April 24, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa - Missouri freshman Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas) became the first female Tiger to win an individual track event at the Drake Relays since 1999 on Thursday in winning the women's 10,000-meter run by over six seconds. In the 99th edition of the Relays in Des Moines, former Tiger Fiona Asigbee (Walford, Iowa) also claimed her first crown in the women's heptathlon with a meet-record score.
Farren, who was Mizzou's most dominate runner during the cross country season, clocked 36:54.70 in her first collegiate 10k race on the track and will receive a Drake Relays watch for her efforts. Loyola (Ill.) senior Amanda Domich was second at 37:01.41.
"This was a great experience," said Farren. "Hearing the crowd behind you and listening to your teammates give you encouragement was really an awesome feeling. It's really cool to have won on my first go-around.
Farren becomes the first Tiger female to win an individual track event at the Drake Relays since Katie Meyer won the 1500-meter run in 1999 and the first from Mizzou to win any female individual event since Jennifer Bennett won the pole vault in 2003.
Running at 4 p.m., temperatures were in the mid 70s, and were not conducive to fast times in long-distance events.
"I would have like to run a faster time, but the coaches warned me that this is not the time or place to do so this time around," Farren continued. "They told me that if I ran my type of race and didn't get anxious, that I could I do very well among the field. Growing up in Texas you get used to these type of conditions, but I guess I've been in Missouri too long to say that I'm still comfortable with it," Farren said with a smile.
Tiger post-collegian Fiona Asigbee (Walford, Iowa) won the women's heptathlon with a score of 5,788 points, topping the 17-year-old meet record of 5,631 set in 1990 by Cathy Tyree. Asigbee came into the day in second place, trailing Peaches Roach, formally of Iowa, by just two points. A would-be PR, wind-aided mark of 20 feet, 6½ inches (6.26m) in the long jump started the day well and pushed Asigbee to a sizeable lead. Throwing near her personal best in the javelin with a 130-1 (39.66m) toss, Asigbee had a near 300-point advantage in going to the final event, the 800-meter run.
Asigbee clocked 2:28.22 at 800 meters to win the event over Iowa's Tamilee Kerr by 371 points and capture the meet record.
"It's truly a blessing and am very thankful to have met the meet record," said Asigbee. "While this is only my second competition all year -- as I took off the indoor season due to injury -- I felt this was a solid opening score to the season, but I still know there is a lot of things I can improve upon to reach my goals."
Asigbee's score ranks in the top 10 in the world this year and as the second best among Americans to begin the early part of the season. The graduate of Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Asigbee, was a local-media favorite.
"I looked at this meet as a good way to gauge where I was in these next few months leading to the Olympic Trials," said Asigbee. "There is always a motivation to do your best in these months to really see what you need to get done by late June."
Sophomore Emily Baker (Wildwood, Mo.) placed sixth in the unseed section of the women's 1500-meter run with a 4:33.66 clocking.
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