships on her resume. McGuire sees Harris competing in the discus and javelin as a Tiger.
Women's Middle Distance/Distance
Senior captain Trisa Nickoley (Tecsumeh, Kan. / Shawnee Heights HS) returns for her final season, in what has been an accomplished Tiger career. She has won three Big 12 titles—twice in the indoor 800-meter run and once as a leg on the 2005 distance medley relay—qualified for three straight Mideast Regionals in the 800-meters and is a 12-time All-Big 12 performer. Last June at the USATF Championships, Nickoley ran a personal best in the semifinals of the 800-meter run, placing ninth with a time of 2:04.07.
Senior Kasey Kimball (Eureka, Mo. / Eureka HS) had her most productive season two years ago when she earned All-Big 12 honors both indoors (fifth in mile run, 4:51.90) and outdoors (sixth in 1500-meter run, 4:27.51).
Senior Kate Greer (Marshalltown, Iowa / Marshalltown HS) placed eighth in the Big 12 Outdoor 10K with a time of 37:04.65, the second All-Big 12 honor of her career. She was Missouri's top finisher at the NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional earlier this fall with a 28th place showing. Greer is currently working on a master's degree.
Sophomore Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa / North Linn HS) has two All-Big 12 honor to her name after running legs on Missouri's third-place distance medley relay team at Big 12 Indoors two years ago and in the same event last winter when Missouri placed fifth.
Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan. / Emporia HS) was a four-time Kansas state high school champion in the 400-meter run and 800-meter run. This fall, she ran the first three races for the cross-country squad, placing 11th at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge.
Freshman Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas / Bishop Lynch HS) consistently finished among the best for the Missouri cross-country women this fall.
Carolyn Rauen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Turpin HS) had just spent a semester as an intern at ESPN. She was an All-Big 12 performer two years ago in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Another distance runner and journalism major, Angela Potrykus (Evergreen, Colo. / Conifer HS) is spending next semester abroad in Spain. Portykus qualified for the Mideast Regional in the 3000-steeplechase last spring, and she has collected two all Big 12 honors during her career.
Women's Sprints / Jumps
Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla. / Metro Christian Academy) is Missouri's top returning female sprinter. She recorded team bests in the indoor 60-meter dash (7.94), indoor 200-meter dash (25.21), outdoor 100-meter dash (12.31) and outdoor 200-meter dash (24.84). She was a member of the All-Big 12 400-meter relay that took eighth at Big 12 Outdoors.
JaNay Woolridge (Jessup, Md. / Long Reach HS) is a versatile athlete for Mizzou as she will compete in any number of the short sprints, hurdle events and horizontal jumps.
Woolridge is Missouri's top returning long jumper both indoors (19-3, 5.87m) and outdoors (19-6½, 5.96m) , but McGuire expects Mims and Rorvig—a three-time All-State long jumper in high school—to compete in the event.
McGuire said he expects Rorvig to run competitive in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles this season. Boldt was Missouri's most competitive 400-meter hurdler, after clocking a 1:07.63 at the Tom Botts Invitational.
Schedule
The indoor season schedule will technically begin on December 8 as a few throwers will travel to Manhattan, Kan., breaking free of some cobwebs at the Kansas State All-Comers meet.
The real meat-and-potatoes of the season begins in the New Year on January 11 as Mizzou will host the 22nd Annual Missouri Invitational in the Hearnes Fieldhouse.
Among some of the more notable indoor meets this season is the Big 12-Mountain West Challenge in Lincoln, Neb., on January 26. The Big 12 team, composed of Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas State, defeated a duo of Mountain West squads last year in the inaugural event.
On the weekend of February 1, the Tigers will travel to State College, Pa., for the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. Scheduled teams for this scored meet include: Pitt, Cornell, Buffalo, Appalachian State, Buffalo, George Mason (W), James Madison, Penn (M), and Penn State.
NCAA qualifying marks will be on the minds of many during the “big-track” gauntlet that accompanies the second and third weekends of February. Treks to the Meyo Invite on Notre Dame's campus and to the Iowa State Classic are were many mid-distance and distance runners look to qualify for the national meet.
The Big 12 Indoor Championships return to Lincoln, Neb., on February 29 and March 1. The Tiger men finished fourth in the meet a year ago, and will be again part of an interesting mix of conference teams that will be looking for the league's top spots.
The NCAA Indoor meet will be March 14 and 15 in Fayetteville, Ark.
The outdoor season will kick off the following week in Winston-Salem, N.C., at the Wake Forest Invitational.
After the Tigers host the ninth annual Missouri Relays on March 28 and 29, Missouri will embark on another trip to the East coast.
The inaugural Jefferson Cup will be held on April 5 on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The Tigers and Cavaliers will compete in a true dual meet which will be Mizzou's first since 1984.
The following weekend, the Tigers will host the fifth annual Audrey Walton Combined Events and the 12th annual Tom Botts Invitational. On the weekend of April 23-26, Missouri will attend the 99th Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Big 12 Outdoor Championships will be held in Boulder, Colo., for the first time in new league history on May 16-18. The NCAA Mideast Regional meet will move from Columbia to Fayetteville this year. For those who make it out of the regional, they will compete June 11-14 at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines.
And, being an Olympic year, the highly-anticipated USATF Olympic Team Trials will be held June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Ore.