University of Missouri
Joe Walker Invite
Mizzou Track & Field Travels to Ole Miss for Joe Walker Invite
4/3/2025 4:50:00 PM | Track & Field
The Tigers will compete in the decathlon, heptathlon in Oxford, Mississippi.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri track and field continues the outdoor season at the Joe Walker Invite in Oxford, Mississippi on Friday and Saturday at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex. Both days of competition will be live streamed on SEC Network+.
Emanuele Bellanova and Charlie Garino will compete for the men while Brooke Sawatzky, Anna Vedral and Allison Geen represent the women's team.
Bellanova rounded out the indoor season with a season-best long jump of 6.99m, good for third at the Show-Me Showdown. Sawatzky placed second at same meet in the 60m hurdles in 9.05s. Green and Vedral both notched podium finishes in pole vault at the Alexis Jarrett Invitational, with Green placing third at 3.40m and Vedral in first at 3.60m.
NATIONALLY RANKED TIGERS
Mizzou's women's team holds a No. 15 national ranking in the first poll of the outdoor season. This marks the first time since the 2023 season that the women were ranked or in the top 15. The No. 15 ranking is the team's highest in the week one poll in history and marks the third time the Tigers have appeared in the first outdoor rankings since the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association poll began tracking weekly rankings in 2008.
LAST TIME OUT
The Tigers' first two weekends of competition for the women were highlighted by freshman Monica Wanjiku. Within her first collegiate race, Wanjiku set the third-fastest 10,000m time in the nation. Her result is also the best in the Southeastern Conference in the event by over two minutes and 20 seconds. She stands second in school history and as the second-fastest freshmen in the event nationally, finishing in 32:21.97.
Valentina Barrios collected her third win in javelin as a Missouri Tiger at the Battle on the Bayou meet. The junior took first in the event with a throw of 52.93m. The result marked the third-best throw in the second week of the outdoor season nationally and the best in the conference. She stands eighth in the country and fourth in the SEC in women's javelin.
On the first day at the Battle on the Bayou, four Tigers posted personal bests, including Reagan Kimrey (51.48m, 168-10) and Kaitlyn Morningstar (50.25m, 164-10) in the hammer throw. Claudina Diaz led the way on the second day, earning first place in the women's high jump, with Kristi Perez-Snyman finishing just behind her. In the women's discus, Ames Burton secured second place with a personal-best throw of 54.72m (179-06), while Kimrey (46.08m, 151-02) and Tañia Duncan (44.27m, 145-03) also set new individual records.
At the Raleigh Relays, Rahel Broemmel and Wanjiku delivered historic performances, with Broemmel finishing ninth in the 5,000m (15:50.11), the third-fastest time in school history. Kobi Walker also set a career-best in the 5,000m (16:32.06). At the Battle on the Bayou, McKenna Revord hit a new best in the 1,500m (4:31.07), rounding out a strong weekend for the Tigers across both meets.
RANKED TIGERS
Mizzou has 11 men and nine women representatives ranked in the top 50 of their individual event rankings following week two of the outdoor season.
On the men's side, Drew Rogers school-record performance of 28:14.27 in the 10,000m ranks as the best time in the country. He is joined in the top 10 by Sam Innes in the hammer throw of 68.75m (225-7) and Sterling Scott's 10th-ranked triple jump of 15.78m (51-9.25). The remaining ranked Tigers are No. 16 Lasse Funck in the 800m, No. 22 Joshua Allison in the 3,000m steeplechase, No. 22 Skylar Coffey in discus, No. 22 Callan Saldutto in javelin, No. 27 Elijah Limo in the 3,000m steeplechase, No. 32 Tarique George in discus, No. 33 Robert Hines in the 100m and No. 49 Tyler Freiner in the 10,000m.
The women are led by Wanjiku and Diaz, who both hold third nationally in their respective events. In the top 10, Broemmel ranks eighth in the 5,000m, while Barrios ranks ninth in javelin. In discus, Burton's personal best at Battle on the Bayou puts her 18th in the country. The team is rounded out by three additional javelin throwers: No. 30 Kaesha George, No. 38 Val Galligan and No. 48 Lexi Craig.
PRIOR OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN
Missouri concluded its prior outdoor season at the 2024 NCAA Track and Field Championships, with big finishing placements from Scott and Weber. Scott ended his first year in 14th-place finish in the men's triple jump, while Weber capped off his collegiate career with a fourth-place finish in men's discus.
2025 INDOOR SEASON CONCLUDES
Missouri captured a national title and multiple All-America accolades to conclude indoor season March 15 at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Sophomore Jonathan Seremes became the program's first National Champion in triple jump. Seremes' win marked the fourth time Mizzou has won a national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships on the men's side. Seremes joins Robin Lingle (1,000-yard run, 1965), the 1974 Distance Medley Relay team and Derrick Peterson (800m, 1999) as Mizzou's NCAA indoor champions on the men's side.
Seremes locked up first place following the fourth round, where he recorded 16.94m (55-7) to reclaim the top spot. His final jump of 17.04m (55-11), broke his program record in the event and concluded the indoor season as the best in the nation.
Scott and Sermes were both named First Team All-Americans. Scott finished in eight-place in the men's triple jump with 16.04m (52-7.5). Euphenie Andre hit a personal best in her final collegiate meet on the women's triple jump with a sixth-place finish (13.55m), while Perez-Snyman also took sixth place in the women's high jump with 1.85m (6-0.75).
Junior Innes claimed Second Team All-American honors after placing 14th overall in weight throwing, becoming the team's first weight thrower since 2009 to earn All-American status. Diaz joined him on the Second Team with a 15th-place finish in women's high jump (1.75m, 5-8.75).
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
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Players Mentioned
