April 14, 2013

Results - Day One

Oxford, Ms. - Personal-record performances continue to drop for the Tigers as SEC Championships in Columbia approach (May 9-12), with a successful weekend at the Ole Miss Invitational.  The athletes battled a long day in the heat and sun to emerge with 14 new PRs and three event wins.

"Another terrific outing with significant improvements," said Head Coach Brett Halter. "It was just another weekend of great effort, and that effort over time is what's going to yield us the kind of results we need.  There were a lot people stepping up in all the different event areas, it was exciting to watch."

In the field events, sophomore Jill Rushin continued her break-out season with a win the discus throw, hitting a PR mark of 49.32m (161-9.75).  This is the second meet thus far this season that Rushin has taken home a first-place finish, with the first coming at the Arkansas Razorback Spring Invitational in the shot put.

"I am very excited about this PR.  It's super close to 50m, which is a goal of mine, and I'm really excited to finally break 160 ft.," Rushin said. "After today I know that I can persevere through a really long, really hot day, and that the training I put in during the fall is really paying off.  Whenever we start tapering in training, and getting ready for the bigger competitions, I know good things are going to happen."

Junior Kyle Wessel also took home a win, finishing out the pole vault competition with a PR of 5.10m (16-8.75).  He will maintain his current position at No. 3 on the All-Time Top Ten List for Missouri History.

The final field event win for the Tigers came from sophomore Jonathan Ilori, who took home the top mark in the men's triple jump with a 15.32m (50-3).

"I'm happy, that was a big win.  I'm happier with the win than the distance.  I know I'm ready to take on the best in the SEC, I'm excited," Ilori said. "I'm really excited with this team, there's a really positive vibe in the group and that really helps to know that your teammates are performing well."

On the track, junior Andy Schuckenbrock continued with his string of PR performances, hitting top lifetime marks in both the 110m and 400m hurdles.  Primarily a 400m hurdles competitor, Schuckenbrock took home a 10th-place finish in the 110m hurdles with a final time of 14.87.  He went on to earn 3rd in his main event, crossing the line in 53.24.  This bests his previous top time from Alabama by 0.5 seconds. 47.95 400m split

"The race went well, I'm dropping my times and am really looking forward to the next couple races," Shuckenbrock said. "I'm really starting to hit my stride this year, putting in a lot of work, and I am really enjoying the benefits I'm reaping now."

Juniors Lauren Flaker and Cara Forte both came out of the long day with PRs in the 200m dash Saturday evening.  Flaker finished 7th overall in 24.30, while Forte was just behind in 24.34 to claim 8th overall. 

"It was really fun to watch what Lauren and Cara did today in the 200m, they have a lot of work to do still with where the bar is set in this league [SEC], but they are really moving in that direction," said Halter.

Freshman Markesh Woodson also hit the track again for the 100m dash, where he lined up against some truly world-class athletes with three athletes ranked in the top 20 in the nation in his heat, including Olympian Isiah Young.  Woodson came out of the stacked event in third, running 10.31 to finish just 0.01 off his season-best thus far.  He is currently holding the No. 13 spot in the nation for the 100m dash.

Rounding out the day for the Tigers were some more break-out performances, this time by the women's distance crew.  The top five finishers for the Tigers crossed in sub-18 to place within the top ten of the field, with three earning new PR times in the process.  Freshman Courtney Brown led the way for the black and gold, holding strong with the front pack to finish fourth overall in 17:05.21, a 26-second PR.  

"It was good, I really wanted to break 17:00, but I'll definitely take the 26 second PR," Brown said. "I knew I had to stay on pace and even though I didn't meet my goal, I know it's not time to slack.  I'm in good shape and I'm excited to get back on the track."

Close behind was freshman Maria Effinger with a 21-second PR of 17:10.58 to finish fifth.  Seventh-place belonged to freshman Sam Garrett, who crossed with a 17:39.89 PR to qualify for the USA Junior National Championships.  Freshman Faith Summey crossed for ninth, and freshman Morgan Nelson hit tenth.

For the combined event athletes, day one of their season-opener in the event was a positive one, as they join in the PR list with 13 lifetime bests spread between the five athletes.  In the women's heptathlon, sophomore Katrine Haarklau took charge from the start with a win in the 100m hurdles in 14.28, a new PR.  She was followed by a PR performance of 15.40 by senior Kelcy Vanarsdall in the same event.

Moving on to the shot put, Haarklau once again took a lead over the competition, throwing a PR of 13.35m (43-9.5) to get there.  Just behind was sophomore Morgan Whitson in second and senior Kelcy Vanarsdall in third.  Sophomore Morgan Whitson ended the day on a positive note. taking home a new PR in the 200m to earn fourth spot in the overall competition after four of the seven events.  Haarklau ends day one in second, and Vanarsdall in eighth.

On the men's side, both Tim Gilman and Ser Whitaker saw event PRs throughout the day, starting with the 100m dash.  Whitaker took first in 10.97, and Gilman ended in eighth with a time of 11.58.  Moving on to the long jump, both men once again earned new PR marks with Whitaker jumping a 6.75m (22-1.75) to finish fourth and Gilman hitting 6.33m (20-9) for eighth.  Whitaker went on to claim fifth in the high jump with a PR mark of 1.87m (6-1.5), third in the shot put with a throw of 12.20m (40-0.25), and third in the 400m dash in 50.29.  Gilman placed second in the long jump with a PR mark of 12.70m (41-8).  Whitaker ends the first half of competition in second, and Gilman in 12th.

Name	Event	Mark		Name	Event	Mark
Courtney Brown	5k	17:05.21		Tim Gilman	Dec. 100m	11.58
					Dec. Long Jump	6.33m (20-9.25)
					Dec. Shot Put	12.70m (41-8)
Maria Effinger	5k	17:10.58		Jon Hughes	800m	1:54.82
Lauren Flaker	200m	24.30		Andy Schuckenbrock	110m Hurdles 400m Hurdles	14.87 53.24
Cara Forte'	200m	24.34		Nick Sublett	Shot Put	15.71m (51-6.5)
Kerri Furbert	Long Jump	5.62m (18-5.25)		Kyle Wessel	Pole Vault	5.10m (16-8.75)
Sam Garrett	5k	17:39.89		Ser Whitaker	Dec. 100m	10.97
Katrine Haarklau	Hep. 110m Hurdles Hep. Shot Put	14.28 5.40m (17-8.5)			Dec. High Jump Dec. Long Jump	1.87m (6-1.50) 6.75m (22-1.75)
Sandra Hampton	Javelin	44.18m (144-11.25)			Dec. Shot Put	12.20m (40-0.50)
Jill Rushin	Discus	49.32m (161-9.75)			Dec. 400m	50.29
Alexa Tovsen	400m Hurdles	1:05.88
Kelcy Vanarsdall	Hep. 110m Hurdles	15.35
Morgan Whitson	Hep. Shot Put Hep. 200m	12.51m (41-0.5) 26.65

Events will continue tomorrow for the heptathletes and decathletes.  For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.