SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Mizzou Track & Field junior Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) punched her ticket to Eugene for the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday on the second day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary. Jacobs placed fifth with a throw of 57.28m (187-11).
Redshirt senior Jerrad Mason (Bridgetown, Barbados) set a personal best in the 400 meter hurdles for the second day in a row, as he crossed the finish line with a time of 50.97. Mason maintains his position in third on the program's top-10 list. His time placed 16th overall, falling just short of qualifying for Eugene.
NOTABLE TIGERS
Jacobs finished in fifth place in Friday's competition, battling for top marks against her competitors in the third flight. Her throw of 57.28m was her second highest performance of the season, just behind the personal-best she set at Mizzou's home meet, the Tom Botts Invitational. Jacobs advances to Eugene for the second straight season and is coming off of a first-place finish at the SEC Championships (May 12), where she won her second straight SEC title. Last year, Jacobs place fifth in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn her first All-America honor.
Mason ran with the pack for the entirety of the race, crossing the line less than a second behind the rest of the heat. His new personal best marks the fifth straight race in-a-row in which he decreased his time. He marked a 0.2 second improvement from yesterday's performance of 51.17 seconds. Mason completes a successful senior season, with 5 top-10 finishes and a new personal best. Mason improves to third on the program's 400m hurdles top-10 performance list, as he passed Dean Fogarty's 1980 time of 51.17.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will continue with competition tomorrow at the NCAA West Preliminary. Five Tigers are scheduled to compete Saturday, starting first with junior Becky Keating and senior Rauno Liitmae, with the hammer throw and javelin, respectively, at 2:00 p.m. (CT). The field events will continue at 6:00 p.m. (CT) with junior Landon Cuskelly competing in the high jump, followed by redshirt junior Will Fife in the shot put. Senior Karissa Schweizer will wrap up competition for the Tigers at 10:45 p.m. (CT), competing in the 5000m run and attempting to qualify for her second event.
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