COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Track & Field is making a quick turnaround this week after a successful season opener in Arkansas, traveling to Gainesville, Florida, for the prestigious Pepsi Florida Relays.  The three-day meet, spanning Thursday (March 31) through Saturday (April 2) boasts one of the elite fields of the early-season.  A group of Tigers will also travel to the east side of the state to compete in Embry-Riddle's Spike Classic in Daytona Beach on Friday (April 1) and Saturday (April 2).    

ABOUT THE MEET - FLORIDA RELAYS
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SEC Network+ Live Broadcast:  Friday (12 - 4::30 p.m. ET)  //  Saturday (2:30 - 7:30 p.m. ET)

This year marks the 73rd annual running of the Florida Relays, hosted by the University of Florida at their James G. Pressly Stadium.  Historically one of the most distinguished fields of the outdoor season for collegiate track and field, this year's competition will not disappoint as some of the top teams in the nation descend upon Gainesville.  Included among their number are nine fellow-SEC programs including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Caroline, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.   

RANKED FIELD (M // W) - Alabama (No. 6 // No. 23), Florida (No. 3 // No. 10), Florida State (-- // No. 14), Georgia (No. 11 // No. 6), Kentucky (-- // No. 9), Louisville (No. 24 // --), Miami (-- // No. 21), Michigan State (-- // No. 20), Mississippi State (-- // No. 11), Penn State (No. 19 // --), South Carolina (No. 10 // --), Virginia (No. 8 // --), Virginia Tech (No. 14 // No. 18)

#MIZTF PREVIEW - FLORIDA RELAYS

• Among the Tigers preparing to take the track in Gainesville this weekend are several school record holders, including the most recent squad of 4x400m relay women - junior Sandrae Farquharson, junior LaQuisha Jackson, senior Jacqueline Obi, and junior Valerie Thames.  The women closed the season opener at Arkansas last weekend with a new top time in Mizzou history, winning the event in 3:38.44.  Jackson, Thames and Farquharson are also three of the four indoor school record holders from this past season.
• Other school record holders set to take the track this week include junior LaQuisha Jackson in the 100m and 200m dashes, and junior Kaitlyn Fischer in the 5000m run.
• Junior Valerie Thames will take to the line for the first time since her personal record (PR) series at the Arkansas Spring Invitational.  Thames broke PR's in both the 100m and 400m hurdles last weekend, earning herself the No. 5 spot on the All-Time Top Ten for the 100m hurdles (13.70) and the No. 2 spot for the 400m hurdles (59.10).
• Kahmari Montgomery will take on both the 100m and 200m dashes on Saturday, one week after he timed through with All-Time Top Ten performances in both events during his season opener.  The freshman is coming off a stellar indoor season, highlighted by one of the top ten performances in the world in the indoor 400m dash.  Joining him on the line for the 100m will be senior Markesh Woodson, who currently owns the No. 4 time in school history for the event (10.18).
• This weekend will mark the 5000m debut for two of the top ten women in Mizzou history for the event, as sophomore Karissa Schweizer and junior Kaitlyn Fischer take on their first distance event of the outdoor season.  Fischer, who opened her season last weekend with a 1500m run, currently ranks No. 10 in school history for the event, while Schweizer sits just in front of her with the ninth-fastest time in school history.  This will also be the season debut of Schweizer, who will double-up with the 1500m run on Friday.
• Saturday will also be the first steeplechase of the year for junior Teylar Adelsberger, senior Sam Dickerson, and junior Marc Dubrick.  Adelsberger and Dickerson both own Top Ten All-Time performances in the women's and men's steeplechase at No. 8 and No. 5, respectively.
• Junior Reinhard Van Zyl and sophomore Alex Pascal return after their 1-2 finish in the javelin at the Spring Invitational.  Van Zyl opened up his Tiger career with the No. 6 performance in school history - 66.30m (217-6).
• The duo of senior Tony Carodine and sophomore John Warren will be back on the runway in the triple and long jumps this weekend after putting down a couple PR performances in Arkansas.  Carodine added some distance to his triple jump best with a winning effort of 15.77m (51-9) while Warren extended his long jump PR to 7.48m (24-6.50).  Warren will go back-to-back in both the long and triple jumps, while Carodine will focus solely on the triple.
• In the women's pole vault, junior Alyssa Applebee will continue looking to move up through the history books.  Her exciting close to the indoor season included a new school record in the event (4.22m // 13-10), and she currently sits third on the outdoor list (4.05m // 13-3.50).  Joining her in the field will be freshman Rayce Albino, who is currently tied for seventh All-Time with her debut finish of 3.70m (12-1.50).

#MIZTF PREVIEW - EMBRY-RIDDLE SPIKES CLASSIC
Live Results

• A group of Tigers will also travel to Daytona Beach this weekend for the Embry-Riddle Classic, held on Friday and Saturday (April 1-2).  Juniors Bailey Hession and Jordan Cook will be the sole athletes on the track during Friday's competition, taking on the 1500m runs.
• In the field, freshmen Gabi Jacobs, Rebecca Keating, Avery Carter, Will Fife, and juniors Tanner Buschmann and Ahren Bohanan will all extend their weekend after first competing at the Florida Relays.
• Other names to look out for at Embry-Riddle include junior Lynnsey Brim (long jump), freshman Bri Gibbs (pole vault), sophomore Luke Darrough (pole vault), senior Nick Sublett (hammer) and junior Danielle Williams (triple jump).

HEAR FROM COACH HALTER
"We're really excited to be back at the Florida Relays.  The meet offers some terrific early-season competition across all of the event areas, and it will serve as a great test for both the men's and women's teams."

#MIZTF LINE-UP
(all times are in ET)