COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Mizzou Track & Field finished the first day of 2020 SEC Indoor Championships competition on a high note, with top-three finishes in the distance medley relay on both the men's and women's sides. On the women's side, junior Sarah Chapman (Maidenhead, England) ran a strong anchor leg to move up from sixth to second place across the final 1,600 meters. Redshirt junior Melissa Menghini (Fenton, Mo.), sophomore Morgan O'Neal (Sylacauga, Ala.) and freshman Kelsey Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) led off the race for the Tigers, putting Chapman in a position to finish strong. On the men's side, the great start of Martin Prodanov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), Jayson Ashford (Fairview Heights, Ill.) and Jonathan Schmidt (Dresden, Germany) allowed anchor Kieran Wood (Cambridge, England) to secure a top-three finish among some of the best distance runners in the country. The men finished with a time of 9:42.47 which ranks seventh in program history while the women posted a mark of 11:23.80 which also ranks seventh all-time.
NOTABLE FINISHES
Along with a dominant leg in the men's distance relay, sophomore Prodanov also logged the fastest time in the men's mile with a preliminary mark of 4:07.42. His strong pull away at the finish earned him a spot in tomorrow's final.
After setting the school record in the 5000m only two weeks ago in Ames, Iowa, senior Thomas George (Gloucester, England) kicked an impressive 5,000 meters once again and secured a second-place finish. He hung with a pack of runners for most of the race before pulling away to finish, earning Second Team All-SEC honors.
The Mizzou squad entered in the 200m race logged an impressive day, with all four men setting new personal bests. Redshirt sophomore Jayson Ashford (Fairview Heights, Ill.) finished with a time of 21.06, moving him up to second in school history in the event. Teammate Nylo Clarke (Riverside, Mo.) is close behind, his time of 21.07 the third-fastest in program history. Ashford's time of 21.06 sits behind only Kahmari Montgomery's time of 21.03, set in 2016.
The dominance continued in the field events, where redshirt junior Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill) matched his indoor personal-best in the long jump. Ward's mark of 7.97m (26-1.25) earned him a third-place finish and Second Team All-SEC honors.
Redshirt junior Emily Stauffer (Reinholds, Penn.) earned a top-ten finish in the women's shot put. Her mark of 15.83m (51-11.25) was enough to advance her to the finals, where she finished in seventh place.
UP NEXT
The action continues tomorrow morning, beginning with heptathlon events at 10 a.m. CT. Following the conclusion of the heptathlon, field events will kick off with the high jump at 1:15 p.m. CT. Action on the track is set to begin with the finals of the men's mile at 4:10 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.comand follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram(MizzouTFXC)
DAY ONE RESULTS - TRACK
Mile Run, Men - 1. Martin Prodanov, 4:07.42 // 14. Dylan Quisenberry, 4:15.33 PR
Mile Run, Women - 12. Sarah Chapman, 4:59.11
60m Dash, Men - 17. Jayson Ashford, 6.92 // 19. Nylo Clarke, 6.94 // 21. Caulin Graves, 7.01 // 22. Nyles Thomas, 7.02
60m Dash, Women - 21. Jazmyn Shumaker, 7.80
400m Run, Men - 27. Jacob Brunsman, 48.83 // 31. Blake Hays, 50.01
400m Run, Women - 33. Morgan O'Neal, 57.71
60m Hurdles, Men - 17. Zachary Charles, 8.44 // 18. Chris McKinzy Jr., 8.50
800m Run, Men - 11. Robert Kuhlmann, 1:53.63 // 15. Dylan Quisenberry, 2:01.19
800m Run, Women - 11. Michaela Hackbarth, 2:12.30 PR
5000m Run, Men - 2. Thomas George, 13:57.10
200m Dash, Men - 9. Jayson Ashford, 21.06 PR // 10. Nylo Clarke, 21.07 PR// 23. Caulin Graves, 21.83 PR // 24. Nyles Thomas, 21.87 PR
5000m Run, Women - 18. Ginger Murnieks, 17:04.72
Distance Medley Relay, Men - 3. Prodanov, Ashford, Schmidt, Wood, 9:42.47
Distance Medley Relay, Women - 2. Menghini, O'Neal, Schweizer, Chapman, 11:23.80
DAY ONE RESULTS - FIELD
Shot Put, Men - 11. Mitch Weber, 16.61m (54-6)
Shot Put, Women - 7. Emily Stauffer, 15.83m (51-11.25) // 19. Emily Offenheiser, 13.57m (44-6.25)
Long Jump, Men - 3. Ja'Mari Ward, 7.97m (26-1.25)
DAY ONE RESULTS - MULTI'S
Heptathlon, Men– 12. Jason Edwards, 2763 points
60m Dash: 7.29 (782 points)
Long Jump: 6.27m (20-7) (646 points)
Shot Put: 13.11m (43-0.25) (674 points)
High Jump: 1.84m ((6-0.5) (661 points)
Pentathlon, Women -
60m Hurdles: 9.12 (885 points) PR
High Jump: 1.65m (5-5( (795 points) PR
Shot Put: 11.02m (36-2) (596 points) PR
Long Jump: 5.80m (19-0.5) (789 points)
800m Run: 2:57.33 (390 points)