April 13, 2012
Live Results
2012 Tom Botts Final Schedule 
Tom Botts Program 2012
As the 2012 outdoor track & field season draws closer to the championship portion of the schedule, the University of Missouri Men's and Women's Track & Field teams will welcome five programs from throughout the Midwest this weekend to the Tom Botts Invitational. The scored meet will feature squads from DePaul, Illinois, Iowa, Loyola (IL), and Missouri State. Action will get under way at Audrey J. Walton Stadium with field events at 10:00 am with running events scheduled to begin at 12:30 pm.
Teams will be competing with the standard NCAA Championship scoring format of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for finishers first through eighth in individual events, while using the same format in the relays allowing one team per program to score. Live results on Saturday from the Tom Botts Invitational can be followed online at: www.flashresults.com.
The meet is named in honor of Tom Botts, the University of Missouri's legendary coach who led the Tiger tracksters from 1947 to 1972. Botts left an athletic legacy which included the 1965 NCAA Indoor Track Championship, eight Big 8 Conference Titles, ninety- six Conference Champions, five National Champions, and two USA Olympians.
"The Tom Botts Invitational is always a very important weekend for our program. The annual meet allows us to honor and celebrate not only what Coach Botts accomplished with his teams throughout his career at Missouri, but more importantly, the value system by which Coach accomplished so much. Coach was a man of honor, discipline, and integrity," said Missouri Head Coach Brett Halter.
Coming off a great weekend of performances at LSU's "Battle on the Bayou" and the Stanford Invitational, the Tigers look to continue their momentum this weekend. Leading the charge for both the Missouri men and women is a field eventer sitting inside the NCAA's top 5 performers.
On the men's side, NCAA Indoor Championships long jump qualifier Malcom Pennix (South Bend, IN) will look to improve upon his leap of 7.75 meters (23'5.25") at the Texas Relays from earlier in the season. Pennix currently sits 5 th among the NCAA's top performers in the long jump. Joining him in the jumps is the tandem of Jonathon Ilori (United Kingdom) and Jeremy Lampley (Ballwin, MO), each competing in the triple jump. Ilori and Lampley have strong early season marks of 15.02 meters (49'3.5") and 14.99 meters (49'2.5") respectively.
Not to be outdone by their teammate jumpers, the Tiger men will field a deep crew of throwers all assembled within the NCAA's elite. Headlining the group are juniors Brooks Mosier (Lee's Summit, MO) and Jacob Bullinger (Jackson, MO), along with freshman Brian Duncan (Iberia, MO) and MacCauley Garton (Shawnee, KS).
On the track, the Tigers will be led by a pair of past NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifiers in Blake Irwin (Bettendorf, IA) and Kellyn Forgarty (Marshalltown, IA). Irwin is currently 11th in the NCAA in the 800 meters following his 1:48.07 performance last weekend in Baton Rouge. He will compete in the 1500 this weekend for Missouri. Forgarty comes in with a season best of 52.66 in the 400-meter hurdles.
The Tiger women are once again led by standout freshman thrower Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa, KS). Peoples threw a season best of 17.36 meters (56'11.5") in the shot put last time at home in her school record victory at the Missouri Relays. That mark ranks Peoples 3rd in the NCAA coming into this weekend. Close behind her is fellow freshman Jill Rushin (Jackson, MO) who ranks 22 nd nationally with a season best mark of 16.07 meters (52'8.75"). Other Tiger throwers to keep an eye on this weekend include seniors Melissa
Coil (Clark, MO) and Amanda Peiffer (Jackson, MO), juniors Cortni Ervin (Marshall, MO) and Laura Greenfield (Liberty, MO), sophomores Katie Evans (Powersville, MO), Hailey Twietmeyer (Cheney, KS), and Bethany Pfeiffer (Boonville, MO), and freshman Katrine Haarklau (Bergan, Norway).
Missouri senior Leslie Farmer (Jefferson City, MO) will be taking the track for the final time at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on Saturday, as she looks to better her school record time of 58.06 in the 400-meter hurdles. Farmer, an NCAA Final Round qualifier last season, currently ranks 12th in the NCAA with that performance in the event. Making her 2012 outdoor season debut will be junior Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, KS) in the 1500 meters. Roxberg won the 2012 Big 12 Indoor Conference Championship and shattered the Missouri school record in the mile this past winter. Joining Roxberg in the 1500 will be junior Bailey Belvis (Prosper, TX) and freshman Liz Reida (Springfield, MO). Last weekend Reida ran the 3,000 meter steeplechase for the Tigers, qualifying for the USA Junior Outdoor Championships in the event.
Saturday's home meet also serves as Senior Day for Tiger Track & Field athletes graduating this spring. "There could not be a better meet to celebrate our departing University of Missouri Track & Field seniors than the Tom Botts Invitational", says Coach Halter. Those seniors include: Aimee Bonte (Fenton, MO), Ryan Blackwell (Fenton, MO), Melissa Coil, Leslie Farmer, Kinsey Farren (Dallas, TX), Pat Fitzgerald (Eagleville, MO), Kellyn Fogarty, Sierra Gant (Wichita, KS), Phillip King (Columbia, MO), Kevin McKee (Kansas City, MO), Layne Moore (Emporia, KS), Tim Opfer (Higginsville, MO), Michael Pandolfo (Littleton, CO), Amanda Peiffer, Matt Pickerel (Columbia, MO), Kyle Rood (St. Peters MO), Matt Willingham (Cape Girardeau, MO), and Asa Wyatt (Poplar Bluff, MO)
Next week will serve as a busy one for Missouri, as the team splits to travel to a few meets across the country. From Wednesday through Saturday, the Tigers will be visiting Lawrence, KS for the Kansas Relays. Missouri will also again be in action on the west coast as they travel to the Los Angeles area. On Thursday and Friday the Tigers will participate in the Mt SAC Relays, and on Saturday compete in the Long Beach Invite.
Full results and a recap from the Tom Botts Invitational can be found on MUTigers.com following the meet.
For all the latest on Mizzou track and field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MIZ_TrackField