April 29, 2014

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Junior Kearsten Peoples was recognized as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, making her the first Tiger track & field woman to be recognized by the SEC Office in their weekly awards. 

The honor came after a historic week for Peoples, which began with a new Missouri School Record in the discus at the Emporia State Mid-Week Open.  She won the event with a top mark of 57.31m (188-0.5), surpassing her own record mark of 55.60m (182-5) from 2012.  She now sits at No. 3 in the NCAA for the event, and No. 2 in the SEC.

Peoples went on to hit a nation-leading mark in the shot put two days later, placing third in an elite field of top-ranked collegiate and professional athletes.  Her best toss of 17.90m (58-8.75) puts her at No. 10 in the world, according to the IAAF (International Association of Athletic Federations).

This release arrived on an already exciting day for the Mizzou Track & Field women, as they reached their highest in-season ranking ever at No. 13 in the nation, as announced by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) on Tuesday morning.  Both teams now look forward to their final meet of the regular season, the Tom Botts Invitational at home in Columbia on Saturday, May 3rd.  

For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.