Sophomore Kaitlyn Fischer at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
COLUMBIA, Mo. - While the majority of the Mizzou Track & Field team is home this weekend, seventeen members of the mid-distance and distance groups are flying to San Francisco, Calif., to take on two of the top distance meets of the outdoor season - the Stanford Invitational and San Francisco State's Distance Carnival. Both meets will take place on Friday (April 3), with events starting at San Francisco State at 8:30 a.m. PT and Stanford at 5:15 p.m. PT.
STANFORD INVITATIONAL
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Six of the 17 Tigers making the trek out to California will be featured in the 40th running of the prestigious Stanford Invitational on Friday. Featuring 109 colleges and over 3,300 athletes ranging from high school to the professional-level, the meet will serve as the first national-caliber test for the Tigers.
Events at Cobb Track will begin at 12:42 p.m. PT for the black and gold with junior Liz Reida in section five of the 1500m run, followed by senior Courtney Wood in section two of the 3000m steeplechase at 5:15 p.m. PT. Wood has seen some success on the west coast, including an All-Time Top Ten performance in the 5000m run during the 2014 Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. (No. 9, 16:36.55). She currently holds the No. 2 All-Time mark in the steeplechase after she crossed in 10:21.32 during the 2014 SEC Championships.
Also entered in the 3000m steeplechase is junior Sam Dickerson, who enters the men's field as the No. 5 performer All-Time for Mizzou with his 2014 PR, 8:51.74. This will be the first steeplechase for both Wood and Dickerson, who opened their seasons at last week's Black and Gold Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., with the 3000m and 1500m runs, respectively.
The men's 1500m run is next, with junior Will Crocker taking the line for section two at 6:52 p.m. PT. Crocker is coming off an exciting indoor season, which culminated in the second-fastest mile performance in school history after he crossed in 4:01.34 at the Tyson Invitational, narrowly missing the current school record (4:01.16). Crocker and Dickerson both closed their indoor seasons as part of the third-place DMR team at the SEC Championships, earning their first All-SEC honors for the indoor season.
Freshman Karissa Schweizer will make her first appearance in a 5000m run since the cross country season, slated to take on the third section at 7:07 p.m. PT. Schweizer is also entering the season after an exciting indoor season, including Top Ten All-Time performances in both the mile (4:45.02) and 3000m run (9:25.31). The SEC Cross Country Freshman of the Year was also the sole Tiger to qualify for the NCAA Championships during the fall.
Rounding out the evening's events is sophomore Kaitlyn Fischer, who returns to the 10,000m run for the first time since her school record performance at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships (33:12.37). Fischer earned a Second Team All-American honor in the event during her freshman season, and will look to drop that record time down a few more notches as she takes on a world-class field during section one of the event at 8:58 p.m. PT.
TIGERS' SCHEDULE
All times are in Pacific Time
12:42 p.m. - 1500m Run, Women (Liz Reida)
5:15 p.m. - 3000m Steeplechase, Women (Courtney Wood)
5:59 p.m. - 3000m Steeplechase, Men (Sam Dickerson)
6:52 p.m. - 1500m Run, Men (Will Crocker)
7:07 p.m. - 5000m Run, Women (Karissa Schweizer)
8:58 p.m. - 10,000m Run, Women (Kaitlyn Fischer)
SF STATE DISTANCE CARNIVAL
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The day will begin, though, at San Francisco State's Distance Carnival, starting at 8:30 a.m. PT with junior Courtney Brown in the first section of the 10,000m run. Next up will be sophomore Ben Goodman, who will take on the 1500m run for the first time as a Tiger.
Sophomore Teylar Adelsberger will make her first appearance in the 3000m steeplechase since her No. 7 All-Time performance (10:51.91) at the 2014 SEC Outdoor Championships, while freshman Sheldon Keence will make his Tiger debut in the event.
Sophomore Cain Winebrenner will re-take the line in the 800m run after his winning performance at the Black and Gold Invitational last weekend, where he clocked through with a new PR of 1:51.83.
A series of 5000m runs will round out the day's events at San Francisco State, starting with sophomore Megan Cunningham in section one of the women's field and sophomores Dan Roe and Tyler Schneider in section one of the men's. Sophomore Jordan Cook and freshman Marc Dubrick will follow in the second section, while sophomore Drew White will close the day in the third section.
Schneider is currently the only one out of the five men to hold a spot on the All-Time Top Ten list for the event after he ran the fourth-fastest time in school history in the event at the 2014 Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. (14:08.11).
TIGERS' SCHEDULE
All times are in Pacific Time
8:30 a.m. - 10,000m Run, Women (Courtney Brown)
12:30 p.m. - 1500m Run, Men (Ben Goodman)
1:10 p.m. - 3000m Steeplechase, Women (Teylar Adelsberger)
1:39 p.m. - 3000m Steeplechase, Men (Sheldon Keence)
2:43 p.m. - 800m Run, Men (Cain Winebrenner)
3:13 p.m. - 5000m Run, Women (Megan Cunningham)
3:32 p.m. - 5000m Run, Men (Dan Roe // Tyler Schneider)
4:07 p.m. - 5000m Run, Men (Jordan Cook // Marc Dubrick)
4:42 p.m. - 5000m Run, Men (Drew White)
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