FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Tigers saw two more All-American finishes on the final day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships, as senior Jill Rushin and junior Markesh Woodson closed their indoor seasons with a pair of fifth-place finishes on Saturday (March 14). This is the second indoor All-American finish for both Woodson and Rushin, who landed on the podium in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The 14 points collected by Peoples and Rushin was goodfor a 15th-place team finish, the highest placing since 2001 when the women took seventh at the NCAA Championships. This is the second consecutive year that the pair has led the Tigers to a top 20 team finish after they placed 16th last year with a combined 11 points.
"This was an exciting week for Missouri. It's particularly exciting for the two senior women, who bought into the program early and elevated us to a new level. I'm thrilled with Kearsten's national championship, it's something that hasn't been done a lot at Missouri, and hopefully it's a building block for great things in the future. Jill's performance was just remarkable, she's a fighter. She knows how to compete, she works really hard to come in and deliver on that day and that's all we can ever ask," Head Coach Halter said. "With Markesh, it's been a long journey back from his injury last year and it's just spectacular to see him performing out there against the best. Our mindset is always we want to compete against the best at their best, and he's doing that, which is just exciting. Really looking forward to outdoor season, I think we have an even better team outdoor so I'm excited."
Rushin was up first, facing off against one of the most exciting competitions of the weekend in the women's shot put. For the first time in meet history, all eight scorers landed throws over 17-meters, including Rushin who tossed 17.25m (56-7.25) in her sixth and final attempt. She closed the competition in fifth overall, matching her national ranking heading into the This is Rushin's second All-American finish for the indoor shot put, after she took sixth in 2014. She entered this weekend with a lifetime best performance during the regular season, hitting 17.61m (57-9.50) at the SEC Championships, a mark that would have been good for a school record two years ago had it not been for teammate Kearsten Peoples, who joined her in the ring on Saturday.
This was the second competition of the weekend for Peoples, who highlighted day one after becoming the sixth Mizzou Track & Field woman to earn a national championship title, winning the weight throw competition. Entering the meet as the national leader in the event with the No. 7 mark in NCAA history, Peoples hit the winning mark of 22.71m (74-6.25) on her fifth attempt of the afternoon. She bounced back on Saturday for the shot put competition, placing tenth in the field.
Markesh Woodson also landed himself on the podium, placing fifth at the Championships for the second time in his career. Woodson, who had a season's best time of 6.65 heading into the SEC Championships two weeks ago, dropped a new PR and school record at the conference meet, placing second in 6.58. He tied his previous PR mark during Friday's preliminary round at the NCAA Championships, crossing in 6.60 to qualify for Saturday's final. He closed out events for the Tigers with a 6.62 finish, good for fifth overall, a spot ahead of his sixth-place ranking heading into the weekend.
WHAT THE COACHES HAVE TO SAY
Head Coach Brett Halter - "This was an exciting week for Missouri. It's particularly exciting for the two senior women, who bought into the program early and elevated us to a new level. I'm thrilled with Kearsten's national championship, it's something that hasn't been done a lot at Missouri, and hopefully it's a building block for great things in the future. Jill's performance was just remarkable, she's a fighter. She knows how to compete, she works really hard to come in and deliver on that day and that's all we can ever ask. With Markesh, it's been a long journey back from his injury last year and it's just spectacular to see him performing out there against the best. Our mindset is always we want to compete against the best at their best, and he's doing that, which is just exciting. Really looking forward to outdoor season, I think we have an even better team outdoor so I'm excited."
Carjay Lyles, Assistant Coach with the sprints/jumps/hurdles - "Very proud of Markesh. He fought his way back and to go from sitting outside of a national championship qualification three weeks ago to work his way up in the fashion that he has, rising to the occassion every time he steps onto the track, it's been amazing to watch. He's already a leader on the team with his performances and efforts at practices and meets, so this just solidifies what he's capable of. He's one of the best in the country, so now the next step is to get him to be the best. He's healthy and he's confident, and with the set-up that has started during fall training, this is an amazing platform for the outdoor season. And I think that's why he was so elated with his performance here this weekend, because what we've done early in the season has set him up for a long and prosperous outdoor. I'm excited to keep getting Mizzou trucking forward and get us up there with the big dogs."
WHAT THE ATHLETES HAVE TO SAY
Jill Rushin - ""I'm happy. I went out there and did the best I could, it's nice to be First Team All-American again and it was one of the most fun competitions I have ever been a part of. That was one of the best crowds, evenwithUSA's and outdoor nationals I have never been around a crowd like that. And the way everyone was responding to each other, it was a great environment. So that was just awesome, I'm so thankful to everyone who came out and to Kearsten [Peoples] and Coach Halter. Now, indoor is over and I'm just going to take how I did and move into outdoor."
The Tigers now look forward to the outdoor season, set to kick off the week of March 23rd with the Texas Relays (Austin, Tx.) and Vanderbilt Invitational (Nashville, Tenn.). For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.