Three Mizzou Track & Field Athletes Earn All-America Recognition
5/26/2020 3:26:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Ward, Vliches, Roman named All-Americans by USTFCCCA
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Three Mizzou Track & Field student-athletes – sophomore Roberto Vilches (Mexico City, Mexico), redshirt junior Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) and redshirt senior Karissa Roman (Kewanee, Ill.) – received All-America recognition by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday. It marks the third career All-America honor for Vilches (high jump) and Ward (long jump), and is the first of Roman's career (high jump).
Due to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, the NCAA Division I Track & Field Executive Committee adopted the following criteria to determine this year's All-Americans:
- Based on the post-medical scratches startlist for the national championships posted on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:24 p.m., the following will be recognized as All-America for the 2020 indoor track & field season:
- Individual events: ALL student-athletes listed on the startlist for the anticipated event.
- Relay events: The four student-athletes per anticipated relay who produced the performance that was declared and accepted into their event. Those listed as alternates will not be recognized.
- There will not be a distinction of "first-team", "second-team", or "honorable mention" to these recognitions.
Vilches qualified for his third straight NCAA Championship meet by posting a season-best high jump mark of 2.22m (7-3.25) at the Missouri Intercollegiate (Jan. 17). Vilches totaled three meet wins during the indoor season and finished fifth at the SEC Indoor Championships (Feb. 29) with a clearance of 2.11m (6-11). His season-best mark ranked 15th in the nation with the NCAA Indoor meet was cancelled. 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.
Ward, a two-time All-American and Mizzou record holder, posted his best long jump of the season at the SEC Championships (Feb. 28) as he finished third with a mark of 7.97m (26-1.75), which matched his personal best and ranked eighth in the nation this season. Ward finished eighth at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh in the 2018 edition of the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Roman was set to appear in her first NCAA meet after posting a qualifying mark at the Mizzou Open (Feb. 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 earned high jump titles in three meets this season and ranked 11th in the nation when the season was cut short.
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