Morris, Musil, and Ramsey Earn Births to NCAA Championships :: Tiger trio earn automatic spots to national championships after great day one performances at NCAA Mideast Regional

Morris, Musil, and Ramsey Earn Births to NCAA Championships

Tiger trio earn automatic spots to national championships after great day one performances at NCAA Mideast Regional

May 26, 2006

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--The Missouri track and field squad had a successful showing at the first day of the NCAA Mideast Regional at Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tenn. Three Tigers, Jason Morris, Bobby Musil, and Serena Ramsey earned automatic-qualifying spots to the NCAA Championships to be held in two weeks, and several more Tigers turned in performances that may earn them at-large national spots. In addition, six from Mizzou qualified for tomorrow's track finals, vying for more qualifying spots.

The Tigers began day one by placing all four hammer throwers in the region's top 10, qualifying two automatically for the NCAA Championships. Big 12 runner-up Jason Morris (St. Louis, Mo.) finished second on the day with a best of 209 feet, 6 inches (63.87m). Morris, a sophomore, qualified for his first NCAA Championship with the performance. Junior Bobby Musil (DeBois, Neb.), entering as the seventh seed, qualified for his first national championship, grabbing the last automatic spot for the NCAAs with a fifth-place performance at 202-9 (61.80m).

Sophomores Chris Rohr and Tyler Dailey placed ninth and tenth, respectively, in the hammer, both landing spots in the at-large pool. Looking at results across the four regions, Rohr would be sixth on the at-large descending-order list, with Dailey seventh. Last year, the NCAA selected six at-large births for the event.

Senior Serena Ramsey earns a trip to Sacramento and the NCAA Championships after a fourth-place finish in the women's 5000. Later in the evening on Friday, Ramsey ran a 16:30.89, challenging the lead pack the entire race. Ramsey, seeded eighth in the meet, now has qualified for the second NCAA Championships of her career: she qualified in the 10,000-meter run in 2004.

Sophomore Elizabeth Robe (Waukesha, Wis.) was seventh in the women's shot put, throwing near her personal best with a 50-7¼ (15.42m) toss. Robe appears to be sixth on that event's national at-large list. Freshman Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo.) produced a new personal best with a 49-6½ (15.10m) throw, finishing her season in the nation's top 40 and moving to third all-time at Missouri in the event.

With the breakthrough of the day, sophomore Dave Borchardt (St. Louis, Mo.), entering the men's discus as the 21^st seed, managed to qualify for the event final and placed ninth with a 180-1 (54.90m) chuck. Borchardt's final throw was a foot foul, but may have placed him in the event's top three had it been saved.

Senior Chris Horn (O'Fallon, Ill.) turned a 19^th seed into an eighth-place finish in the men's long jump. Horn, earning All-Region honors for the first time in his career, leaped to a new personal best of 24-8¼ (7.52m). Horn ended his Tiger career by scoring in two championship meets, the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago and the NCAA regional meet, both of which were a pleasant surprise for the Tiger program.

Similarly to the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, three Tigers qualified for tomorrow's finals in the 1500-meter run. Big 12 Champ senior Amanda Bales, junior Kristin Hansen, and sophomore Kasey Kimball will run in the final tomorrow.

Senior Ashley Patten qualified for her fourth-straight regional final in the women's 800-meter run with a season best 2:04.98, winning her heat. In a tough, four-heat preliminary, sophomore Trisa Nickoley just missed advancement by placing ninth overall, running 2:08.79. Nickoley nearly fought off collegiate-leader Geena Gall of Michigan for the heat's winning and automatic-qualifying spot, but was nipped at the line by Gall's 2:08.68 clocking.

Junior Marcus Mayes ran a solid race in the men's 800 preliminary, clocking 1:49.43 in his heat and earning an automatic spot for the final. Senior Neville Miller had a rougher time. Miller was in a decent position to gain an entry into the final by time, but with 50 meters remaining on the homestretch, Miller was knocked down by a passing runner. After a Missouri appeal, Miller was advanced into tomorrow's final by the meet's referee.

In the team race, the Tiger women ended day one with eight points, and stands in 11^th place. The Tiger men are in fourth place through the first day with 13 points.

The second and final day of the regional meet begins tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., eastern. Next year, Missouri will host the 2007 NCAA Mideast Regional.

Missouri Results

WOMEN

Top 5 Finish (Automatic NCAA Championship Birth)

5000-meter Run
4^th, Serena Ramsey (Sr.), 16:30.89

Top 12 Finish (in At-Large Pool)

800-meter Run

9^th, Trisa Nickoley (So.), 2:08.79

Shot Put

7^th, Elizabeth Robe (So.), 15.42m, 50-7¼ [6^th in at-large pool]

8^th, Krishna Lee (Fr.), 15.10m, 49-6½, personal best

Other Results

Shot Put

28^th, Kendra Richardson (Fr.), 13.70m, 44-11½

Track Preliminaries

800-meter run

Qual (auto), Ashley Patten (Sr.), 2.04.98, season-best

1500-meter run

Qual (auto), Amanda Bales (Sr.), 4:25.94

Qual, Kristin Hansen (Jr.), 4:31.12

Qual, Kasey Kimball (So.), 4:31.39

MEN

Top 5 Finish (Automatic NCAA Championship Birth)

Hammer Throw

2^nd, Jason Morris (So.), 63.87m, 209-6

5^th, Bobby Musil (Jr.), 61.80m, 202-9

Top 12 Finish (In At-Large Selection Pool)

800-meter Run

12^th, Jimmie Jones (Jr.), 1:50.92

Discus

9^th, Dave Borchardt (So.), 54.90m, 180-1, personal best by six feet

Long Jump

8^th, Chris Horn (Sr.), 7.52m, 24-8¼, wind: 1.7, personal best

Hammer Throw

9^th, Tyler Dailey (So.), 59.75m, 196-0 [6^th in at-large pool]

10^th, Chris Rohr (So.), 58.40m, 191-7 [7^th in at-large pool]

Other Results

100-meter Dash

25^th, Greg Bracey (Jr.), 10.52w, wind: 2.8 m/s

Discus

13^th, Jason Morris (So.), 53.11m, 174-3

---, Bobby Musil (Jr.), foul

Track Preliminaries

800-meter Run

Qual, Marcus Mayes (Jr.), 1:49.43

Advanced (referee's decision), Neville Miller (Sr.), 1:57.22 (tripped on homestretch)

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