April 12, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - High winds, overcast skies and even a little winter precipitation greeted competitors at the final day of the 12th Annual Tom Botts Invitational as the University of Missouri track and field squads hosted Tulsa and Brigham Young at Audrey J. Walton Stadium Saturday. Missouri's Shernelle Nicholls was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet while BYU's Leif Arrhenius won the male award.
After taking eight of the combined top nine spots in the women's shot put and discus yesterday, the Tigers went 1-2-3 in the women's hammer throw on Saturday. Junior Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo. / O'Hara HS) won the event with a NCAA Regional qualifying throw of 186 feet, 9 inches (56.93m). Seniors Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wisc. / Waukesha West HS) and Sarah Burbee (Jefferson City, Mo. / Jefferson City HS) finished second and third.
The Missouri men swept the top five spots in the hammer throw. Jason Morris (St. Louis, Mo. / Priory HS) won with a 213-10 toss (65.18m) while Chris Rohr (Lee's Summit, Mo. / Lee's Summit North HS) and Nate Englin (Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View HS) took second and third. Englin recorded a personal best of over six feet with his throw of 205-3 (62.56m).
Junior JaNay Woolridge (Jessup, Md. / Long Reach HS), running the anchor leg, caught Tulsa in the last 10 meters of the women's 4x100-meter relay for a Tiger victory, clocking 48.19.
Senior Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan. / Shawnee Heights HS) recorded a wire-to-wire victory in the women's 800-meter run with a season-best time of 2:10.42. Freshman Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan. / Emporia HS) finished second, also in a season-best time of 2:12.91.
In the men's 1500-meter run, senior Tipper O'Brien (Kirkwood Mo. / St. Louis University HS) was edged for the victory by former teammate Neville Miller, now competing for the New York Athletic Club. O'Brien's time of 3:50.69 bested another former Tiger, Timothy Dunne, who is currently a teammate of Miller's at the NYAC by .04.
Sophomore decathlete Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo. / Oak Park HS) ran a personal-best in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a winning time of 14.45.
Freshman Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo. / Westminster Christian Academy) won the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 48.72.
Sophomore Brian Hancock finished in a tie for third in the men's pole vault competition that was forced into the Hearnes Fieldhouse because of the adverse weather conditions. Hancock cleared 16-6¾ (5.05m), the regional qualifying height, but since the event was held indoors, it cannot be used for entry.
Also today, Montel Evans (Kansas City, Mo. / Hickman Mills HS), Jason Miller (Stafford, Va. / Colonial Forge HS) and Chris Feitz (Carrolton, Mo. / Carrolton HS) went 2-3-4 in the men's triple jump.
Shernelle Nicholls was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet for her efforts in winning the shot put and discus events Friday with marks that surpass the NCAA-regional qualifying marks. Leif Arrhenius of BYU was named the Male Athlete of the Meet for his NCAA-leading, and stadium- and meet-record breaking discus toss Friday of over 207-1 (63.12m).
The Tigers return to the track next weekend in Lawrence, Kan., for the Kansas Relays and Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville.
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