Feb. 12, 2005
AMES, Iowa - Missouri Track and Field wrapped up another successful meet in Ames at the Iowa State Classic on Saturday. Six Tigers earned NCAA provisional qualifying marks, making nine the total for the weekend. Several Tigers earned bigger and better personal bests along with an all-out assault on the team's all-time top five list. Senior Ryan Hampton topped 75 other competitors to take the crown in the men's mile and stepped to second in the conference for the season. The meet featured 65 schools, 52 from NCAA Division I and over 1,000 total entries.
Hampton's (Liberty, Mo.) time of 4:04.14 in the mile, a season best, was not achieved easily. Hampton along with sophomore teammate Tipper O'Brien worked from the back of the pack for a huge majority of the race, letting the others set the pace. Climbing to eighth place within the final 125 meters, Hampton was still only to fifth when he hit the final 100-meter stretch. With another burst of energy, Hampton passed the field and nipped Butler's Andrew Sherman at the line, winning the race.
O'Brien wasn't too far behind as he climbed to sixth starting on the final lap and closed to fifth by the end of the race. His time of 4:04.74 was a three-second improvement to his previous personal best and also earned him an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
"Wow, to see our team have two tremendous weekends in a row," said Dr. Rick McGuire, Head Track & Field Coach. "It's absolutely thrilling, we've come a long way and there still lots more."
Another heart-pounding encounter came in the men's 800-meter run. Thirteen competitors over three heats crossed the finish line in sub-1:49 times, an extraordinary field to be sure. Among the crowd was senior Neville Miller (St. Louis, Mo.), who crossed the line in 1:48.46, improving his old best by 1½ seconds, earning an NCAA provisional mark, and maybe, more impressively, crossed into Missouri's all-time top three in the event.
Also earning an NCAA qualifying mark in the event was Marcus Mayes (Sand Springs, Okla.), improving his overall best by a full second to 1:49.01. Tiger post-collegian Derrick Peterson ran a season-best as well, coming across in 1:48.05.
Freshman Trisa Nickoley (Tecumseh, Kan.) earned her first NCAA provisional mark in the 800-meter, running in 2:07.45 to place fifth overall and climbed to fourth in the Mizzou all-time top five.
In his first meet of the season, senior Conrad Woolsey (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) threw for an indoor personal best with an NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 62 feet, 5¾ inches (19.04m), placing third overall. Additionally, Woolsey went all six fouls without fouling.
The Tiger men's 4x400-meter relay of Jimmie Jones, Neville Miller, Marquis Davis, and Marcus Mayes ran the second-fastest indoor relay in school history, running in 3:11.88. The time is also Missouri's best since 1999. Also at the meet, Florida ran the fifth-fastest men's 4x400-meter relay in indoor collegiate history, running in 3:03.95.
David Mertens and Matt Noonan went head-to-head for the fifth spot all-time at Missouri in the 3000-meter run; however, they raced in separate heats. Mertens and Noonan both set personal-bests and moved Ryan Hampton's 8:17.17 time to seventh all-time at Mizzou. Noonan was at fifth for a while, running 8:16.74 in the first heat; however, David Mertens reclaimed the spot that he originally earned in 2003 with his time of 8:16.25 in the second heat.
In the women's shot put, Tiger post-collegian Janae Strickland threw for an indoor personal-best, winning the event with a toss of 55 feet, 2¾ inches (16.83m).
Senior Whittney Stuart earned a spot in the Mizzou all-time top five with an indoor personal best in the 400-meter with a time of 56.65.
Sophomore Kate Greer improved a whopping 16 seconds to her personal best in the 3000-meter, running in 9:54.82.
Additional personal bests were set by: Margaret Ibe in the 400-meter (58.93, indoor best), Laura Brandt in the 600-yard (1:27.32), Nicole Johnson in the 800-meter (2:14.87), Tipper O'Brien in the 800-meter (1:52.97), Wade Souza in the 800-meter (1:54.23, indoor best), Nate Englin in the shot put (17.00m, 55-9¼), and Bjorn Sommerfeldt in the shot put (13.31m, 43-8).
Many Tigers will take a break next weekend in preparation for the Big 12 Indoor Championships to be held February 25-26. However, the Tigers will host the Missouri All-Comers meet next weekend in the Hearnes Center on Saturday, February 19. For only $10, any individual can enter into as many as 18 track and field events. For more information on the meet, visit mutigers.com.
Complete results from the Iowa State Classic can be found on cyclones.com.