University of Missouri
NCAA Indoor Championships
Mizzou Track & Field to Send Three to NCAA Indoor Championships
3/4/2020 11:08:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Trio of jumpers set for NCAA Championships in Albuquerque
COLUMBIA, Mo, – Mizzou Track & Field will send three student-athletes to Albuquerque, N.M. for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 13 and 14. The Tigers had a trio of jumpers qualify for the national championships, as announced by the NCAA on Tuesday. Redshirt junior Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) will compete in the long jump while redshirt senior Karissa Roman (Kewaunee, Ill.) and sophomore Roberto Vilches (Mexico City, Mexico) will both be featured in the high jump.
Ward will make his third appearance in a NCAA Championship as he will be set to compete in the men's long jump. Ward won the U.S. Championship at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in July. Ward, a two-time All-American and Mizzou record holder, posted his best jump of the season over the weekend at the SEC Championships as he finished third with a mark of 7.97m (26-1.75) which matched his personal best and ranks eighth in the nation this season. Ward finished eighth at last year's indoor championships and seventh in the 2018 edition of the indoor national championships.
Roman will make her first trip to the NCAA Championships after posting a qualifying mark at the Mizzou Open on February, 7. Roman cleared a height of 1.81m (5-11.25) in the high jump which was a personal record and propelled her into fourth-place all-time in program history. Roman has earned high jump titles in three meet this season and currently ranks 11th in the nation in the event this season.
Vilches qualified for his third straight NCAA Championship meet by posting a season-best high jump mark of 2.22m (7-3.25). During his first year in the Black and Gold, Vilches finished ninth in the high jump at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships and 15th at the 2019 Indoor NCAA Championships. Vilches has totaled three meet titles this season and finished fifth at the SEC Championships over the weekend in College Station, Texas.
The Tigers will begin in action in Albuquerque on Friday, March 13. Check back for more preview information next week. For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC)
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