March 5, 2008
 |
-IAAF World Indoor Championships- Valencia, Spain Quick Info and Links
-Cornhusker Last Chance- Lincoln, Neb. Quick Info and Links
-Arkansas Last Chance Qualifier- Fayetteville, Ark. Quick Info and Links
-Cyclone National T&F Qualifier- Ames, Iowa Quick Info and Links
Shades of the Season Latest USTFCCCA Rankings
|
COLUMBIA, Mo.--There will be four hotspots of competition for the Missouri track and field teams this weekend. The most distant is Valencia, Spain, where Tiger post-collegian Christian Cantwell will attempt to win his second IAAF World Indoor gold medal while Mizzou collegians spread to Nebraska, Arkansas, and Iowa State in attempts of gaining qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Cantwell (Eldon, Mo.), the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Champ, qualified for the IAAF World Championships via winning the USATF Indoor crown two weeks ago in Boston. Cantwell's trip to Boston involved an automobile, a plane, and a train, in a load of delayed travel that followed his six-throw 70-foot-plus special in Warrensburg the day before. The IAAF has more on Cantwell's travel and whom he will face in Spain … http://iaaf.org/WIC08/news/kind=100/newsid=43772.html .
The men's shot put qualifying round will take place Friday morning at 10 a.m., local time, with the final taking place at 6:30 p.m., local. Live coverage of the entire championships can be found at WCSN.com.
***
More Tiger post-collegian news: Former Mizzou cross country and long-distance runner Serena Ramsey (Burla) competed last weekend in the NACAC (North American) Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Fla. In the six-kilometer race, Ramsey, an All-American and school record holder on the track at 10,000 meters, finished fourth in 19 minutes, 36 seconds to help Team USA to a second-place team finish. Team Canada took the team title with 24 points to America's 25.
***
Livin' Big in the Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is full of World-class athletes, and this past weekend's conference meeting once again proved as stellar as ever. Three World-leading marks and four collegiate-leading marks were set by the league's athletes.
Tiger junior Chris Rohr's (Lee's Summit, Mo.) school-record mark of 73 feet, 6¾ inches (22.42m) in the 35-lb. weight throw is the American collegiate-leading mark of the season. Rohr is second in the overall NCAA ranks to Kansas' Egor Agafonov who went 74-4½ (22.67m) in his last attempt to take the Big 12 title. Never fear, Rohr, now the fourth-best American collegian of all time in the event, will have a rematch with the Jayhawk next weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville.
Sophomore Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo.) will also have this weekend off to rest before his first trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Adcock's school-record score of 5,795 points used last weekend in winning his first Big 12 title in the heptathlon places him 10th all-time among all American collegians in the event.
Big 12 Showcase on the FSN Networks will have a full event-by-event recap of the league meet on its episode this week. Affilates and air times can be found here … http://www.big12sports.com/multimedia/big12-showcase.html
***
Bubble Spots, Team Rankings
A handful of Tigers will spread out to Missouri's neighboring states in pursuit of NCAA-qualifying marks starting Thursday. Mizzou's throwers will go to work Thursday at the Cornhusker Last Chance in Lincoln, which will be followed by pole-vaulter Brian Hancock's competition Friday at the Arkansas Last Chance Qualifier in Fayetteville. On Saturday, the throwers will compete in the Cyclone National Track & Field Qualifier in Ames, Iowa.
On the men's side, Chris Rohr is second nationally in the weight throw while Nick Adcock is fourth nationally in the heptathlon, and are both locks for the national championships.
Senior Nate Englin is No. 17 in the weight throw and shot put, while senior Tyler Dailey is 18th with the weight and Jason Morris is 20th. All three are within two inches of each other's season's best, the determining factor of NCAA qualification. Hancock is tied for 21st nationally in the pole vault. The Tiger men slipped out of the USTFCCCA Top 25 to 27th this week. Arizona State remains the No. 1 men's team and is in a near “statistical tie” with Tennessee, Florida State, and LSU.
For the Tiger women, Trisa Nickoley, fresh off her third Big 12 indoor title, ranks fifth in the nation at 800 meters. Senior Elisha Hunt ranks ninth with the weight throw, while junior Krishna Lee is 10th in the shot and 24th with the weight. Senior Shernelle Nicholls is 14th nationally with the shot and 27th with the weight. Junior Kaela Rorvig is 34th in the pentathlon. In the team rankings, Mizzou's women rank 31st. LSU, Arizona State, Tennessee, Michigan, and Big 12 Champ Texas A&M round out the national top five.
For more info on the USTFCCCA Rankings … http://ustfccca.cstv.com/rankings/rankings_2008.html
Last year, the NCAA accepted 15 to 16 entries per event on the men's side and 17 to 18 entries per event on the women's side to the national indoor meet.
###