Missouri
NCAA Championships West Preliminary Round
@MIZ_TrackField Qualifies 14 Into the NCAA Championships
5/28/2016 9:45:00 PM | Track & Field
Lawrence, Kan. – Mizzou Track & Field continued making history on Saturday (May 28), closing the NCAA West Preliminary Round with 14 qualifiers into the NCAA Championship meet in Eugene, Oregon, on June 8-11. Among the highlights out of the weekend were personal records and new All-Time Top Ten marks from sophomore John Warren and seniors Danielle Williams, Alyssa Felton and Tony Carodine, and a new women's 4x400m relay school record.
The women's 4x100m was first up on the track, with freshman Maya Cody, senior Alyssa Felton and juniors LaQuisha Jackson and Sandrae Farquharson becoming the first women's relay since 1984 to make it on to the NCAA Championships. In fact, the squad is only the second women's relay in program history to move on to the outdoor national championship meet. They follow the 1984 4x100m squad of Kellee Eubanks, Lanita Little, Rose Jackson and Rufina Ubah, who placed eighth in 45.83.
The men's 4x100m followed the women on the track. The squad of senior Markesh Woodson, freshman Kahmari Montgomery, and sophomores Niager Mathis and Jonathan Holder just missed out on qualification into the NCAA Championships with their 15th place crossing (40.09).
Senior Will Crocker was on the line next in the 1500m run, crossing in 16th with a final time of 3:44.83.
Junior Valerie Thames started the string of qualifications back up during the women's 100m hurdles. This was the second competition for Thames, who had just missed qualification during Friday's 400m hurdles. She wasn't about to let another opportunity go, though, and cruised through with a ninth place finish in 13.21 to move on to Eugene.
Joining Thames in the 100m hurdles competition was junior Alyssa Felton, who returned to the track after qualifying for NCAA's with the women's 4x100m. Her 13.49 crossing was good for 20th in the field and a new No. 3 All-Time Top Ten mark, dipping beneath her previous PR by 0.11-seconds.
Also returning to the blocks after the 4x100m was junior LaQuisha Jackson, who placed 27th in the 200m dash (23.78).
Sophomore Karissa Schweizer rounded out the weekend's individual events, solidifying her spot at Eugene in the 5000m run. Faced with the field's conservative pace up until the final mile, Schweizer was able to respond well when the front pack began to make its move. A strong final 300m put her in fifth for heat two in 16:20.79, good for an automatic qualification into the final in Eugene.
Events on the track closed in much the same way as they opened, as freshman Maya Cody and juniors Valerie Thames, LaQuisha Jackson and Sandrae Farquharson became the first women's 4x400m team in program history to advance into the NCAA Championships. Their school record time of 3:34.10 was good for tenth in the field and the first time qualification out of the west prelim.
The Tigers also saw a lot of success out of the field events, starting with the men's triple jump. Sophomore John Warren returned to the runway after the long jump on Friday, hitting a new PR on his first attempt (16.27m // 53-4.50) to move into the lead. That jump, good for third in the field, also moves him up to No. 2 on the Mizzou All-Time Top Ten.
Senior Tony Carodine also had a PR en route to his qualification into the NCAA Championships. A four-time NCAA Preliminary Round qualifier but first-time qualifier into Eugene, Carodine lengthened his previous best by over a foot to land at 16.14m (52-11.50), the No. 4 mark in Mizzou history.
Senior Danielle Williams also highlighted the field events with a PR performance. She closed her Mizzou career with a new No. 2 All-Time Top Ten mark in the triple jump, marking in at 12.51m (41-0.50) to take 28th in the field.
#MIZTF FRIDAY RECAP
- Markesh Woodson earned the Tigers' first qualification into Eugene, taking third in the 100m dash field with a crossing of 10.22. This is the third NCAA Championship meet for the senior, and he will enter the meet with two All-American honors already to his name after taking tenth in the championship field in 2013 and 13th in 2015.
- The men's and women's 400m dashes continued the streak of qualifications, with junior Sandrae Farquharson notching her first NCAA Championships qualification with a 53.80 finish, good for tenth in the field.
- Freshman Kahmari Montgomery was up next, breezing to a heat win to get his automatic qualification in 45.95. This will be Montgomery's second NCAA experience this year, after he qualified for the 400m dash during the indoor season. He will enter the meet with the SEC title in the event and one of the fastest times in the world this season (45.13).
- The field event competitions also saw a series of qualifiers into the national championship meet starting with Matthew Ludwig. The freshman secured an extension to his stellar season, cruising through the pole vault competition to finish first in the field with a top bar of 5.38m (17-7.75). Ludwig entered the competition with the school record (5.46m // 17-11) from the Memphis Invitational last month and an All-SEC finish two weeks ago.
- Junior Reinhard Van Zyl was next up in the field events, warming up for the third flight of the men's javelin only to have to wait for three hours due to inclement weather. He was able to respond after his first two throws put him in 22nd in the field, hitting 68.27m (223-11) to take the final spot into Eugene.
- Finally, junior Alyssa Applebee earned her first NCAA Championship qualification after a second-place finish in the pole vault competition. Her final bar of 4.22m (13-10) tied her lifetime best, and is a new No. 2 mark in school history.
HEAR FROM COACH HALTER
"I think the team just continued with what we've been doing all year. We're just out here competing, and with those great competitive efforts come great results. We hit on a high percentage, I think we're sending about half the group here on to Eugene. You know, in baseball if you're hitting .500 in baseball you're pretty excited, so we're just really proud. A lot of extraordinary things happening and we are really excited for these next couple weeks with this group. Everybody is on equal turf when we get to Eugene, so it's just about competing again and seeing how things shake out."
The Tigers now look forward to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 8-11. For the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.
#MIZTF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
Markesh Woodson – 100m dash
Kahmari Montgomery – 400m Dash
Matthew Ludwig – Pole Vault
Tony Carodine – Triple Jump
John Warren – Triple Jump
Reinhard Van Zyl – Javelin
Ser Whitaker – Decathlon
Sandrae Farquharson – 400m Dash
Karissa Schweizer – 5000m Run
Valerie Thames – 100m Hurdles
Maya Cody, Alyssa Felton, LaQuisha Jackson, Sandrae Farquharson – 4x100m
Maya Cody, Valerie Thames, LaQuisha Jackson, Sandrae Farquharson – 4x400m
Alyssa Applebee – Pole Vault
#MIZTF RESULTS – SATURDAY
Triple Jump, Women – 28. Danielle Williams, 12.51m (41-0.50) PR #2
Triple Jump, Men – 3. John Warren, 16.27m (53-4.50) Q #2 // 5. Tony Carodine, 16.14m (52-11.50) Q #4
200m Dash, Women – 27. LaQuisha Jackson, 23.78
1500m Run, Men – 16. Will Crocker, 3:44.83
5000m Run, Women – 8. Karissa Schweizer, 16:20.79 Q
100m Hurdles, Women – 9. Valerie Thames, 13.21 Q // 20. Alyssa Felton, 13.49 PR #3
4x100m, Women – 7. (Cody, Felton, Jackson, Farquharson), 44.60 Q
4x100m, Men – 15. (Woodson, Montgomery, Mathis, Holder), 40.09
4x400m, Women – 10. (Cody, Thames, Jackson, Farquharson), 3:34.10 Q SR
#MIZTF RESULTS – FRIDAY
100m Dash, Women – 20. LaQuisha Jackson, 11.63
100m Dash, Men – 3. Markesh Woodson, 10.22 Q
400m Dash, Women – 10. Sandrae Farquharson, 53.80 q // 39. Maya Cody, 55.85
400m Dash, Men – 3. Kahmari Montgomery, 45.95 Q
800m Run, Women – 38. Valeska Halamicek, 2:11.94
10k Run, Women – 15. Kaitlyn Fischer, 34:54.83
10k Run, Men – 37. Ollie Lockley, 30:52.69
400m Hurdles, Women – 18. Valerie Thames, 58.73
3000m Steeplechase, Women – 39. Teylar Adelsberger, 10:57.69
3000m Steeplechase, Men – 38. Sam Dickerson, 9:21.07
Long Jump, Women – Lynnsey Brim, 5.49m (18-0.25)
Long Jump, Men – 26. John Warren, 7.28m (23-10.75)
Pole Vault, Women – 3. Alyssa Applebee, 4.22m (13-10) Q PR #2 // 20. Rayce Albino, 3.82m (12-6.25)
Pole Vault, Men – 1. Matthew Ludwig, 5.38m (17-7.75) Q
Discus, Women – Gabi Jacobs, F
Javelin, Men – 12. Reinhard Van Zyl, 68.27m (223-11) Q
Players Mentioned
