University of Missouri
Missouri Invitational
Track and Field Caps Off Homestand with Missouri Invitational
2/6/2025 8:30:00 AM | Track & Field
The No. 17 men's team will compete at Hearnes Center Fieldhouse for the last time this season on Friday.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri track and field rounds its home meets this season with the Missouri Invitational on Friday at Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. The first event will start at 12:55 p.m. Attendance is free and open to the public.
The men's team moved all the way up to No. 17 in the nation in the latest United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll and features a top-five shot put squad.
INSIDE THE FIELDHOUSE
Kansas City, Missouri State, Murray State, Saint Louis, Southern Illinois and SIUE, will be in Columbia to join the Tigers for the event.
The venue received updates on its 200-meter track with an eight-lane sprint straightaway and multiple runways for pole vault and horizontal jumps. The facility has hosted indoor track and field events since its conception in 1972, including the 1991 Big Eight Indoor Track & Field Championship.
LAST TIME OUT
When they last competed at Hernes Center Fieldhouse, the Tigers broke multiple program records and climbed in the national event rankings.
Jonathan Seremes (Paris, France) earned a result of 16.94m, topping the previous national leader, Oklahoma, by 0.19m. Seremes recorded the first collegiate indoor triple jump over 16.9m since March 11, 2023. His result is the top spot in program history with 16.94m in triple jump, also grabbing a facility record for Hernes Center. Previously, the record was held by Ajayi Agebebaku with 16.28m, set in 1978.
Kristi Perez-Snyman (Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa) clinched a program record with a 1.86m high jump, breaking a three-way tie for the top spot of 1.83m She now stands fourth nationally.
Senior Alicia Burnett (St. Louis, Missouri) recorded a 23.35s finish during the first day of the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational in the 200-meter dash, surpassing LaQuisha Jackson's 23.57s set in 2016 to take the record.
TOP-100 TIGERS
Sophomore Sterling Scott (Starkville, Mississippi) clocks in at sixth for the men's triple jump rankings, joining Seremes as a top-10 triple jumper. Scott achieved the 16.28m (53-5) mark at the Alexis Jarrett Invitational on Jan. 11.
Redshirt junior Sam Innes (Columbia, Missouri) stands eighth in men's indoor weight throw. Innes tallied a record-setting 22.98m (75-4.75) at the Bob Teel Invitational. Innes is joined by Garik Pozecki (Baltimore, Maryland), who is ranked 79th nationally with a 19.71m (64-8) throw during the Rick McGuire Invitational on Jan. 31.
Skylar Coffey (Spring Hill, Tennessee) joined the rankings at 30th nationally in men's shot put with his standout performance of 18.74m (60-7.25) at the Rick McGuire Invitational on Jan. 31.
Junior Lasse Funck (Dortmund, Germany) recorded a 1:48.96s during the 800m run at the Rick McGuire Invitational, securing the 41st spot nationally.
Both Missouri men's distance medley relay teams broke the top 25 at the Rick McGuire Invitational on Jan. 31.
Euphenie Andre (Dover Plains, New York) ranks fourth for women's triple jump with a 13.49m (44-3.75) mark.
Burnett claims two spots in the national rankings for women's sprints. Her 200m record of 23.58 ranks 21st and her 7.29s in the 60m puts her as the 26th-best in the country.
Three Tigers join the chart for women's high jump. Perez-Snyman takes 6th nationally with her record of 1.86m (6-0). Claudina Diaz (Merida, Yucatan, Mexico) ranks 19th at 1.81m (5-11.25) at the Alexis Jarrett Invitational while freshman Marlena Tresjno (Vancouver, Canada) joined the Tigers' trio at 36th with a 1.78m (5-10) result at the Show-Me Showdown.
Sophomore Rahel Broemmel (Sonsbeck, Germany) stands 47th for the women's 5000m with a time of 16:09.31 achieved in the season opener and secured another spot, at 85 nationally, with her 9:20.25 run the 3000m run at the Rick McGuire Invitational.
Petra Gombas (Balatonalmadi, Hungary) worked her way into the top 100 with her 18.78m throw in weight throw during the Bob Teel Invitational on Jan. 25. securing the 94th spot nationally.
ALL-AMERICAN RETURNEES
Burnett capped off her breakout 2024 indoor campaign with an All-American Second Team finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The rising senior notched a 12th-place result in the women's 60m with a 7.29 sprint at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts.
With her result, Burnett became the first Mizzou sprinter (male or female, indoor or outdoor) to claim an All-American position at the NCAA Championships since Markesh Woodson and Kahmari Montgomery secured placements in the 100m and 400m, respectively, at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Burnett enjoyed one of the finest seasons by a Tiger sprinter in the last decade and looks to cap off her collegiate career in impressive fashion. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational on Feb. 2 with a sprint of 7.21 in the women's 60m. The mark shattered the previous program record of 7.31 held by LaQuisha Jackson for nine years.
Throughout the 2024 indoor campaign, Burnett hit five runs in the 60m, breaking Jackson's old record. She ranks in the top 10 for every indoor sprint record in program history - first in the women's 60m, fourth in the women's 200m, and sixth in the women's 400m.
Scott closed his first indoor season with an All-America Second Team placement in the men's triple jump. He scored an 11th-place result with a 15.50m (50-10.25) leap to earn the best finish of any freshman triple jumper at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts.
In his debut year, Scott became the first Mizzou freshman All-American (male or female, indoor or outdoor) since Mirieli Santos and Roberto Vilches each earned the status at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. With his All-America placement, the Tigers have yielded an All-American in the triple jump for a seventh consecutive year.
Scott booked his spot in the NCAA Championships meet with a bronze-medal winning jump of 16.14m (52-11.5) on his final attempt at the SEC Indoor Championship.
Scott also finished fifth place in the triple jump final at the World Athletics U20 Championships, clearing 16.09m (52-9.36) on Aug. 29, 2024, in Lima, Peru. He set a career best in the event finishing second during the qualifying round. Scott then made the finals after clearing 16.29m (53-5.25) to move into third in the program's outdoor triple jump record book.
TIGERS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
Missouri's men's squad secured a top-five position in the shot put, ranking fourth in the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field rankings with an average throw of 17.97m. With an average of 1:51.47 in the men's 800m run, the Tigers are ranked 28th in the country.
The women's team broke into the top 25 in two event rankings, with three tigers ranked individually in the top 50. Missouri has clinched the fifth spot in the rankings with its dynamic high jumpers, three of which are in the top 40. Mizzou, led by Gombas, averaged 17.66m in weight throw securing the 20th-ranked spot for the team in the event.
JOINING THE PACK
Ahead of the season, Coach Halter announced the signings of Sofia Walker (Melbourne, Australia), Ethan Zuber, Sofia Wydra and Morgan Youmans as members of the class of 2025.
On January 15, head coach Brett Halter announced the addition of five distance runners – Mirriam Chepkirui (Nakuru, Kenya), Elijah Limo (Khayega, Kenya), Chesney Peterson (Johnson City, Kansas), Monica Wanjiku (Kaimbu, Kenya) and Walker – to its 2025 roster. All are immediately eligible to compete for the current indoor season.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and X (MizzouTFXC).
Players Mentioned
