@MIZ_TrackField Qualifies 13 for NCAA West Preliminary
5/17/2018 2:21:00 PM | Track & Field
Schweizer to double in the 5000m and 10,000m, Cunningham joins her in the 10,000m
Full List of Men's Qualifiers
Full List of Women's Qualifiers
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Track & Field will continue with postseason competition next weekend as the qualifying field for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships were announced Thursday. Mizzou will send 13 student-athletes (seven men, six women) to compete in Sacramento, Calif., May 24-26. Mizzou's group of 15 entries will be looking to advance to the final rounds of the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 6-9 in Eugene, Ore.
The Mizzou women will be led by five-time NCAA Champion senior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa), who the first time in her career, will be running in two events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Schweizer, who completed the distance triple crown in 2016-17, will run the 5000m run and 10,000m run in Sacramento. She enters the meet with the top 10K time in the nation (32:00.55), and the fourth-fastest 5K time (15:23.21). In the 10K, Schweizer will be joined by teammate redshirt senior Megan Cunningham (Eureka, Mo.), who won the 10,000m run conference title at the SEC Outdoor Championships (May 11). In field events, redshirt junior Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) will be looking to advance to Eugene for the second-straight year, as she enters the meet with the eighth-best discus mark (58.11m/190-8). Last season, Jacobs finished fifth in the discus to earn All-America honors for the first time in her career.
The Mizzou men will be led by a quartet of newcomers who each enter the meet with top-20 regional marks, as junior Landon Cuskelly (El Dorado, Kan.), freshman Chris Conrad (O'Fallon, Mo.), redshirt junior Will Fife (Jefferson City, Mo.) and redshirt junior Avery Carter (Lee's Summit, Mo.) will all be making their NCAA Outdoor Championships debuts. Cuskelly holds the 11th-best high jump mark in the region (2.18m/7-1.75), while Conrad owns the 18th-best 800m run time (1:48.68) following a fifth-place finish at the SEC Championships. Fife and Carter each enter the meet with the 16th-best mark in the respective event as Fife will throw the shot put (18.58m/60-11.5) and Carter the hammer throw (64.18m/210-7).
Competition from Hornet Stadium is scheduled to begin Thursday, May 24 with field events at 2 p.m. (CT) and track events at 6:30 p.m. (CT). A live stream of the meet will be available online for a subscription fee on FloTrack.org.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
Mizzou Qualifiers
Men (Regional Rank, Season-Best Mark)
800m Run – Chris Conrad (18 – 1:48.68)
400m Hurdles – Jerrad Mason (31 – 51.28)
High Jump – Landon Cuskelly (11 – 2.18m/7-1.75)
Shot Put – Will Fife (16 – 18.58m/60-11.5)
Hammer Throw – Avery Carter (16 – 64.18m/210-7)
Hammer Throw – Patrick Kunza (31 – 62.70m/205-8)
Javelin – Rauno Liitmae (25 – 67.00m/219-10)
Decathlon – Rauno Liitmae (20 – 7,524 points)*
*- Top-24 National Marks in Multi-Events advance straight to Eugene
Women (Regional Rank, Season-Best Mark)
800m Run – Valeska Halamicek (47 – 2:08.68)
5000m Run – Karissa Schweizer (4 – 15:23.21)
10,000m Run – Karissa Schweizer (1 – 32:00.55)
10,000m Run – Megan Cunningham (8 – 33:19.25)
High Jump – Karissa Roman (46 – 1.75m/5-8.75)
Shot Put – Gabi Jacobs (31 – 15.75m/51-8.25)
Discus – Gabi Jacobs (9 – 58.11m/190-8)
Hammer Throw – Becky Keating (13 – 63.87m/209-6)
Players Mentioned
