@MIZ_TrackField Returns to the Drake Relays for the Third Time in Four Seasons

Thursday, April 26

Des Moines, Iowa

4:30 PM CT

University of Missouri

Drake Relays

@MIZ_TrackField Returns to the Drake Relays for the Third Time in Four Seasons

4/25/2018 7:41:00 PM | Track & Field

Schweizer Seeks 5000m Drake Relays Record, 10 Tiger Field Athletes on Display on the Blue Oval

DRAKE RELAYS
MEET	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	MEDIA
Drake Relays	Des Moines, Iowa	April 26-28	Meet Schedule	Heat Sheets Live Results
NOTES: Meet Notes

MIZZOU RETURNS TO THE DRAKE RELAYS, SCHWEIZER SEEKS 5000m DRAKE RELAYS RECORD ON THE BLUE OVAL

Mizzou Track & Field returns to the Drake relays presented by Hy-Vee for the third time in four seasons, as 29 student-athletes will don the Black & Gold on the Blue Oval in Des Moines, Iowa.
A live stream of the meet will be available for a fee through usatf.tv, while live results of the meet will be available on pttiming.com.
The meet will be a homecoming for four Tigers as associate head coach Natasha Brown, redshirt sophomore Jordyn Kleve, senior Karissa Schweizer and junior Hannah Thomas all have connections to the area. Brown, a Des Moines native, was the head coach of the Drake Track & Field and Cross Country programs for 16 seasons before returning to Mizzou, her alma mater, in August 2016. Schweizer and Thomas both attended nearby Dowling Catholic High School, where Schweizer was a 12-time IAHSAA All-State finisher and Thomas was a four-time All-State finisher in cross country. Kleve attended Johnson High School in Urbandale, where she was a seven-time All-State finisher and was named the 2014 Iowa Gatorade Athlete of the Year for cross country.
Schweizer, the most decorated student-athlete in Mizzou history in terms of national titles, will take the track in the 5000m run on Thursday evening as she looks to set the 5000m Drake Relays record. The current record was set in 1985 by Wisconsin's Cathy Branta-Easker, who ran a 15:31.18. Schweizer owns a personal-best of 15:18.69, which she set at last summer's USA Track & Field Championships (June 23). Schweizer is coming off a school record performance at the Tom Botts Invitational (April 20), where she set her sixth school record by crossing the finish line at 4:12.83 in the 1500m run.
In field events, Mizzou will have 13 entries in nine events as 10 Tigers look to build on an already impressive start to the 2018 outdoor season. Most recently, redshirt junior Avery Carter and junior Landon Cuskelly posted program top-10 marks with event wins at the Tom Botts Invitational (April 20-21). Carter provided the best hammer throw of his career at the meet, as he posted the third-best throw in program history at 64.18m (210-7), while Cuskelly became the first Tiger since 2009 to clear seven-feet in the high jump with his mark of 2.18m (7-1.75). Cuskelly's jump ranks fifth all-time in program history. Carter will throw the hammer and shot put in Iowa, while Cuskelly will be in the high jump. Redshirt junior Gabi Jacobs also had an impressive performance at the Tom Botts Invite, as she set a meet and facility record in the discus with a toss of 58.11m (190-8). Jacobs will throw the discus and shot put this weekend.
Five other Mizzou throwers have already posted top-10 program marks this season. At the Ole Miss Classic (March 31), sophomore Allie Webb checked in at No. 8 all-time with a mark of 44.11m (144-9). At the Arkansas Spring Invitational (March 23-24), redshirt junior Will Fife joined the top-10 list at No. 7 in the shot put at 18.58m (60-11.5), while freshman Megan Haley set a top-10 mark in the javelin, checking in at No. 9 with a throw of 43.40 (142-5). Mizzou's other two top-10 marks came at the CMU Open (March 17), as junior Becky Keating posted the second-best mark in program history in the hammer throw at 63.87m (209-6) and redshirt sophomore Patrick Kunza posted the eighth-best mark in the men's hammer throw at 62.70m (205-8). All five Mizzou athletes will be in action in their respective events at the Drake Relays.

SCHWEIZER SETS SCHOOL RECORDS, MIZZOU WINS NINE EVENTS AT TOM BOTTS INVITATIONAL

At the 21st annual Tom Botts Invitational, Mizzou recorded nine event wins, including a school record performance from five-time NCAA Champion senior Karissa Schweizer in the 1500m run.
Schweizer stayed toe-to-toe with professional runner Megan Mansy throughout the entirety of the race up until the final 200 meters, where Schweizer kicked to cross the finish line at 4:12.83. The time is the fifth-fastest time set in the NCAA West Region this season, the eighth-fastest in the NCAA overall, and surpassed Laura Roxberg's 2013 mark of 4:13.53 as the fastest time in program history. Schweizer now holds six school records, as she previously set the program's top marks in the indoor mile, indoor 3000m, indoor 5000m, outdoor 5000m and outdoor 10,000m.
In his first Tom Botts Invitational, junior Landon Cuskelly had a dominant high jump performance, as his clearance of 2.18m (7-1.75) ranks fifth in school history, matching Steve Herndon's 1966 mark. The jump will likely qualify Cuskelly for the NCAA West Preliminary meet, as it currently ranks seventh in the NCAA West Region and 19th overall in the NCAA this season. Mizzou took home the top spot in the women's high jump as well, as junior Karissa Roman cleared 1.72m (5-7.75) to take first.
In the men's hammer throw, redshirt junior Avery Carter increased his personal record throw by nearly four meters, as he launched a throw of 64.18m (210-7) to win the event. Carter entered the meet with a personal best mark of 60.49m (198-5). His throw ranks third all-time in program history, and 13th in the NCAA West region this season. Setting a personal record for the second time in as many meets, Edwards placed first in the javelin with a mark of 53.69m (176-1).
Reshirt junior Gabi Jacobs set a new meet and facility record in women's discus throw, as the 2017 NCAA All-American recorded an impressive season-best mark of 58.11m (190-7). The throw was an improvement from her mark of 55.42m (181-10) at the John McDonnell Invitational (April 14), and currently ranks eight in the NCAA West region this season.
Freshman Chris Conrad took home two first-place finishes in his first Tom Botts Invite. In the 1500m run, Conrad crossed the finish line at 3:54.49, while in the 800m run, Conrad finished at 1:51.45. In the women's 800m run race redshirt senior Valeska Halamicek finished first at 2:10.14.
Following the meet, Cuskelly was named the Male Most Outstanding Performer of the meet as his jump ranks in the top-20 in the NCAA this season. Schweizer was named the meet's Female Most Outstanding Performer after she set the school and meet record in the 1500m run.

MIZZOU RECORDS FIVE EVENT WINS AT JOHN MCDONNELL INVITATIONAL

Mizzou produced five event wins, all in field events at the John McDonnell Invitational (April 13-14). Coming away with victories for the Tigers was redshirt junior Gabi Jacobs in the discus, junior Becky Keating in the hammer throw, junior Karissa Roman in the high jump, redshirt junior Will Fife in the shot put and sophomore Allie Webb in the javelin.
In the women's discus, Jacobs recorded her third discus event win in four meets this season, as she recorded a season-best throw of 55.42m (181-10). Jacobs, the school record holder in the event, produced the throw in her sixth and final throw of the event. The Tiger junior, who entered the meet with the 20th-best discus throw (52.57m/172-6) in the west region, now ranks 12th in discus.
Keating posted a throw of 58.58m (192-2) in the hammer throw with her fourth toss. It is Keating's third event win in four meets this season, as she also placed first in the hammer throw at the CMU Open (March 17) and Arkansas Spring Invitational (March 23).
In the women's high jump, Roman place first as the lone competitor to clear 1.70m (5-7). The event win is her second of the season after she also won the high jump at the Ole Miss Classic (March 31).
Mizzou finished first and third in the men's shot put, as Fife posted a mark of 17.82m (58-5.75) to finish first, while redshirt junior Avery Carter finished third at 16.46m (54-0). In the women's javelin, Mizzou first and second, as Webb produced a mark of 43.74m (143-6), while freshman Megan Haley finished second at 40.05m (131-4).

SCHWEIZER SETS 10,000m SCHOOL RECORD AT STANFORD INVITATIONAL

Making her collegiate debut in the 10,000m run, Mizzou Track & Field senior Karissa Schweizer set the school record in a third-place finish in the 10,000m run at the Stanford Invitational (March 30). Schweizer finished third in the invitational heat behind professional runners Gwen Jorgenson (Nike – Bowerman TC) and Carrie Dimoff (Bowerman TC), crossing the finish line at 32:00.55, the eighth-best all-time mark in NCAA history, according to the USTFCCCA.
Schweizer led for parts and stayed near the front pack for the majority of the race, as her third-place finish at 32:00.55 is the top collegiate performance this season, and is eighth all-time on the collegiate list as she checks in behind Anna Rohrer's (Notre Dame) 2017 time of 31:58.99. Schweizer surpassed teammate redshirt junior Jamie Kempfer's previous school record mark of 33:09.67 by more than a full minute, a mark which Kempfer set at last year's Stanford Invitational. Schweizer now holds five school records, as she already holds the outdoor 5000m run (15:18.69), indoor mile run (4:26.54), indoor 3000m run (8:41.60) and indoor 5000m run (15:17.31). Each of Schweizer's indoor marks rank in the top-10 all-time on the collegiate list, while her outdoor 5000m run time ranks 19th.

FIVE SET RECORDS AT SFSU DISTANCE CARNIVAL

Mizzou had five runners set personal record marks in the 5000m run at the San Francisco State University Distance Carnival (March 30). Three Tigers finished in the top-50 in the women's race, as redshirt sophomore Jordyn Kleve finished 24th at 17:23.04, redshirt sophomore Sophia Racette finished 35th at 17:32.52 and junior Hannah Thomas finished 50th at 17:45.58. Racette and Thomas each set personal records. In the men's race, redshirt junior Zach Cook and redshirt sophomore Michael Widmann each set personals bests, finishing at 14:50.69 and 14:59.24, respectively.