TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Mizzou Track & Field is kicking off the championship portion of the outdoor season this week, as they travel down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the 2016 SEC Championships. Starting Thursday (May 12) morning, the Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium will play host to the most competitive conference in the NCAA with nine of the top 25 men's teams in the country, and ten of the top 25 women's teams, according to the latest USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association).
MEET INFORMATION
Meet Home // Meet Schedule // Heat Sheets // Live Results
Events will be streamed live on SEC Network+ (via WatchESPN) on Friday and Saturday, with a highlight show airing on ESPN2 on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. CT. Coverage will start at 6:25 p.m. CT on Friday and 2:55 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The SEC in the USTFCCCA Top 25 (Men): No. 1 Texas A&M // No. 2 Florida // No. 3 LSU // No. 4 Arkansas // No. 6 Georgia // No. 9 Alabama // No. 13 Mississippi State // No. 22 South Carolina
The SEC in the USTFCCCA Top 25 (Women): No. 1 Kentucky // No. 2 Arkansas // No. 6 Florida // No. 7 LSU // No. 10 Texas A&M // No. 11 Georgia // No. 13 Tennessee // No. 16 Mississippi State // No. 24 Auburn // No. 25 Ole Miss
#MIZTF NOTES
- The week's events will kick off on Thursday morning with the combined events competition, where senior Ser Whitaker will take on his final decathlon as a Tiger.
- The Tigers enter the championship weekend with nine top-five individual rankings.
- Freshman Kahmari Montgomery is the sole SEC Champion returning from the indoor season, after he hit a top-ten world ranking in the 400m dash (45.78). He currently ranks tenth in the conference for the outdoor 400m with his 46.00 PR, the No. 2 time in Mizzou history.
- Senior Markesh Woodson is set to take the blocks for his final conference championship. He is set to take the 100m dash field ranked third with his newest PR of 10.13. Woodson has earned one SEC title (60m dash) and three All-SEC finishes (100m) throughout the last four years.
- Sophomore Karissa Schweizer holds a pair of top-five rankings in the conference, entering the week at No. 3 for the 1500m run and No. 2 for the 5000m. Schweizer currently holds the second-fastest time in school history for the 1500m with her 4:17.46 PR from the John McDonnell Invitational. Her 15:58.09 crossing from the Mt. SAC Relays is the third-fastest time in school history.
- Senior Sam Dickerson ranks fourth in the conference for the 3000m steeplechase, after he ran just off his PR time with an 8:53.83 finish.
- In the women's 3000m steeplechase, junior Teylar Adelsberger holds the fourth-fastest time in the conference this season after she dropped 39-seconds off her previous PR throughout the season. Her current PR of 10:12.39 is the second-fastest time in Mizzou history.
- This week marks the return of freshman Matthew Ludwig after his school record performance in the pole vault at the Memphis Tiger Invitational two weeks ago. Ludwig is ranked third in the conference with that 5.46m (17-11) bar.
- A pair of Tiger men sit within the top five of the men's javelin rankings. Junior newcomer Reinhard Van Zyl leads the duo with his third-ranked toss of 74.54m (244-7), followed by sophomore Alex Pascal at No. 5 (73.52m // 241-2).
- Other events to look out for include the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays, as the Tigers continue to rewrite the record books in the sprint events. So far this season, the Tiger women have ran to two 4x100m and three 4x400m records.
- This week marks the final opportunity for qualification into the NCAA Championships West Preliminary Round. The Tigers already have 31 athletes set to move on into the first round of national championship competition, hosted in Lawrence, Kansas, on May 26-28.
HEAR FROM COACH HALTER...
"We are excited for the post-season. The team has prepared well all year and, more importantly, they have been tenacious competitors on the track and in the field. We are looking forward to what the terrific competition this weekend will bring us. Alabama, Coach Waters and his staff have done an amazing job in their preparations for hosting this event, no details have been missed. This is truly a championship venue to match the level of competition on the track this weekend, and we are very appreciative of their efforts."
| #MIZTF LINE-UP - THURSDAY | ||
| 10:30 a.m. | Dec. - 100m Dash | Ser Whitaker |
| 11:15 a.m. | Dec. - Long Jump | Ser Whitaker |
| 12:30 p.m. | Dec. - Shot Put | Ser Whitaker |
| 1:00 p.m. | 800m Run, Women | Valeska Halamicek |
| 1:20 p.m. | 800m Run, Men | Mark Sheridan |
| 1:30 p.m. | Dec. - High Jump | Ser Whitaker |
| 1:40 p.m. | 200m Dash, Women | Maya Cody // LaQuisha Jackson // Jacqueline Obi |
| 2:05 p.m | 200m Dash, Men | Niager Mathis // Kahmari Montgomery // Markesh Woodson |
| 2:30 p.m. | 400m Hurdles, Women | Valerie Thames |
| 3:50 p.m. | Dec. - 400m Dash | Ser Whitaker |
| 4:00 p.m. | Hammer, Women | Rebecca Keating |
| 7:00 p.m. | Hammer, Men | Ahren Bohanan // Nick Sublett |
| 9:30 p.m. | 10,000m Run, Women | Ellyn Atkinson // Kaitlyn Fischer // Jamie Kempfer |
| 10:10 p.m. | 10,000m Run, Men | Ollie Lockley // Dan Roe // Drew White |
| #MIZTF LINE-UP - FRIDAY | ||
| 12:00 p.m. | Dec. - 110m Hurdles | Ser Whitaker |
| 12:45 p.m. | Dec. - Discus | Ser Whitaker |
| 2:00 p.m. | Long Jump, Women | Lynnsey Brim |
| 2:45 p.m. | Dec. - Pole Vault | Ser Whitaker |
| 3:05 p.m. | Shot Put, Men | Will Fife |
| 5:45 p.m. | Dec. - Javelin | Ser Whitaker |
| 6:30 p.m. | Long Jump, Men | Tony Carodine // John Warren |
| 6:30 p.m. | 100m Hurdles, Women | Alyssa Felton // Valerie Thames |
| 6:50 p.m. | 110m Hurdles, Men | Charles Graham, Jr. |
| 7:10 p.m. | 1500m Run, Women | Karissa Schweizer |
| 7:30 p.m. | 1500m Run, Men | Will Crocker // Thomas George // Luca Russo |
| 7:30 p.m. | Shot Put, Women | Gabi Jacobs |
| 7:50 p.m. | Dec. - 1500m Run | Ser Whitaker |
| 7:55 p.m. | 400m Dash, Women | Ayo Adewole // Maya Cody // Sandrae Farquharson // Sydney Wells |
| 8:20 p.m. | 400m Dash, Men | Kahmari Montgomery |
| 8:35 p.m. | Javelin, Men | Alex Pascal // Reinhard Van Zyl |
| 8:45 p.m. | 100m Dash, Women | Alyssa Felton // LaQuisha Jackson |
| 9:10 p.m. | 100m Dash, Men | Niager Mathis // Markesh Woodson |
| 9:35 p.m. | 3000m Steeplechase, Women | Teylar Adelsberger |
| 9:55 p.m. | 3000m Steeplechase, Men | Sam Dickerson // Marc Dubrick // Sheldon Keence |
| #MIZTF LINE-UP - SATURDAY | ||
| 11:00 a.m. | High Jump, Women | Karissa Roman |
| 11:30 a.m. | Discus, Women | Gabi Jacobs |
| 11:35 a.m. | Triple Jump, Women | Danielle Williams |
| 11:40 a.m. | Pole Vault, Men | Matthew Ludwig |
| 3:35 p.m. | Pole Vault, Women | Rayce Albino // Alyssa Applebee |
| 3:40 p.m. | Triple Jump, Men | Tony Carodine // John Warren |
| 3:45 p.m. | Discus, Men | Tanner Buschmann |
| 5:40 p.m. | 5000m Run, Women | Teylar Adelsberger // Ellyn Atkinson // Kaitlyn Fischer // Jamie Kempfer // Nicole Mello // Karissa Schweizer // Kate Smith |
| 6:00 p.m. | 5000m Run, Men | Jordan Cook // Will Crocker // Sam Dickerson // Marc Dubrick // Ollie Lockley // Dan Roe // Drew White |