@MIZ_TrackField Hosts Tom Botts Invitational

Friday, April 14

Columbia, Mo.

University of Missouri

Tom Botts Invitational

4/13/2017 9:05:00 PM | Track & Field

The Tigers return home for the 20th anniversary of the annual meet

TOM BOTTS INVITATIONAL
MEET	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	MEDIA
Tom Botts Invitational Meet Notes	Columbia, Mo.	April 14-15 Meet Schedule	Friday - 4:30 p.m. CT Saturday - 11:30 a.m. CT	Live Results Heat Sheets

Mizzou Hosts Tom Botts Invitational

After spending the first two weekends of the outdoor season on the road, Mizzou Track & Field returns home to host the Tom Botts Invitational, April 14-15 at the Audrey J. Walton Track & Field Stadium. This season's meet marks the 20th anniversary of the annual meet, after the first meet was held in 1997.
The meet is named after former Mizzou head coach Tom Botts, who led the Tigers from 1947-72. Under Botts guidance, 96 Tigers won conference individual titles, 23 earned All-America status, five won NCAA individual national championships and two went on to become U.S. Olympians. Botts' Tigers achieved much success as a team as well, as Mizzou captured eight conference team titles and the 1965 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship with Botts at the helm, the last NCAA team title in Mizzou history. For all of his achievements in the sport of track & field, Botts was inducted into the state of Missouri Hall of Fame (1977), the Drake Relays Hall of Fame (1979), the National Track & Field Hall of Fame (1983) and the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Hall of Fame (1990).
Historically, Mizzou has predominately preformed very well in front of its home crowd at the Tom Botts Invitational. In 18 runnings of the meet, Mizzou has claimed the Most Outstanding Performer Award nine times on the men's side and eight times on the women's side. After a rare drought last season where no Tiger won the award last year, Mizzou will look to reclaim its spot atop the meet. In 2015, Mizzou swept the award with Macauley Garton winning the men's award and Kearsten Peoples winning the award for the women.
Mizzou is coming off the Crimson Tide Invite in Tuscaloosa, where the Tiger posted five top-10 program marks, including No. 2 marks from junior Karissa Schweizer in the 1500m run and the women's 4x100m relay team of sophomore Maya Cody, senior LaQuisha Jackson, redshirt sophomore Tsai-Anne Joseph and senior Sandrae Farquharson.

Five Top-10 Marks Set at Crimson Tide Invite

Five Tigers set top-10 program marks were set at the Crimson Tide Invite, including two No. 2 marks from junior Karissa Schweizer in the 1500m run and the women's 4x100m relay team of sophomore Maya Cody, senior LaQuisha Jackson, redshirt sophomore Tsai-Anne Joseph and senior Sandrae Farquharson.
Schweizer finished second in the 1500m run with a personal record time of 4:15.77, improving from her previous best mark of 4:17.47. Her time still ranks second in program history on the list of 1500m outdoor times and currently ranks eighth in the nation this season.
In the women's 4x100m relay, Mizzou crossed the finish line with a time of 45.00, a mark that only trails last season's time of 44.54 in program history. The relay squad of Cody, Jackson, Joseph and Farquharson finished third in the event, finishing behind two Alabama teams.
Cody set a top-10 program mark of her own, finishing fourth in the 100m dash with a personal record time of 11.72. The sub-12 second time now ranks fifth in program history, as the Tiger sophomore passes six-time Mizzou All-American and current Associate Head Coach Natasha Brown's (formerly Natasha Kaiser) time of 11.75 on the top-10 list.
Two top-10 marks were set in field events as redshirt senior Mollie Gribbin (Montpelier, Vt.) set the third-longest triple jump with a mark of 12.46m (40-10.5) and freshman Emily Stauffer the 10th-farthest shot put throw at 15.17m (49-9.25). Even though Gribbin posted the third-best triple jump in Mizzou history, she was still short of her personal record mark of 13.04m (42-9.5), set in 2015 while a member of the Nebraska Track & Field team.

Schweizer and Kempfer Set School Records

Junior Karissa Schweizer and redshirt sophomore Jamie Kempfer each set school records at the Stanford Invitational on March 31, as Schweizer set the 5000m mark and Kempfer the 10,000m record.
Both competing in marquee invitational heats, Schweizer finished second with a time of 15:39.75, while Kempfer finished eighth with a time of 33:09.67.
Schweizer, who now holds both the indoor and outdoor 5000m school records, surpasses Sabrina Dornhoefer's 1985 5K outdoor mark of 15:42.22.
Kempfer passed teammate senior Kaitlyn Fischer (Pevely, Mo.) to earn the top-spot in program history at 10,000m. Fischer posted a time of 33:12.37 at the 2014 NCAA Championships.

Van Zyl Finishes Runner-Up in Javelin

In the second day of competition at the Texas Relays, senior Reinhard Van Zyl shined for the Black & Gold, finishing second in the javelin.
After narrowly making the javelin finals, Van Zyl saved his best mark for his final throw, as the Tiger senior unleashed a throw of 73.13m (239-11) to place second.
The throw was just under two meters short of Van Zyl's personal record mark of 75.91m (249-0).

Jacobs Records National Top-10 Mark in Discus

Redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs made her mark in the discus at the Bobcat Invitational on March 30, recording a top-10 national mark in the discus. Jacobs recorded a personal-record and first place finish in the at the meet in San Marcos, Texas, posting a throw of 55.69m (182-8) The mark currently ranks 10th among all outdoor discus marks this season.
The Tiger sophomore's throw was the second time this season she has recorded a PR after she opened the outdoor season with a mark of 54.15m (177-7.75) at the CMU Open on March 18.
Jacobs' mark also ranks second all-time in outdoor program history, trailing only Kearsten Peoples' 2014 mark of 57.31m (188-0).

Thames' Quick Start

Senior Valerie Thames opened her 2017 outdoor season by qualifying for the finals in both the 100m and 400m hurdles at the Texas Relays.
The Tiger senior opened the meet by posting a time of 58.83 in the preliminary round 400m hurdles on Friday, the first day of competition at the Texas Relays. Thames went on the finish ninth in the finals of the event on the second day of action, checking in with a time of 1:00.63.
Also on the second day of competition, Thames would qualify for the 100m hurdles after finishing with a time of 13.46 in the prelims. She would end up finishing seventh in the finals heat with a time of 13.61.
Thames is the current school record holder in both the 100m and 400m hurdles, clocking in times of 13.18 and 57.16, respectively. Both performances came last season at the 2016 SEC Outdoor Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Ward Makes Highly Anticipated Tiger Debut

Freshman Ja'Mari Ward, one of Mizzou's highest-ranked recruits in recent history, made his Tiger debut at the Bobcat Invitational and Texas Relays.
Ward, a highly touted jumping recruit, made his debut in the Black & Gold in a sprints event, the 100m dash at the Bobcat Invitational on March 31. Ward did not disappoint, clocking a time of 10.56, the 10th-fastest outdoor 100m dash time in program history.
After an impressive performance in San Marcos, the Tiger freshman returned to his comfort zone at the Texas Relays, competing in the long jump. Using a half approach, Ward posted a 10th place finish with a jump of 7.44m (24-5). It won't be long before Ward enters the top-10 list, as his mark is only four inches short of the 10th-longest outdoor long jump mark in program history, 7.54m (24-9).
After winning four Illinois state titles in the long and triple jump at Cahokia High School, Ward went on to finish first in the long jump at the 2016 USATF Junior National Outdoor Track & Field Championships and sixth at the 2006 IAAF World U20 Championship.
Ward's top high school marks in the long jump and triple jump are 26-1.5 and 53-7.5, respectively.

Lockley and Keence Get on the Top-10 Board

Senior Ollie Lockley and redshirt junior Sheldon Keence each opened their outdoor season on a high note, posting top-10 times at the San Francisco Distance Carnival on March 31.
Lockley joined Mizzou history in the 10,000m run, posting the third-fastest time in school history at 29:24.18, while Keence set the eighth-fastest 3000m steeplechase time at 8:55.29.

Tiger Sweep Throws Events at CMU Open

Nine Mizzou throwers competed in the Central Methodist Open on March 18, with the Tigers sweeping first place finishes in all eight throwing events.
Highlighting the day for the Tigers was redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs, who produced a throw of 54.15 (177-7.75) to record a first place finish in the discus She also competed in the shot put, posting a first place throw of 14.51m (47-7.25).
Also recording first place finishes for the women was redshirt senior Jennifer Berilla in the javelin and freshman Emily Stauffer in the hammer throw. Berilla recorded a throw of 38.64m (126-9.25), while Stauffer a throw of 47.56m (156-0.25).
For the men, redshirt senior Ahren Bohanan recorded a personal record throw in the hammer throw with a mark of 60.89, (199-9.25), finishing first in the event. Redshirt sophomore Will Fife finished first in the discus throw and shot put with throws of 46.45m (152-4.5) and 15.98m (52-5), respectively, while redshirt junior Alex Pascal placed first in the javelin throw with a mark of 59.30m (194-6.5)
Making their Tiger debuts at the open was Stauffer and freshman Allie Webb. In addition to the first place finish in the hammer throw, Stauffer finished second in the shot put, while Webb finished third in the javelin throw and fourth in the hammer throw.