Feb. 25, 2015
Senior Kearsten Peoples
COLUMBIA - Mo. - The indoor championship season is upon Mizzou Track & Field, as they head to Lexington, Ky., this week for the SEC Indoor Championships. The two-day meet, held on Friday and Saturday (February 27 - 28), will feature some of the top teams in the country as the conference leads the NCAA with eight of the top 25-ranked teams in the nation for both the men and women. Events will kick off at the Nutter Fieldhouse at 10 a.m. ET on Friday with junior Ser Whitaker in the men's heptathlon.
THE MEET
Meet Home //Heat Sheets // Live Results // Live Stream - Friday | Saturday
The SEC has, once again, proved itself as the powerhouse conference in the NCAA, entering the conference championship weekend with eight men's and women's teams in the top 25 rankings, as released by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association). Since 1992, the SEC has garnered 32 NCAA indoor team titles, 283 NCAA indoor individual titles, and 16 NCAA Indoor Championship records. In the 2014 season alone, the conference boasted 12 NCAA individual titles and a total of 104 First Team All-American honors.
In the current rankings, released by the USTFCCCA on Monday (February 23), eight SEC teams on both the men's and women's side fell in the top 25 of the NCAA, and five are currently ranked in the top ten.
Included on this list are the Mizzou women, who have had their best season ever in the national rankings, holding a position in the top 25 for five of the six releases this season. They earned a record No. 13 ranking during the second week of competition after senior throwers Kearsten Peoples and Jill Rushin hit a pair of top five marks in the nation for the weigth throw and shot put, respectively.
SEC Teams in the Top 25, Men - 1. Florida // 3. Arkansas // 4. Texas A&M // 6. LSU // 7. Georgia // 11. Alabama // 13. Tennessee // 21. South Carolina
SEC Teams in the Top 25, Women - 1. Arkansas // 2. Georgia // 3. Florida // 7. Texas A&M // 9. Kentucky // 18. Mississippi State // 20. Missouri // 21. LSU
Coverage of the SEC Championships will be streamed live on SEC Network+ on Friday and Saturday. Friday's coverage will go from 3:50 - 9:00 p.m ET, while Saturday's stream will last from 1:50 - 6:30 p.m. ET. A 90-minute highlight show will also be featured on ESPNU on March 9 from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m ET.
RECORD BREAKERS
The Tigers' season thus far has been highlighted by a series of school record performances from senior Kearsten Peoples and sophomore LaQuisha Jackson. Peoples, who entered the season holding the leading position in school history for both the weight throw and shot put, smashed through her previous PR at both the Armory Track Invite (Jan. 30 - 31) and Collegiate Challenge (Feb. 20), hitting one of the top marks in collegiate history.
The excitement began at the end January with the Armory Track Invite in New York City, where Peoples won the competition with the top throw in the NCAA up to that point, 22.15m (72-8). After getting bumped down to the No. 2 spot in the NCAA by Texas A&M's Brea Garrett during the Tyson Invitational (Feb. 13 - 14), Peoples wasted little time in responding, throwing yet another PR the following weekend at the Collegiate Challenge (February 20). The toss, which marked in at 22.84m (74-11.25), not only put her back in the top slot of the leaderboard by nearly two feet, it also moved her into the collegate record books as the No. 7 weight throw performance in NCAA history. Peoples was recognized as the USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week for the performance, the first time a Tiger has earned that honor.
Jackson, who redshirted the 2014 indoor and outdoor seasons after transferring to Mizzou from San Diego State University, smashed through the two-year-old 60m dash school record (7.56) in her Tiger debut, clocking through in 7.44 at the Border Battle. She followed that up with four consecutive record marks in the event, hitting 7.43 and 7.42 during the prelims and finals of the Missouri Invitational and, finally, 7.33 and 7.31 during the prelims and semi-finals at the Armory Track Invite.
Jackson paired her 60m dash record performance at the Armory with a new record in the 200m dash, timing through in 23.90 to place third in the field. The previous record, 24.01, was held by Natasha Kaiser-Brown, an Olympic siver medalist and multiple-time Wold Championships medalist. Jackson nudged that record down again at the Tyson Invitational in Fayettevile, Ark., crossing in 23.58.
ALL-TIME TOP TEN UPDATES
The Tigers have also seen a number of new All-Time Top Ten performances, including 11 from newcomers to the black and gold. Overall, there are 24 current All-Time Top Ten performers who will take to the track during this week's SEC Championship, including junior Markesh Woodson, who holds the school record in the 60m (6.60) and 200m (21.13) dashes.
60m Dash, Men - No. 1 Markesh Woodson, Jr. (6.60) // No. 8 Kwadarrius Smith, Fr. (6.86) // No. 9 Jerrad Mason, Fr. (6.99)
200m Dash, Men - No. 1 Markesh Woodson, Jr. (21.13) // No. 3. Kwadarrius Smith, Fr. (21.44)
400m Dash, Men - No. 7 Jerrad Mason, Fr. (47.98)
Mile Run, Men - No. 2 Will Crocker, Jr. (4:01.34)
3000m Run, Men - No. 10 Dan Roe, So. (8:15.14)
Triple Jump, Men - No. 3 John Warren, Fr. (15.79m / 51-9.75) // No. 4 Jonathan Ilori, Jr. (15.76m / 51-8.5) // No. 5 Tony Carodine, Jr. (15.70m / 51-6.25)
Weight Throw, Men - No. 7 Brian Duncan, Sr. (20.33m / 66-8)
Heptathlon, Men - No. 8 Ser Whitaker, Jr. (5211)
60m Dash, Women - No. 1 LaQuisha Jackson, So. (7.31)
200m Dash, Women - No. 1 LaQuisha Jackson, So. (23.58)
400m Dash, Women - No. 2 LaQuisha Jackson, So. (54.50) // No. 7 Sandrae Farquharson, Jr. (55.77) // No. 10 Ayo Adewole, Jr. (56.28)
Mile Run, Women - No. 5 Karissa Schweizer, Fr. (4:45.02)
3000m Run, Women - No. 4 Karissa Schweizer, Fr. (9:25.31)
5000m Run, Women - No. 7 Kaitlyn Fischer, So. (16:48.00)
60m Hurdles, Women - No. 5 Alyssa Felton, Jr. (8.63)
Pole Vault, Women - No. 2 Alyssa Applebee, So. (4.06m / 13-3.75) // No. 3 Katrine Haarklau, Sr. (4.03m / 13-2.5) // No. 4 Maggie Givens, Sr. (3.97m / 13-0.25)
High Jump, Women - No. 5 Morgan Whitson, Sr. (1.78m / 5-10)
Triple Jump, Women - No. 6 Danielle Williams, So. (11.90m / 39-0.5)
Shot Put, Women - 1. Kearsten Peoples, Sr. (17.81m / 58-5.25) // 2. Jill Rushin, Sr. (17.07m / 56-0)
Weight Throw, Women - 1. Kearsten Peoples, Sr. (22.84m / 74-11.25)
RETURNING ALL-SEC FINISHERS
The black and gold returns seven All-SEC finishers to their roster this season, including SEC Champions Markesh Woodson, Kearsten Peoples, and Jill Rushin. Woodson won the team's first title during the 2013 indoor championships, when he placed first in the 60m dash with a record time of 6.60. Woodson was also the first SEC Freshman of the Year for the Tigers, an honor that would be replicated three times during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Peoples was the next SEC Champion for the Tigers, clinching the win in the shot put during the 2013 Outdoor Championships, hosted by Mizzou. Peoples would go on to earn a second title in the shot put during the 2013 Indoor Championships. Peoples would add an All-SEC finish in the shot put to her resume, bringing her count of conference honors up to five.
Rushin would take the top podium finish for the shot put during the 2014 Outdoor Championship, adding to her four All-SEC finishes.
Other All-SEC returners include junior Jonathan Ilori, who made the podium for the indoor triple jump in 2014, and sophomores Kaitlyn Fischer and Dan Roe, who both earned All-SEC honors during the cross country season. Fischer was one of the two Tiger women to be named SEC Freshman of the Year, with freshman Karissa Schweizer earning the honor this fall.
Events in Lexington, Ky., will begin Friday morning with the men's heptathlon, and will last through Saturday evening. For more information on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
All times are in ET
10:00 a.m. - 60m Dash, Heptathlon (Ser Whitaker)
10:35 a.m. - Long Jump, Heptathlon (Ser Whitaker)
11:50 a.m. - Shot Put, Heptathlon (Ser Whitaker)
1:00 p.m. - High Jump, Heptathlon (Ser Whitaker)
1:00 p.m. - High Jump, Men (Mitch Hatten)
1:00 p.m. - Pole Vaut, Women (Alyssa Applebee // Maggie Givens // Katrine Haarklau)
2:00 p.m. - Weight Throw, Men (Ahren Bohanan // Brian Duncan)
4:00 p.m. - 60m Hurdles, Women (Alyssa Felton)
4:40 p.m. - 60m Dash, Women (LaQuisha Jackson)
5:00 p.m. - Shot Put, Women (Kearsten Peoples // Jill Rushin)
5:00 p.m. - 60m Dash, Men (Kwadarrius Smith // Markesh Woodson)
5:30 p.m. - Mile Run, Women (Liz Reida)
5:50 p.m. - Mile Run, Men (Will Crocker)
6:10 p.m. - 400m Dash, Women (Ayo Adewole // Sandrae Farquharson)
6:30 p.m. - 400m Dash, Men (Jerrad Mason)
7:00 p.m. - 800m Run, Men (Cain Winebrenner)
7:25 p.m. - 200m Dash, Women (LaQuisha Jackson)
7:50 p.m. - 200m Dash, Men (Kwadarrius Smith)
8:15 p.m. - 3000m Run, Women (Teylar Adelsberger // Megan Cunningham // Karissa Schweizer)
8:40 p.m. - 3000m Run, Men (Sam Dickerson // Marc Dubrick // Dan Roe)