University of Missouri
NCAA Regionals
O'Brien, Nickoley Advance to Regional Final
5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 30, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Members of the Missouri track & field teams competed Friday in the first of two days of the NCAA Mideast Regional in Fayeetteville, Ark. Seniors Tipper O'Brien (St. Louis, Mo.) and Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) advanced to tomorrow's regional final of the men's 1500 and women's 800, respectively.
O'Brien squeezed into the regional final of the men's 1500 through a last-lap surge that included a three-lane-out push to the front of the chase pack. O'Brien was in the faster of the two heats and his time of 3:47.78 was the last of the time qualifiers. In 2005, O'Brien used the same tactics to place sixth in the regional in Bloomington, Ind., later grabbing an at-large spot to the NCAA Championships.
Nickoley placed second in her heat of the 800, automatically qualifying for tomorrow's final with a good clocking of 2:08.86. Last season, Nickoley placed fourth in the regional final to grab an auto bid to the national meet.
Junior Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo.) placed 10th in the women's hammer throw in marking 186 feet, 1 inch (56.71m). Lee, ranked 30th in the nation entering the weekend, is eligible for the at-large selection pool for the NCAA meet because of today's placing, but will need some help from the East region, that competes tomorrow, to move up the eligibles list.
Senior Shernelle Nicholls (St. Andrew's Parrish, Barbados) placed 11th in the women's discus late in the evening. Her best throw of the day of 161-8 (49.27m) on her final attempt nearly gained her entry into the final, but Tennessee's Annie Alexander that immediately followed Nicholls went from 27th to 1st on her final preliminary attempt to knock out Nicholls.
Junior JaNay Woolridge (Jessup, Md.) placed 11th in the women's long jump with a wind-aided personal best mark of 20-4¼ (6.20m, w: 2.3).
Tomorrow's action for the Tigers include the finals of the women's 800 and men's 1500, as well as field-event finals in the men's hammer throw and women's shot put, two events in which four Tigers are entered, the men's pole vault, women's javelin, and men's discus.
NCAA MIDEAST REGION RESULTS, Day 1 of 2
AQ - Missouri's automatically qualified for NCAA Championships via top-five finish
NCP - Missouri's eligibles for NCAA Championship at-large selection pool (top 12 finish)
PR - personal best
SB - personal season best
BOLD indicates Missouri scoring position and All-Mideast Region status
MEN
EVENT FINALS
5000m Run
1. Jacob Korir, E. Kentucky, 14:03.43
2. Felix Kiboiywo, Auburn, 14:06.32
3. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame, 14:07.97
12. Dan Hedgecock, MISSOURI, 14:31.04
15. Garett Jeffries, MISSOURI, 14:42.43
High Jump
1. Grant Lindsey, Kentucky, 2.20m, 7-2½
2. Shamel Smith, Kent State, 2.11m, 6-11
3. Brandon Fitch, Cincinnati, 2.11m, 6-11
--. Jason Miller, MISSOURI, NH
Long Jump
1. O'Darien Bassett, Troy, 7.94mw, w: 2.4, 26-¾, second best: 7.75m
2. Alain Bailey, Arkansas, 7.94mw, w: 3.0, 26-¾ , second best: 7.65mw
3. Rudon Bastian, Louisville, 7.91mW, w: 4.3
Shot Put
1. Cory Martin, Auburn, 20.05m, 65-9½
2. Brenton Siemons, Southern Illinois, 18.18m, 59-7¾
3. Eric Werskey, Auburn, 18.09m, 59-4¼
14. Nate Englin, MISSOURI, 16.87m, 55-4¼
--. Andy Oaker, MISSOURI, FOUL
Javelin
1. Jeffrey Kent, La.-Monroe, 71.16m, 233-5
2. Preston Chatham, LSU, 68.43m, 224-6
3. Chad Radgowski, LSU, 67.16m, 220-4
EVENT PRELIMINARIES (Missouri only)
800m Run
DNQ, 18. Rick Scheff, 1:53.83
1500m Run
Qual. (12) Tipper, O'Brien, 3:47.78
TEAM SCORES (after day one, 5 of 19 events)
1. Auburn, 24
2. LSU, 22
3. Arkansas, 16
--. MISSOURI, no score
WOMEN
EVENT FINALS
5000m Run
1. Angela Bizzarri, Illinois, 16:24.38
2. Lauren Weaver, Belmont, 16:26.02
3. Katrina Rundhaug, Wisconsin, 16:28.51
Pole Vault
1. Kylie Hutson, Indiana State, 4.26m, 13-11¾
2. Brianna Neumann, Purdue, 4.16m, 13-7¾
3. Brittnay Klima, Cincinnati, 4.16m, 13-7¾
Long Jump
1. Brittney Reese, Ole Miss, 6.67mW, w: 5.2, 21-10¾
2. Casey Taylor, Michigan, 6.44mw, w: 3.5, 21-1½
3. Bianca Stuart, So. Illinois, 6.43mW, w: 6.6, 21-1¼
11. JaNay Woolridge, MISSOURI, 6.20mw, w: 2.3, 20-4¼, NCP
Discus
1. Annie Alexander, Tennessee, 56.03m, 183-10
2. Astin Steward, Purdue, 53.65m, 176-0
3. Jaclyn Espinoza, Notre Dame, 52.42m, 172-0
11. Shernelle Nicholls, MISSOURI, 49.27m, 161-8, NCP
Hammer Throw
1. Stevi Large, Akron, 61.79m, 202-9
2. Brittany Riley, Southern Illinois, 61.72m, 202-6
3. Veronica Jatsek, Ohio State, 60.62m, 198-11
10. Krishna Lee, MISSOURI, 56.71m, 186-1, NCP
19. Elisha Hunt, MISSOURI, 53.50m, 175-6
21. Elizabeth Robe, MISSOURI, 53.34m, 175-10
32. Sarah Burbee, MISSOURI, 49.88m, 163-8
EVENT PRELIMINARIES (Missouri only)
800m Run
Qual (6). Trisa Nickoley, 2:08.86
DNQ, 18. Layne Moore, 2:10.27
TEAM SCORES (after day one, 5 of 19 events)
1. Purdue, 20
2. So. Illinois, 19
3. Akron, 14
--. Missouri, no score
###
Players Mentioned
