May 27, 2008
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-NCAA Mideast Regional- Fayetteville, Ark. Quick Info and Links
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COLUMBIA, Mo. —Beginning Friday, 20 from the University of Missouri track & field teams will compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Fayetteville, Ark. A spot in the NCAA Championships in Des Moines is in stake and those who finish in the top five in each event are guaranteed selection to the next round. Missouri's throwers are again a large part of the contingent that will appear in the regional and are among the nation's leaders, in terms of depth, in the country.
Breaking Down the Numbers
In terms of pure qualifying marks, the Mizzou men have nine qualifiers among five people to rank only behind Auburn's 10 to lead the nation. Junior Chris Rohr (Lee's Summit, Mo.) is the only Tiger to qualify in three events: shot put, discus, and hammer while senior Jason Morris (St. Louis, Mo.) double-dips in the disc and hammer for the fourth-straight year. Two-time Big 12 Champ Nate Englin (Mounds View, Minn.) has qualifiers in the shot and hammer in his senior season. Senior Tyler Dailey (Joplin, Mo.) qualified with the hammer for the fourth-straight year while sophomore Andy Oaker (Steelville, Mo.) will make his first career regional appearance with the shot.
On the women's side, six Tigers composed 10 qualifying marks in throwing events, ranking nationally behind only Arizona State's 12. Junior Elisha Hunt (Linn, Mo.), junior Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo.), senior Shernelle Nicholls (St. Andrew's Parrish, Barbados), and senior Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wis.) have qualified and will compete in two events. Hunt, Lee, and Robe have qualifiers in the hammer and shot while Nicholls stuck to the discus and shot this season.
How They Rank
On the national scene, six Tigers have marks they currently lie in the NCAA's top 25 and two, Morris and Englin, have marks in the top 10. Morris' school-record toss of 224 feet, 5 inches (68.41m) in the hammer at the Drake Relays ranks eighth in the nation and third in the region, behind the Auburn duo of Cory Martin and Jake Dunkelberger. Martin won the event last year in Columbia with a region and Walton Stadium record of 226-7 (69.06m). Mizzou's Chris Rohr is 13th in the nation in the hammer and fifth in the region.
In the shot, Nate Englin is 10th in the country with his 62-5¾ (19.04m) from a few weeks ago in Fayetteville. Englin is only behind Martin for the region's lead.
Shernelle Nicholls ranks 12th nationally in the women's shot, but is in the toughest region as five more rank above her nationally. Krishna Lee is 16th in the nation in the same event and eighth in the region.
Sophomore Brian Hancock (Monroe City, Mo.) is tied for 14th in the country in the vault, having cleared 17-5 (5.31m) earlier this season in Fayetteville. Only Indiana's Jeff Coover and Purdue's Eric Sparks have flown higher among the Mideast Region challengers this season.
| EVENT | NR |
Name | Yr | Qual Mark | Date |
|
| Women | ||||||
| HT | 80 |
Sarah Burbee | SR | 54.66m | 179-4 | May 16 |
| JAV | 47 |
Hope Harris | FR | 46.70m | 153-2 | Apr 5 |
| SP | 51 |
Elisha Hunt | JR | 15.27m | 50-1¼ | May 17 |
| HT | 36 |
Elisha Hunt | JR | 58.80m | 192-11 | May 16 |
| SP | 16 |
Krishna Lee | JR | 16.23m | 53-3 | Apr 5 |
| HT | 30 |
Krishna Lee | JR | 59.92m | 196-7 | Apr 26 |
| 800m | 108 |
Layne Moore | FR | 2:09.57 | Apr 19 |
|
| SP | 12 |
Shernelle Nicholls | SR | 16.49m | 54-1¼ | Apr 5 |
| DISC | 29 |
Shernelle Nicholls | SR | 52.00m | 170-7 | Mar 29 |
| 800m | 51 |
Trisa Nickoley | SR | 2:07.81 | Apr 19 |
|
| SP | 65 |
Elizabeth Robe | SR | 14.98m | 49-1¾ | Apr 5 |
| HT | 75 |
Elizabeth Robe | SR | 54.74m | 179-7 | Apr 26 |
| LJ | 48 |
JaNay Woolridge | JR | 6.19mw | 20-3¾ | May 17 |
| Men | ||||||
| HT | 51 |
Tyler Dailey | SR | 61.54m | 201-11 | May 10 |
| SP | 10 |
Nate Englin | SR | 19.04m | 62-5¾ | May 2 |
| HT | 35 |
Nate Englin | SR | 62.56m | 205-3 | Apr 12 |
| PV | 14 |
Brian Hancock | SO | 5.31m | 17-5 | May 2 |
| 5000m | 83 |
Dan Hedgecock | SO | 14:09.58 | May 4 |
|
| 5000m | 81 |
Garett Jeffries | JR | 14:09.41 | May 4 |
|
| HJ | 42 |
Jason Miller | SR | 2.10m | 6-10¾ | Apr 5 |
| DISC | 72 |
Jason Morris | SR | 53.00m | 173-10 | Apr 12 |
| HT | 8 |
Jason Morris | SR | 68.41m | 224-5 | Apr 26 |
| SP | 63 |
Andy Oaker | SO | 17.40m | 57-1 | May 2 |
| 1500m | 50 |
Tipper O'Brien | SR | 3:44.30 | May 2 |
|
| SP | 72 |
Chris Rohr | JR | 17.25m | 56-7¼ | Apr 5 |
| DISC | 58 |
Chris Rohr | JR | 53.79m | 176-5 | Apr 11 |
| HT | 13 |
Chris Rohr | JR | 65.98m | 216-5 | Apr 19 |
| 800m | 69 |
Rick Scheff | FR | 1:49.97 | May 2 |
|
| NR = NCAA National Rank (prior to declarations) | ||||||