April 8, 2011
Columbia, Mo. (April 8, 2011) -- The Mizzou men's and women's track teams both had great starts to the Tom Botts Invitational at Walton Stadium in Columbia this afternoon. The women are currently tied for first after five events (out of 20) with Indiana State. Both teams have 55 points and sit well in front of third place Missouri State (25 points). The Mizzou men sit in third place with 28 points, very much in striking distance of Illinois and Indiana State who are tied for first with 31 points.
The throwers led both teams during day one. The women were led by dominant performances in the discus and shot put. Sophomore Megan Collins (Lee's Summit, Mo.) led the way with a first place finish in the discus, throwing a season best of 49.36m (161-11). Freshman Sandra Hampton (Lee's Summit, Mo.) finished in second with a huge personal record throw of 47.05m (154-4). Senior Katie Vanarsdall (Buckner, Mo.) also scored for Mizzou, finishing seventh with a throw of 44.35m (145-6).
Sophomore Laura Greenfield (Liberty, Mo.) led the way for the Mizzou women in the shot put, heaving a season best throw of 14.57m (47-9 ¾) for second place. Sophomore Cortni Ervin (Marshall, Mo.) placed fifth also with a season best throw of 14.20m (46-7 ¼) and Vanarsdall finished seventh with a throw of 13.58m (44-6 ¾) to round out the scorers for Mizzou in the event.
In the women's pole vault, sophomore Heather Green (Jefferson City, Mo.), junior Holly Stewart (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and junior Abbie Garlich (Greenwood, Mo.) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Green and Stewart both vaulted 3.45m (11-3 ¾) and Garlich vaulted 3.30m (10-9 ¾). Freshman Erika Miller (Mexico, Mo.) led Mizzou in the long jump, finishing second with a jump of 5.39m (17-8 ¼).
The men were led by an outstanding performance from sophomore Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, Mo.). Mosier finished first in the discus with a new personal record, throwing 52.59m (172-6) and second in the shot put throwing 16.94m (55-7).
Rounding out the scoring finishes for the men in the discuss were junior Tim Opfer (Higginsville, Mo.) throwing 50.20m (164-8) for third and sophomore Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, Mo.) had his best throw of the year, throwing 47.92m (157-2) for seventh.
Competition resumes tomorrow morning at Walton Stadium with the field events at 10 a.m. and the track events at 10:30 a.m.