COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou track and field program will host its final regular season home meet of 2010 as it will take part in the 14th Annual Tom Botts Invitational at Audrey J. Walton Stadium this weekend. The meet is scheduled to begin on Friday (April 2) at 2 p.m. and conclude with the running of the 3,000m steeplechase at 3:50 p.m. The meet will then resume on Saturday morning (April 3) at 10 a.m. and wrap up at 1:35 p.m. with the 4x400m relays. The meet will be the Tigers' first scored competition of the outdoor season and will feature teams from Drake, Central Missouri, Indiana State and Northern Iowa.

The Tom Botts Invitational was established 14 years ago by the current Mizzou coaching staff in order to pay homage to the legendary Tiger coach that helped establish and sustain Missouri track and field. A native of Mexico, Mo., Botts coached track and field at Mizzou from 1947 to 1972. Under his direction, Mizzou won the 1965 NCAA Indoor Track Championship, one of only two national titles in the school's history, and his teams also won eight conference championships - four indoors (1947-48-64-65) and four outdoors (1947-48-49-51). He coached 48 individual conference indoor champions, 48 individual conference outdoor champions, five individual national champions, two U.S. Olympians and 23 All-Americans. Botts was inducted into the State of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1979 and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1983. Coach Botts passed away at the age of 94 back in 1999.

Last year's Tom Botts Invitational was great meet for the Tigers as they shattered three meet records, highlighted by former Tiger All-American Chris Rohr. With a hammer throw of 67.90m (222-9), Rohr etched his names into the record books with the best throw ever recorded at the meet in 13 seasons. Tim Cornell (Columbia, Mo.), a senior on this year's team, set the meet standard in the 1,500m run last season at 3:46.42. The Tiger women's 4x400m relay team also set a Tom Botts meet record last season after clocking in at 3:41.11. Two additional meet records were reset last season as the Indiana State men's 4x100m relay team clocked in at 41.05 and Sara Neubauer of Air Force set the discus standard at 52.91m (173-7).

The Tigers will look to pay tribute to the Tiger legend this weekend as they look to build upon a strong performance at their first outdoor meet of the season - the Missouri Relays - which were held last weekend. At the meet, the Tigers claimed 16 event titles during the two-day meet, specifically in the throws and middle-distance events. Most notably, a pair of throwers on the men's side turned in big marks to find themselves ranked among the top three in the Big 12 in their respective events. First, junior Chris Holly (Topeka, Kan.) won the men's hammer throw with a toss of 59.73m (195-11), a personal-best mark that ranks him second in the Big 12 so far this season. Holly is the defending NJCAA National Champion in the hammer throw and kick-started his Division I career with a good mark last week. He is only about a foot-and-a-half back of the league's leader.

Senior shot putter Andy Oaker (Steelville, Mo.) will also look to build upon a strong start to the outdoor season after he won the men's shot put after measuring in at 16.93m (55-6 ½) last weekend. Oaker was an All-Big 12 honoree in the shot put during the indoor season and has his sights set higher during the outdoor campaign.

On the women's side, junior Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan.), fresh off of her Big 12 Indoor Championship at 1,000m, currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 at 800m this season. Moore clocked in at 2:12.66 in the event last weekend after pulling away from the field at the onset of the race. Sophomore Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.) also ranks in the Big 12's top five in her top event, the 400m hurdles. Farmer won the event at the Missouri Relays last weekend with a time of 1:01.40, just off of her school-record pace in the event.

Several Tiger throwers on the women's side will also look to build upon strong finishes a week ago, including freshman Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.), who currently ranks third in the Big 12 in the shot put.

Also, look for several Tigers to make their outdoor season debuts this weekend, including defending Big 12 800m Champion Shannon Leinert (Eureka, Mo.) and men's middle distance runner Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.). For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, along with a complete recap of this weekend's action, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.

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