What You Need to Know
• Mizzou head track and field coach Dr. Rick McGuire announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2010 season, making his 27th season as head coach his last. McGuire hopes the season will serve as a celebration of his accomplishments at Mizzou.

• 2010 marks the 24th year of the Missouri Invitational. In all, Mizzou holds nine meet records, seven of which are in events that are still contested at the meet.

• The Missouri Invitational marks the beginning of the indoor season for the Tigers and is the first of four home meets spread across three weekends for Mizzou. The Tigers will also host Kansas in a dual meet (Jan. 15) and play host to the Collegiate Challenge (Feb. 19) and the All-Comers Meet (Feb. 20).

• Mizzou returns three All-Americans - Nick Adcock, Lars Rise and Brian Hancock - along with a two-time defending Big 12 Champion in Shannon Leinert to its 2010 roster.

This Weekend
The Mizzou track and field program will open its indoor season at home as it plays host to the Missouri Invitational on Friday, Jan. 8, inside the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. The meet will begin at noon with several field events and will conclude with the running of the 4x400m relays at 5:45, tentatively. Colleges and Universities from Missouri and the surrounding states will be on hand, highlighted by Central Methodist, Lincoln, Lindenwood, Missouri Baptist, the Missouri State women's team, St. Louis, SIU-Edwardsville and William Woods. Admission is $4 and parking is free and available on the East side of Hearnes.

The meet takes on a new dynamic after head coach Dr. Rick McGuire announced his plans to retire following the 2010 campaign - which is will be his 27th as a the head coach, the same as legendary Mizzou coach Tom Botts. The meet will also serve as the first of four home meets during the indoor season for the Tigers.

The Missouri Invitational
In its 24th year of existence, the Missouri Invitational has been a cornerstone of the Mizzou track and field's indoor schedule for years. It is a highly competitive meet that features some of the best talent from the state of Missouri and surrounding states. In all, Missouri student-athletes hold seven meet records, highlighted by former Tiger Chris Rohr, who shattered the men's weight throw record at last year's meet with a toss of 21.44m (70-4 1/4). Former Tiger Christian Cantwell also owns the shot put meet record of 21.06m (69-1 1/4), but did so while competing for Nike. The other meet-record holder for the Tiger men is Ray Hughes, who clocked a 5,000m time 14:36.56 back in 1998.

Natasha Kaiser holds the women's 600-yard run record while a pair of distance runners - Amanda Bales (mile) and Kristen Allen (5,000m) - along with Elisha Hunt (weight throw) and Teri LeBlanc (long jump) all hold meet records for the Tiger women. Mizzou also holds records in two events that are no longer contested. Recapping Last Year's Missouri Invitational Mizzou had a variety of quality performances from its team at the 2009 Missouri Invitational. The highlight of the meet was the performance of Chris Rohr, who set a meet-record in the weight throw with a toss of 21.44m (70-4 1/4), winning the event. Krishna Lee also turned in a weight throw win for the Tiger women with an NCAA provisional toss.

In all, Mizzou claimed 11 event titles at last year's meet and seven of those event winners return to this year's indoor roster.

A Look at the Tigers' Top Returners
Coming off of yet another impressive season under head coach Dr. Rick McGuire, the Mizzou track and field team returns several key contributors in each event group in 2010. Below is a look at some of the most heralded Tiger returners.

Nick Adcock ~ Combined Events
• Two-Time All-American
• Big 12 Champion (Eight-Time All-Big 12)
• 2007 Pan-American Junior Silver Medalist
• 2007 NACAC U23 Silver Medalist
• 2007 USATF Junior Decathlon Champion

Lars Rise ~ Combined Events
• Two-Time All-American
• All-Big 12
• Two-time Nordic Junior Champion
• IAAF World Youth Champion

Brian Hancock ~ Pole Vault
• Three-Time All-American
• All-Big 12
• School Record Holder - Pole Vault

Shannon Leinert ~ 800m
• Two-Time Big 12 Champion (800m Run)
• NCAA Regional Qualifier
• Three-time USATF Junior All-American

Recapping 2009
2009 was yet another successful campaign for the Mizzou track and field program, most notably for two of the most decorated throwers to ever come through the Mizzou program in Chris Rohr and Krishna Lee. Rohr finished the indoor slate as an All-American in the weight throw, a Big 12 Champion and the USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year. He also reset the program's weight throw standard as well. He followed that with an amazing outdoor season that saw him earn yet another All-America honor and Big 12 title, this time in the hammer throw. He also threw the hammer farther than any other competitor in the history of the Big 12 Championships during the outdoor season.

Lee also had a fine 2009 campaign, starting with her shot put All-America finish during the indoor season. She followed that with another All-America honor during the outdoor slate and was the Big 12 Championships' high-point scorer amongst female athletes.

The throws were not the only successful group in 2009 as combined event standouts Nick Adcock and Lars Rise both earned All-America honors last season. Adcock was a heptathlon honoree during the indoor season while Rise was an All-American in the decathlon during the outdoor season. Pole vaulter Brian Hancock rounds out the 2009 All-Americans for the Tigers as he claimed the honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Women's middle distance runner Shannon Leinert also claimed a pair of 800m Big 12 titles, doing so during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

`Combining' for Success
Since head coach Dr. Rick McGuire has been at the helm of the Missouri program, the Tigers have consistently produced some of the finest combined athletes in the nation. Under the direction of coach Dan Lefever, Missouri may have two of the best in the nation on the men's side as both Nick Adcock and Lars Rise return for the 2010 season. Both are All-Americans and have seen plenty of success on the international level as well.

Adcock was an All-American in the heptathlon during the indoor slate last season. He is one of the top hurdlers among all combined event athletes in the nation and owns the school record in the heptathlon and 60m hurdles.

Rise is part of a long lineage of Norwegian combined event athletes that have come through Mizzou over the past decade. He claimed All-America honors in the decathlon last season as he put together another fine outdoor season. The decathlon All-America nod was his second-straight and he will look to make it three-in-a-row during the 2010 season.

Chasing Shannon - and the Tigers at 800m
Last season, Shannon Leinert continued the Tiger women's dominance in the 800m run under women's distance coach Rebecca Wilmes. Leinert claimed both the Big 12 indoor and outdoor titles in 2009, giving Mizzou six 800m championships since the 2004 season, which is half of the possible titles that could have been won in that span. Leinert returns as the favorite to take home both crowns again this season.

Despite having a pair of Big 12 titles, Leinert fell just shy of All-America honors last season and looks to add one of those to her ledger in 2010. If she were to do so, she would be the Tiger women's ninth All-American at 800m since Wilmes began coaching the Tigers in 2000.

Big-Time Recruits for the Throws
Despite having a young throws group this season, associate head coach/throws coach Brett Halter has brought in some of the state's best talent this season. Freshman Corey Jones is the all-time Missouri state-record holder coming out of high school, topping former Missouri greats Christian Cantwell and Conrad Woolsey. He also brought in multiple-time state champions in Brooks Mosier and Alex McDonald on the men's side. Junior college transfer Chris Holly - who was the 2009 Junior College National Champion in the hammer throw - also joins the men's class.

Freshman Katie Evans, out of Unionville, Mo., is a Missouri State Champion and a high school All-American in the shot put. She is also a state championship meet record holder in shot put and discus and the fourth generation of Missouri Class 2A state record holders to come through Mizzou. Classmate Kylie Jones is another heralded recruit for Mizzou as she was the 2009 Missouri State Champion in the discus and threw the fourth-best mark in the nation during her junior year of high school.

Eight of Nine Return
In all, the men's distance corps qualified nine runners for the NCAA Mideast Regional last season, eight of which return for another season with the Tigers in 2010. The only runner to qualify for the regional championships and not return to this season's roster is Brian Graybill, who is now a volunteer assistant coach with the Tigers. The returners are Blake Irwin, Rick Scheff, Aaron Dixon, Tim Cornell, Dan Quigley, Michael Barrows and Chris Davis. That group will also get a boost from transfer Ricky West who was an 800m standout for Seton Hall last season.

Hurdling Her Way Through the Record Books
Sophomore Leslie Farmer had a fine 2009 season as a true freshman and will look to build upon that in 2010. Under the tutelage of Derrick Peterson, Farmer reset the program's 400m hurdle record with a time 1:00.44 at the John McDonnell Invitational last season. She also notched the program's fourth-best 600-yard run time at 1:21.76 and was a member of the women's 4x400m relay team that notched a new school record at 3:40.86 last season. She was also an NCAA Regional qualifier and an All-Big 12 recipient, capping a very successful freshman season.

Vaulted Success
Tiger pole vaulter Brian Hancock also looks for another fine season as Mizzou's top pole vaulter for the men. A three-time All-American, Hancock looks to make it five this season and also has his sights set on a Big 12 title. Hancock broke the school record in the pole vault after clearing 5.37m (17-7 1/4) at the Arkansas Last Chance Meet, qualifying him for nationals where he finished as an All-American.

Hancock finished third overall at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in 2009, just missing the top height on three attempts. Both the Big 12's No. 1 and No. 2 finishers from last season return in 2010, but as a senior, Hancock should challenge for a Big 12 title.

V is for Vanatta
Tiger freshman Kaitie Vanatta recently wrapped up one of the most successful seasons in Mizzou cross country history as she was All-Big 12, All-Midwest Region and placed 54th at the NCAA Championships. She was also the fifth freshman to finish the championships, showing a bright future. Vanatta will now get the chance to shine on the track as a distance runner for the Tigers.

Tiger Academic Success
The Mizzou track and field/cross country program was honored by the US Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for its academic success over the past calendar year. Both the men's and women's cross country teams were honored as All-Academic teams as fall grades have been announced. The women's cross country team earned a term grade-point-average of 3.467, earning the 44th-straight All-Academic honor for the Mizzou track and field/cross country program, doing so in every semester since the inception of the award 16 seasons ago. Mizzou is the only program in the nation to have accomplished that feat. The Tiger men's cross country team finished the fall semester with a term GPA of 3.06, earning the All-Academic award as well.

Two members of the women's cross country team - Shannon Leinert and Kaitie Vanatta - earned a perfect 4.00 GPA during the fall 2009 semester, while Phillip King brought home a perfect GPA for the men's team.

The success during the fall semester for the program did not stop with the cross country student-athletes. In all, the women's track and field team compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.289 and four others - Cortni Ervin, Leslie Farmer, Laura Greenfield and Katie Vanarsdall - all joined Leinert and Vanatta with perfect GPAs. The term GPA of 3.289 means that the women's program will garner its 45th-straight All-Academic team honor from the USTFCCCA when those are announced after the outdoor track and field season.

In all, 18 of the 40 women's track and field team members finished with a GPA better than 3.50 and 30 of the 40 women's track and field student-athletes finished with a GPA better than 3.00.

Adcock at the Thorpe Cup
Mizzou track and field junior Nick Adcock placed fifth overall amongst a field of 14 elite decathletes as part of the Thorpe Cup competition in Marburg, Germany. The competitors at the meet included multiple Olympians and former national champions.

Adcock represented the United States at the Thorpe Cup, a combined events dual meet between the United States and Germany. He set a season-best mark in the pole vault and a career-best in the discus. His overall score of 7,646 points is his best of the 2009 season and is just 11 points shy of his personal-record total.

After a solid first day, Adcock moved up the rankings of the international elites with a spectacular showing on day two. He opened the day with one of his strongest events, the 110m hurdles. Adcock's time of 14.45 was the second-fastest of the competition. His clearance of 4.55m (14-11) in the pole vault was his best of the season. In the discus, his toss of 38.83m (127-4 ¾) eclipsed his previous career-best of 37.42m (122-9 ¼).

Cantwell Claims IAAF World Title
Former Tiger track and field standout Christian Cantwell won the shot put World Championship at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Berlin, Germany, after tossing 22.03m (72-3 ½) in his fifth attempt on Aug. 15, 2009. His mark was a new season-best, shattering his previous mark of 21.81m (71-7), set at the Aviva London Grand Prix. The event title is the first-ever Outdoor IAAF World Championship for Cantwell, adding to his two Indoor IAAF World Championships, claimed in 2004 and 2008.

As the first competitor to throw in the event, Cantwell opened the competition with a throw of 21.54m (70-8), the best of any athlete during the first round of throws. That mark stood as the best in the competition until the fifth round of throws when 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Tomasz Majewski launched a world best toss of 21.68m (71-1 ½), putting the pressure on Cantwell.

Being the competitor that he is, Cantwell rose to the occasion and left no doubt about who was the top competitor in the event, and in the world as he crushed Majewski's mark in the fifth round. Cantwell delivered his throw of 22.03m (72-3 1/2) to round out the competition, leaving everyone else in his rearview. No competitor threw better than 21.91m (71-10 ¾) in each of the final round of throws, solidifying Cantwell's spot on top of the leaderboard.

"I have won medals in the past, but not this one," Cantwell commented after the competition. "To win it in that fashion is even more exciting. I hope the crowd enjoyed it as much as we did. The level of the competition was very high with six athletes at 21.00m, so to win a competition like this, that makes me feel better. During the competition, I felt like I was rushing my throw, so I told myself to just slow down," Cantwell added. "I knew that when it left my hand that (the winning throw) was a good one."

Cantwell defeated, among 10 others, Majewski - who was the 2008 Olympic gold Medalist - in the event. Cantwell's mark was also the best in the world last season and just shy of his personal-best mark.

Next Up
The Tigers will play host to the annual MU-KU Dual Meet inside the Hearnes Center on Jan. 15. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.