Tigers Show Balance, Depth at Missouri Invite

Friday, January 7

Columbia, Mo.

12:00PM

University of Missouri

Missouri Invitational

1/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

Jan. 7, 2011

Photo Gallery | Complete Results in PDF Format

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou track and field team opened its season in impressive fashion at the Missouri Invitational on Friday (Jan. 7) inside the Hearnes Center Field House. Overall, Mizzou claimed 18 event titles on the day in what was head coach Brett Halter's first meet at the helm of the program.

"I thought it was great. I have been watching this team open up at this meet for a long time and I felt like we really demonstrated some great diversity today," Halter said following the meet. "It was fun to see a lot of people step up in a lot of different areas - it was just too many people to really point out. We have been in a winter training camp, training twice a day, so the team was a little tired. But they hung in there and competed hard and they did a great job. I was really pleased."

Senior Brian Hancock (Monroe City, Mo.) was one of the many highlights for the Tigers on the day. After missing last season with an injury, the two-time All-American came back and was within one progression of setting the new meet record in the pole vault after winning the event with a clearance of 5.20m (17-0 ¾). It appeared he cleared 5.31m (17-5) on his third and final attempt, but the bar wobbled just enough and fell, leaving him inches shy of the meet record.

Freshman Tre Chambers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had one of the best performances of the day in his first meet as a collegiate runner as well. He clocked a time of 6.74 in the 60m dash, placing him second on the all-time Mizzou list in the event. In fact, he was just 0.04 shy of the school record, which was 6.70 by Carlos Posey in 1999. Chambers came back and won the 200m dash with a time of 22.05 to complete the impressive double in his first collegiate meet. Freshman high jumper Tim Williams (Waynesville, Mo.) started the day off by winning the event with a personal-best jump of 2.09m (6-10 ¼). The event marked the first collegiate competition for Williams and he bested six other jumpers in the event. Sophomore pole vaulter Heather Green (Jefferson City, Mo.) also got the Tiger women off to a quick start by winning the women's pole vault after clearing 3.70m (12-1 ¾), just shy of her indoor personal-best 3.73m (12-2 ¾).

Senior Chris Holly (Topeka, Kan.) kept things going in the men's weight throw, taking second behind only SIU-Edwardsville's Brian Bishop. Holly measured in at 18.11 (59-5). Bishop won the event with a mark of 21.39m (70-2 ¼). Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, Mo.) took fourth in the event with a throw of 17.25m (56-7 ¼) while senior Tim Opfer (Higginville, Mo.) also turned in a top-five finish with a throw of 16.90m (55-5 ½). Bullinger's mark was a massive personal-best.

Lelsie Farmer (Jefferson City, Mo.), who is the school's record holder in the 400m hurdles, opened her junior season with a 60m hurdles win after clocking in at 9.11 in the finals. She clocked a 9.09 in the preliminary heat, matching her personal-best in the event. Farmer also won the 600-yard run with a time of 1:24.48. Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.) put together a very fast mile run just after Farmer's race as she clocked a personal-best 4:53.84, which was just five seconds shy of Amanda Bales' meet record. It was also just four seconds shy of placing her in the all-time top 10 at Mizzou.

Stacy Swineburg (Camdenton, Mo.) also had a fine meet for the Tiger women, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.74m (5-8 ¾), improving her personal-best by nearly four inches. Freshman Camille Hayes (Indianapolis, Ind.) was second in the high jump at 1.70m (5-7). Swineburg wasn't the only Tiger woman to claim a field event title as Melissa Coil (Clark, Mo.) claimed the weight throw after measuring in at 17.04m (55-11). Laura Greenfield (Liberty, Mo.) was fourth at 15.90m (52-2) in her final throw.

The Tiger men swept the long jump as well, highlighted by sophomore Tucker Bounds (Columbia, Mo.), who measured in at 7.15m (23-5 ½). Freshmen Nic Ford (Centralia, Mo.) and Jeremy Lampley (Ballwin, Mo.) placed second and third with jumps of 6.61m (21-8 ¼) and 6.47m (21-2 ¾), respectively.

The Tiger women and men shined in the 4x400m relays as well. The women won with a time of 3:56.33, giving Farmer her third event title of the day. Lana Mims (Tulsa, Okla.), who won the 400m dash with a time of 57.51, Layne Moore (Emporia, Kan.) and Allyson Brown (Cordova, Tenn.) comprised that relay team. The men, led by Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, Mo.), Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Mark Hughes (Center, Mo.), also took first at 3:19.65.

The sprints corps was impressive in the individual events as well. Mims won the 400m dash with a time of 57.51 and was the only athlete to clock in at under a minute. Teammate Sierra Gant (Wichita, Kan.) won the 60m dash with a personal-best time of 7.74, just ahead of her previous best mark of 7.76. Hughes also won the men's 400m dash after clocking in at 49.02.

Some late-day winners included Corey Jones (Boonville, Mo.) in the shot put after he threw 17.66m (57-11 ¼) while sophomore Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, Mo.) placed second with a throw of 17.46m (57-3 ½). Lampley, who placed third in the long jump, won the triple jump with a distance of 14.20m (46-7 ¼) as well.

The women aslo dominated the shot put, highlighted by freshman Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa, Kan.) as she won the event with a mark of 14.72m (48-3 ½). The Tigers completed the sweep as Katie Evans (Powersville, Mo.) and Jill Rushin (Jackson, Mo.) finished second and third with marks of 14.19m (46-6 ¾) and 14.17m (46-6), respectively.

Mizzou will be back in action next Friday (Jan. 14) as it makes its way to Lawrence, Kan., for a dual with the Kansas Jayhawks. For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com.