May 10, 2013

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Columbia, Mo. - The Tigers saw their first All-SEC finish tonight with senior Max Storms taking third in the men's 10k run.  First up, though, was sophomore Ser Whitaker who continued dropping big performances on day two of the SEC Championships, closing out the decathlon with PR's in eight out of the ten events, and an overall event PR with 7,047 points.  Whitaker moved up from his 5th place finish after day one to end the event 4th overall, bringing five points home for the Tigers. 

Whitaker started day two off much the same as day one, laying down a PR in the 110m hurdles with a 14.87 finish.  He kept up the trend thrugh the discus, ending with a top throw of 37.95m (124-6).  He came back from an 8th place finish in the pole vault to take the win in the javelin, hitting a big PR of 60.18m (197-5).  Whitaker held the momentum through the tenth and final event of the two-day event, finishing out a gutsy 1500m with a PR of 5:02.76.

"I'm just grateful and am thanking God that I get to compete against all these great athletes in the SEC," Whitaker said. "I am just really excited for the future.  There are going to be a lot of big things coming my way if I keep working hard and trusting my coaches."

Joining him on the scoreboard are seniors Cortni Ervin and Megan Collins, who threw season best marks in the hammer throw to take 6th and 8th, respectively.  Collins hit her top mark on the third attempt to move into the finals, holding on to take a point for the black and gold.  Ervin saved the best for last, moving into the finals with her 54.54m (178-11.25) mark before landing her sixth throw at 55.56m (182-4).

The women's heptathlon also saw their final events earlier in the day, with sophomore Morgan Whitson finishing strong with an overall PR of 4,922 points.  En route to her 10th place finish, Whitson laid down a PR in the long jump, hitting 5.50m (18-0.5) before marking PR number two of the day in the javelin.  She overcame her previous PR of 36.89m on two of the three throws, finishing with a top mark of 39.11m (128-3).  She finished out the day with a new outdoor PR in the 800m run, sneaking under her previous top mark of 2:31.98 by 0.39 seconds, crossing in 2:31.59.

The evening session started off the track events, where senior Blake Irwin cruised to a win in his heat of the 800m run prelims.  The 2010 Big 12 Champion in the event will hit the track on Sunday to chase down the title in the SEC.  He was followed by freshman Markesh Woodson, who saw his first 200m dash competition of the year.  He finished in 21.10, three spots shy of making it to Sunday's finals.  He will be back in action tomorrow for his main event: the 100m dash. 

Junior Andy Schuckenbrock came away with a new PR in the 400m hurdles, making this the third time he has bested his previous top mark this season.  Schuckenbrock took 3rd in his heat and was 9th overall in the prelims, just missing out on a spot in the finals by one place.  He crossed in 53.08.

The 10k's were the sole finals of the evening with current Missouri School Record Holder Max Storms, senior, stepping up to the line in his prime event.  A conservative pace for the first part of the race, Storms hung tight to the leaders to come through with a 3rd place finish overall.  

"I thought I ran good, ran hard.  It was a pretty slow pace early on, then Arkansas made a move with about ten laps to go and it kind of yo-yoed from there.  I thought I closed really well the last three laps, but just not enough to get the other two guys," Storms said. "This was good for my confidence, just knowing that I can run negative splits and shift gears with those guys.  It was just cool being my last time at home in the Tiger uniform.  So it was fun running out there, I tried to enjoy it.  It was just a fun race, very special, and a great opportunity."

Events will be in full swing again tomorrow in Walton Stadium, starting at 1:00 p.m. with Macauley Garton continuing his chase for the Missouri School Record in the men's javelin.  Men's long jump will also start off the day, featuring senior Malcolm Pennix.  For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.