March 22, 2011
FAYETTE, Mo. - The Mizzou track and field team saw its throws unit on both the men's and women's side compete at the Central Methodist Open over the weekend and it received several great performances from the group, highlighted by sophomore Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, Mo.), who won the men's shot put with a facility-record throw of 17.07m (56-0). In fact, he led a men's shot put group that took three of the top four spots in the event.
Patrick Fitzgerald (Eagleville Mo.) took second place with a throw of 14.95(49-0 ¾). Along with impressive finishes by Mosier and Fitzgerald, Alex McDonald (Wentzville, Mo.) placed fourth for the Tigers with a throw of 14.34m (47-0 ¾). The Tiger men earned 23 points in the shot put alone in the scored competition.
Mosier had another impressive first-place finish in the discus throw after measuring in at 50.07m (164-03). Right behind him was Tim Opfer (Higginsville, Mo.) in second after throwing 48.85 (160-03). McDonald received a third-place nod in the discus after measuring in at 45.50m (149-03). The Tigers scored 24 points in the discus throw.
In the men's hammer throw, Chris Holly (Topeka, Kan.) finished second with a throw of 58.15m (190-09). Sophomore All-Big 12 honoree Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, Mo.) took third with a throw of 53.11m (174-03) while Opfer placed fourth with a throw of 50.99m (167-03). The Mizzou men scored 21 points in the hammer throw
The Tiger women had a great day in the discus as well, highlighted by Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.) who finished first after throwing 44.44m (145-10). Katie Vanarsdall (Buckner, Mo.) placed just behind Collins in second with a throw of 43.35m (142-03). The Tiger women scored 22 points in the discus at the meet.
The women's hammer throw had an equally impressive performance as Missouri nailed the top four spots. Collins took the lead, yet again, throwing 48.00m (157-06). Melissa Coil (Clark, Mo.) finished second with a throw of 47.25m (155-00) while Cortni Ervin (Marshall, Mo.) finished third with a throw of 46.83m (153-08). Freshman Bethany Pfeiffer (Boonville, Mo.) finished fourth for the Tigers with a throw of 44.65 (146-06). In all, the women scored 29 points in the hammer throw.
The women went on to score 11 points in the shot put as Ervin placed third with a throw of 13.95m (45-09.25). Katie Vanarsdall (Buckner, Mo.) came in fourth place with a throw of 13.76m (45.-01.75) as well. Freshman Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa, Kan.) competed unattached at the meet and reset the facility record in the shot put after throwing 15.52m (50-11), taking first overall. Classmate Jill Rushin (Jackson, Mo.) also threw unattached in the event and took second at 14.12m (46-4). Sophomore Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) threw unattached in the event as well and took fifth overall at 13.15m (43-1 ¾).
In the women's javelin throw, Hailey Twietmeyer (Cheney, Kan.) took second place with a throw of 37.26 (122-03). Pfieffer finished fourth with a throw of 32.35 (106-02) and the Tigers gained 17 points in the women's javelin throw.
Overall, Tiger woman finished fourth in the meet with 81 points and the Tiger men finished fourth as well with 68 points. Keep in mind the Tigers competed in just the throws events and still placed among the top teams at the meet. Tigers look to bring another win in the upcoming Stanford Invitational Meet in Palo Alto, California on March 25th. Tiger's next home meet will be held on April 1. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter at @MIZ_TrackField.