Feb. 23, 2010
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
• Big 12 Championship Central
• ISU's Big 12 Championship Central
• Big 12 Record Book
• Big 12 Performance Lists
Meet Info: The 2010 Big 12 Indoor Championships
Date: Feb. 26-27
Time: Friday: 10 a.m., Saturday: 11 a.m.
Location: Ames, Iowa
Arena: Lied Recreation Center
Live Stats: MUTigers.com
Live Blog: MUTigers.com
What You Need to Know
• Since 2004, the Mizzou women have claimed seven Big 12 800m titles (indoor and outdoor), which is more than half of the possible titles. Defending indoor champion Shannon Leinert will look for another strong meet in hopes of continuing the Tigers' success at 800m. She is currently the league's No. 1 athlete and ranks second nationally in the event. A title would be Leinert's third-straight in the event.
• Senior Nick Adcock will enter the Championships as one of the favorites to bring home the Big 12 Heptathlon title. He ranks first in the league so far this season and second nationally, but last season he was edged by just 38 points by Moritz Cleve of Kansas State, setting up one of the marquee match-ups of the Championships.
• The Tigers' Blake Irwin is currently ranked second in the Big 12 at 800m this season. With three-time defending Champion Jacob Hernandez of Texas graduating last season, Irwin has a legitimate shot at bringing home the 800m title at this weekend's championships.
Ready for the Big Time at Big 12s
The indoor regular season come to an end for the 2010 Mizzou track and field program, meaning that one of the most competitive meets in the world awaits the Tigers this weekend - the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Boasting some of the nation's best talent, the Big 12 Indoor Championships will show why the league is regarded as one of the best track and field conferences in the nation. The two-day meet is set to begin on Friday at 10 a.m. with the combined events. Friday's competition is scheduled to run until approximately 10 p.m. while competition will resume at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the running of the majority of the finals in the track events.
About the Meet
As already stated, the Big 12 Indoor Championships will be one of the marquee track and field meets in the nation over the weekend. The meet boasts five teams ranked in the national top 12 on the men's side and three women's teams ranked in the top 15. Texas A&M enters the Championships atop the men's poll and second on the women's side. Nebraska and Oklahoma also have both of their genders ranked in the national top-25. Mizzou's women come in ranked No. 39 nationally while the men sit at No. 47.
2010 marks the fourth time that Iowa State has hosted the event. The indoor facility - ISU's Lied Recreation Center - features a 300m track with eight 42-inch lanes, four pole vault runways and two long jump/triple jump pits. Not only is this the fourth time that ISU has hosted the indoor championships, but three of the four have come over the past four seasons.
Last Time Out
In his final tune-up before the Championships, senior Nick Adcock seemed to be in Championship form as he highlighted the Collegiate Challenge for the Tigers. Adcock reset his own school record in the 60m hurdles twice in the meet, first during the preliminary heat and lastly in the finals where he clocked in at 7.92. He also set a new indoor personal-best in the pole vault after clearing 4.75m (15-7). Had those two marks been in a combined events competition, Adcock would have scored 1,836 points in the heptathlon, still with five more scored events.
Senior thrower Andy Oaker also had a fine meet last weekend, improving his NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the shot put after throwing 18.16m (59-7) to win the event title. That mark ranks Oaker fifth heading into the Big 12 Championships this weekend. In all, Mizzou claimed 10 event titles at the Collegiate Challenge.
Three-Peat?
One of the main story lines for the Tigers at the Championships will be defending Big 12 800m Champion Shannon Leinert, who currently sits atop the league and ranks second in the nation in the 800m run. Leinert swept the 800m run titles at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2009 and will look for another quality performance this weekend. In all, Mizzou has claimed seven Big 12 800m Championships since 2004, the most in the event by any program in that span. That is also more than half of the possible titles in the event.
Leinert is running faster than she ever has at this point of the season. She clocked a personal-best 2:04.32 to beat an extremely talented field at the Meyo Invitational earlier this month. She is the only Big 12 runner to rank in the national top 25 in the event. Stephanie Morgan of Baylor will prove to be Leinert's top competition this weekend as she ranks second in the Big 12 and No. 30 nationally.
Possibly Winning Another?
Much like Leinert, fellow senior Nick Adcock will highlight the men's Big 12 title hopefuls this weekend. After shattering his school record in the 60m hurdles last weekend, Adcock looks to be in prime form heading into the Big 12 Championships. He has already automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the heptathlon this season and he will look to secure his second Big 12 heptathlon title this weekend. Adcock last claimed the league's top honor in the event back in 2008.
Despite ranking first in the league and second nationally after posting a score of 5,758 at the Bill Bergan Combined Events earlier this month, Adcock will have to dethrone Moritz Cleve of Kansas State to earn a spot atop the podium this weekend. Cleve is the defending Big 12 Champion in the heptathlon and decathlon, and like Adcock, is a multiple-time All-American in the event. Both hold personal-bests of just under 5,800 points in the event, setting up what should be a great battle all day. Last year, Cleve topped Adcock by just 38 points in the competition.
More Success at 800m?
As mentioned earlier, the Tiger women have seen plenty of success at the Big 12 Championships in the 800m run during the last decade, but the men have been equally as impressive. Dating back to the days of Derrick Peterson - who is now the Tigers' sprints/hurdles coach - the men have also seen plenty of success in the event. This year, Mizzou has three runners - Blake Irwin, Aaron Dixon and Rick Scheff - ranked in the Big 12's top 10 while both Irwin and Dixon rank in the top four. Irwin has posted the team's top time in the event this season at 1:49.31 to rank second behind only Chris Gowell of Baylor. Texas' Jacob Hernandez had won the last three Big 12 800m titles, but as his eligibility expired last season, it left a wide-open field heading into this year's championships.
Among the Favorites
Another Tiger that will have a chance at earning a Big 12 title this weekend is senior shot putter Andy Oaker, who currently ranks fifth in the event across the Big 12. Oaker improved his NCAA provisional qualifying mark last weekend at the Collegiate Challenge, tossing 18.16m (59-7). Since 2001, Mizzou has had three different Big 12 Indoor shot put champions and Oaker will look to become the fourth this weekend, which would be more than any other school in that span.
Other Tigers to Watch
There are a number of other Tigers to keep an eye on during this weekend's competition. Below is a look at the key individuals for the Tigers heading into the weekend.
Lana Mims - Ranks fifth in the Big 12 at 400m and is the Tigers' top long jumper on the women's side. Mims has provisionally qualified in the 400m dash with a time of 54.62 - run at the Meyo Invitational. She also anchors the Tigers' 4x400m relay that claimed event titles in its first four meets of the indoor season.
Katie Evans - Evans is a freshman shot putter that currently ranks sixth in the Big 12 this season. She is the Missouri high school state record holder in the event and will look to add an All-Big 12 accolade to her name in her first-ever conference meet.
Leslie Farmer - One of the Tigers' top competitors in the long sprints, Farmer will look to make her mark in the 600-yard run this weekend. She currently ranks fourth in the league in the event. Farmer also runs the first leg of the 4x400m relay team for the Tigers.
Kaitie Vanatta - Ran a 5,000m run time of 16:40.70 the last time that she was in Ames to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships in her first season as Tiger. She sits ninth in the league right now, but as an All-Big 12 honoree on the cross country circuit, All-Big 12 honors on the track are certainly a possibility for the freshman.
Brian Hancock - A two-time All-American and one of the Big 12's top pole vaulters, Hancock has been nicked up all season. When healthy, he is one of the league's best, which should be a story to watch this weekend.
Lars Rise - A combined events All-American, Rise has had a very good start to the indoor season, but has yet to compete in a multi-event competition, making this weekend likely his first appearance. He will join Adcock as one of the favorites to bring home the title or, at least, a possible All-Big 12 honor.
Ryan Blackwell - Similar to Farmer on the women's side, Blackwell will likely make his mark in the longer sprints this weekend. An All-Big 12 honoree and team captain, Blackwell will also run as a member of the Tigers' 4x400m relay team.
Chris Davis - Already an All-Big 12 honoree, Davis will look for another in the 600-yard run this weekend.
Recapping Last Year's Championships
At last year's Big 12 Indoor Championships, both the Tiger men and women finished seventh overall. The men scored 56 total points while the women finished with 52. Leinert was one of the many highlights of the meet as she won the 800m run. She was not the only conference champion for the Tigers as Chris Rohr - who is currently a volunteer assistant coach with the Tigers - claimed the men's weight throw title. The Tiger men's best finish at the Big 12 Indoor Championships came back in 2000 when the team finished third overall with 86 points. The women's best outing at the meet came in 2004 when they finished fourth overall with 56.5 total points.
Familiar With Ames?
The five-and-a-half hour drive north on Highway 63 has become a staple for the Tigers during the indoor season. This weekend will mark the third time in six weeks that the Tigers have traveled to Iowa State for a meet. The first was the Bill Bergan Invitational and then the ISU Classic two weeks ago. In all, the Tigers have posted some of their best marks inside the Lied Recreation Center this season, making it a home away from this season. Needless to say, Mizzou is quite comfortable competing at Iowa State, which bodes well for them this weekend.
McGuire's Swan Song
After 27 years as the Head Track and Field Coach at the University of Missouri, Dr. Rick McGuire announced his intention to retire from that position following the completion of the 2010 outdoor season, with his final day in the role scheduled for July 30th.
To date, Coach McGuire has led Missouri athletes to 137 All-American honors, 106 individual conference championships, seven NCAA individual or relay titles and eight NCAA Regional Championships. Beyond the NCAA season, McGuire has coached 46 Olympic Trials qualifiers and 27 USA National Team berths, even coaching four athletes to the pinnacle of athletic competition: the Olympic Games. Both Natasha Kaiser-Brown and Christian Cantwell went on to win Olympic silver medals. Cantwell has also won three world championships.
A hallmark of McGuire's program has been an emphasis on academic achievement, as evidenced by his team's long-standing presence on the USTFCCCA All-Academic list. The women's team has earned this status for 44 consecutive seasons, starting at the inception of the award in 1994. The men are now at 22 consecutive seasons. Individually, hundreds of his athletes have earned All-Academic honors. Under McGuire, Missouri track and field student-athletes have been awarded 22 NCAA Post Graduate scholarships at the conclusion of their undergraduate studies.
McGuire is recognized as a significant leader in the world of track and field, both at the collegiate level and beyond. He recently finished serving a three-year term as president of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Coaches Association, and prior to that served for four years on the NCAA Track and Field Committee. He was chosen as a member of the United States Olympic Team staff for both the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. He founded and for 28 years has served as the chair of the USATF Sport Psychology program. He has been honored by his peers with his induction into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame and the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Dr. McGuire has also served for 25 years as a Graduate Professor of Sport Psychology in the University's nationally prominent Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology. He began both the Master's and Doctoral programs in Sport Psychology. Today Missouri's graduate program in Applied Sport Psychology is considered one of the leading programs in the nation. It is McGuire's intention to continue in his academic and teaching role, as well as contributing sport psychology support for the athletes, teams, coaches and staff in Missouri's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Longtime assistant and current associate head coach Brett Halter has been named interim head coach and will work closely with Coach McGuire in this transition. Coach Halter has earned the distinction as one of the world's finest coaches of throws. His athletes are consistently among the NCAA and Big 12 Conference leaders. He is the coach of former Tiger Christian Cantwell, the reigning World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist in the shot put.
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.
Follow Mizzou Track & Field's Blog!
The 2010 Mizzou track and field season will not only offer some of the most exciting competition, but it will also provide some of the best ways for fans to follow their team. MUTigers.com has developed a blog in order to keep fans in the loop about everything regarding Mizzou athletics. Each sport will have its own official blog so fans can stay current with each program. The track and field blog can be found here: http://www.mutigers.com/blog/track-field/.
The live blog will be back this weekend in hopes of providing event-by-event results and a interactive experience for any fans that cannot be in attendance at the meet.
Next Up
Following the Big 12 Championships will be what is known as `Last Chance Weekend' in which athletes around the country will try one last time to improve their NCAA qualifying marks in hopes of competing on the nation's largest stage - the NCAA Championships. This weekend will determine who will compete at the Last Chance meet, but look for several Tigers to compete next weekend. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.