COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou track and field team will begin a new era on Friday as Brett Halter will coach his first meet as the head coach of the Tigers as they will host the Missouri Invitational at the Hearnes Center Field House, beginning at noon. The annual event will serve as the Tigers' first meet of the 2011 indoor season and will feature teams from Hannibal-LaGrange, Lincoln and other area colleges and universities. The field events will begin at noon while the track events will start at 1 p.m.

The meet will serve as the first competition for the Tigers under the direction of Halter, who had served as an assistant at Mizzou for the last 16 seasons. Halter had been the Tigers' throws coach while assisting former head coach Rick McGuire, who retired after 27 seasons last summer. Despite the coaching change, the Tigers shouldn't miss a beat as Halter has been one of the key reasons for the program's success over the last 16 seasons.

Making the transition easy for Halter will be several key returning student-athletes, including All-American combined event specialist Lars Rise (Trondheim, Norway). Rise was twice an All-American in 2010, doing so in the indoor heptathlon and the outdoor decathlon and will likely continue the Tigers' great combined events tradition under the direction of associate head coach Dan Lefever.

Mizzou also returns several other key athletes on the men's side, including All-American pole vaulter Brian Hancock (Monroe City, Mo.). Hancock suffered an injury last season, forcing him to take a medical redshirt during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. But with a personal-best and school record mark of 5.37m (17-7 ¼), Hancock should be one of the top vaulters in the conference this season.

The men also bring back a pair of NCAA Outdoor National Championship qualifiers as 800m standouts Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.) return to the track in 2010. Irwin claimed the Big 12 Outdoor Championship at 800m and both he and Dixon used all-time Mizzou top 10 times to advance to their first NCAA Championship Finals last season. Dixon owns a personal-best mark of 1:47.39 while Irwin checks in at 1:47.53. Both will be among the league's top middle distance runners in 2010.

That is just the beginning for a Tiger men's team which brings back veterans in nearly every event group, including All-Big 12 athletes like Chris Davis (Riverdale, Ga.), Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo.), Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, Mo.), Dan Quigley (St. Louis, Mo.) and Phillip King (Columbia, Mo.).

The women's team will be anchored by a solid middle-distance and distance group and young, but talented throws unit. Senior Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan.) highlights the women's returners as she is the defending Big 12 Champion at 1,000m. A standout in both the 1,000m and 800m runs, Moore is another in a long line of successful middle distance runners for the Tiger women. Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.) and Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas) headline a young distance corps as well.

The throws group will once again be young, but it should also compete among the best groups in the league. All-Big 12 shot putter Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) highlights the group, but Mizzou also returns plenty of talent in throwers like Melissa Coil (Clark, Mo.), Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Katie Vanarsdall (Buckner, Mo.) and newcomers Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa, Kan.) and Jill Rushin (Jackson, Mo.).

Also returning for her senior season with one year of indoor eligibility left will be Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla.), who has become a standout in both the sprints and jumps. Expect Mims to make her mark in the 200m and 400m dashes and the long jump. School record holder Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.), who excels in the 400m hurdles during the outdoor season, will also likely make an impact in the 600-yard run during the indoor season.

A live blog of the meet will be provided at MUTigers.com. For a complete recap of the meet and for all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.