Missouri
Drake Relays
Tigers Wrap Day One at Drake Relays
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 23, 2010
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Mizzou track and field program wrapped up its first day at the 101st Drake Relays on Friday (April 23) at Drake Stadium. Mizzou's Andy Oaker (Steelville, Mo.) was the top performer for the Tigers on Friday as he placed fourth overall in the men's shot put with a throw of 17.31m (56-9 ½) to finish as the Tigers' top placer on the day. In all, Mizzou earned four top 10 finishes in event finals on day three of the Drake Relays, including a scintillating fifth-place nod in the men's 4x800m run which saw a record-breaking performance from the Mizzou men.
The nightcap of the meet was the 4x800m relays and the Tiger men were part of one of the most exciting races of the day as the top four teams finished within two seconds of each other. The Tiger men - Tyrell Everett (Wichita, Kan.), Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Ricky West (Scarborough, Ontario) and Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, Iowa) - finished just out of that foursome in fifth place overall at 7:20.17. That mark was the fourth-best 4x800m relay time in school history, breaking a mark that had stood since 1972. Dixon ran a split of 1:47.80 while Irwin ran the anchor in 1:48.60.
The Tiger women caught a tough break on the first lap of the 4x800m relay as Esther Vermue (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) was tripped up heading into the final 500m of her leg. The foursome rebounded to clock in at 8:56.28, but the fall was too much to overcome as the crew finished seventh overall despite spirited legs from each participant. Had they not been tripped up, the Tigers would have likely finished in the top three.
Aside from Oaker, the Tiger men got a nice individual performance from senior Nick Adcock (Kansas City, Mo.), who is fresh off of a second-place nod in the decathlon at the Mt. SAC Combined Events last weekend. Adcock clocked in at 14.20 seconds in the men's 110m hurdles to advance tomorrow's finals, scheduled for 3:13 p.m. Adcock's time of 14.20 was just 0.07 seconds off of his personal-best pace in the event - which was set at Mt. SAC last week - despite the wet and windy conditions on Friday.
The men's 4x100m relay was the first of the Tiger relays to perform on the day as it clocked in at 42.06, less than a second out of qualifying for tomorrow's event finals. The foursome was comprised of Matt Pickerel (Columbia, Mo.), Clifton Leake (Dallas, Texas), Jerron Forte (Kansas City, Mo.) and Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo.).
The women's distance medley relay, comprised of Angela Potrykus (Evergreen, Colo.), Chelsea Chrisman (Eureka, Mo.), Allyson Brown (Cordova, Tenn.) and Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas), clocked in at 11:54.07 to place 13th in the 22-team field. Belvis ran a split of 5:03.00 in the final leg, just off of her 1,600m personal-best of 4:59.08.
Staying in the relay events, the men's 4x400m relay clocked in at 3:14.51 to take 14th overall. One of the fastest legs of the race was run by Adcock, who had run in the 110m hurdles earlier in the day, but the group fell just short of qualifying for tomorrow's event finals. The foursome was made up of Adcock, Blackwell, Leake and Chris Davis (Riverdale, Ga.). The Mizzou women did not compete a 4x400m relay team on Friday.
Moving to the throws, freshman Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) placed 14th in the women's shot put after tossing 14.05m (46-1 ¼). She was the only Tiger on the women's side to compete in the shot put. However, Mizzou did see three of its student-athletes compete in the discus on Friday, highlighted by freshman Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.) as she tossed a personal-best 49.44m (162-2) to earn sixth place overall in a very competitive field. Evans rebounded from the shot put to throw 47.94m (157-3), a personal-best tally, earning her 11th overall. Asa Wyatt (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) was the first Tiger thrower on the men's side to complete competition on Friday as he placed 25th in the men's javelin at 47.43m (155-7).
Meaghan Brougher (Dallas, Texas) also competed for the Tigers on Friday, doing so in the women's high jump. Brougher failed to clear the opening height of 1.65m (5-5) on all three of her attempts as the conditions seemed to limit many of the high jumpers in the field. The top mark in the event was only 1.75m (5-8 ¾).
The Tigers will return to action at the Drake Relays tomorrow morning, starting on the track with the women's sprint medley relay at 10:15 a.m. Mizzou will also start the field events at 9:30 a.m. with the women's long jump as senior Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla.) will be the Tigers' lone competitor in the event.
The 400m hurdles, 800m and 1,500m runs along with the men's discus, men's high jump and the men's hammer will all feature Mizzou student-athletes tomorrow. Also, Christian Cantwell, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame on Thursday, will compete in the invitational shot put at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.
For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
Players Mentioned
