April 29, 2014

Kearsten Peoples  |  Photo by Clayton Hotze

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The women's track & field team continued their historic climb in the national rankings on Tuesday, jumping ten spots to come in at No. 13, as released by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country).  This is the highest ranking for the Tigers since the weekly releases began in 2008, making this week the third time this season that the women have surpassed their top rankings over the past seven years.  They began at No. 27 in the pre-season release and moved into the No. 23 spot for the second and third week of the season.

The Tigers are one of eight teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to make the Top 25 list, as the conference continues to top the national rankings, claiming six of the top ten spots.

This release comes after an exciting week of performances for the women, highlighted by the nation-leading shot put mark from junior Kearsten Peoples.  She finished third in a stacked field at the Triton Invitational (San Diego, Calif.) with her top throw of 17.90m (58-8.75), the No. 10 throw in the world so far this year, as released by the IAAF (International Association of Athletic Federations).

Peoples also eclipsed her own Missouri School Record in the discus, winning the event at the Emporia State Mid-Week Open on Wednesday with a toss of 57.31m (188-0.5).  She now ranks at No. 2 in the SEC and No. 3 in the NCAA.

This is the second nation-leading performance the Tigers have seen this season, as junior Jill Rushin topped the rankings for a time after her personal record (PR) throw of 17.45m (57-3) at the Missouri Relays.  She now sits at No. 4 in the NCAA, and No. 16 in the world with that mark.

Senior Katie Evans also came out of the weekend with a string of PR's, starting at the ESU Mid-Week Open where she entered the Missouri All-Time Top Ten lists for the first time in the shot put (15.27m/50-1.25) and discus (49.84m/163-6.5).  She closed the week with another PR out of the Triton Invitational, finishing with a 15.41m (50-6.75) in the shot put.

The teams have their final regular season this weekend at home with the Tom Botts Invitational, which will serve as a dual meet against the Wisconsin Badgers.  For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.

USTFCCCA Women's National Team Rankings - Full Release
1.  Texas
2.  Florida
3.  Texas A&M
4.  Oregon
5.  Georgia
6.  Kentucky
7.  LSU
8.  Southern California
9.  Arkansas
10.  Florida State
11.  Arizona
12.  Mississippi State
13.  Missouri
14.  San Diego State
15.  Baylor
16.  Virginia Tech
17.  Kansas
18.  Penn State
19.  NC State
20.  Michigan
21.  Washington
22.  Western Kentucky
23.  Arizona State
24.  Stanford
25.  Texas Tech