University of Missouri
John McDonnell Invitational
Jacobs Wins Discus & Shot Put at John McDonnell Invitational
4/22/2017 10:07:00 PM | Track & Field
Mizzou records five first-place finishes and three top-10 program marks at the meet
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) was victorious twice on Saturday, winning the discus and shot put events at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. The first place finishes was two of five on the day for the Mizzou Track & Field team, as three top-10 program marks were set at the meet.
Also recording first place finishes on the day was redshirt freshman Patrick Kunza (Wentzville, Mo.) and sophomore Rebecca Keating (Reading, England), both in the hammer throw, as well as the women's 4x400m relay team. Recording top-10 marks on the day was Jacobs, freshman Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) and the women's 4x400m relay team.
"We fought through tough conditions all weekend, and still posted high-level performances," said head coach Brett Halter. "Both teams fought hard. I was very impressed with Gabi Jacobs' weekend. She showed tremendous growth as a competitor, delivering a personal best in the discus when everything about the conditions said she should not have. She followed that performance with a personal best in the shot put, showing great competitive integrity. LaQuisha Jackson showed amazing senior leadership by battling debilitating physical ailments following the open 400 was able to return to the track and run a critical leg on the 4x400 and led that team to a victory. That was very impressive as well."
Jacobs began the day by throwing 56.35m (184-10) in the discus to record her first event win of the day. The throw was an improvement from her previous personal best of 55.69m (182-8), set on March 30 at the Bobcat Invitational, and now puts her under a meter away from the school record mark of 57.31m (188-0), set by Kearsten Peoples in 2014. Before all marks are gathered from this weekend, Jacobs' mark currently ranks 10th in the nation. The Tiger sophomore followed up the discus performance by winning the shot put with a personal best mark of 15.03m (49-3.75).
Kunza and Keating took home first place finishes of their own, each in the hammer throw, recording marks of 59.47m (195-1) and 56.52m (185-5). In his first legal mark of the season, Ward finished second in the triple jump with a jump of 15.44m (50-8), good enough to rank eighth all-time in program history and among the top-25 in the west region this season.
In the women's 4x400m relay, Mizzou's team of senior Sandrae Farquharson (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica), senior LaQuisha Jackson (Chattanooga, Tenn.), senior Sydney Wells (Fort Smith, Ark.) and senior Valerie Thames (Milwaukee, Wis.) recorded a first place finish. The squad crossed the finish line at 3:40.08, the fourth-fastest mark in program history.
After a quick return trip home, Mizzou will now turn to the Drake Relays, scheduled for April 27-29 in Des Moines, Iowa.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
Track Results
100m Dash, Men – 15. Jerrad Mason, 11.03 (Wind – 2.5) // 17. Jonathan Holder, 11.14 (Wind – 2.5)
100m Dash, Women – 5. Tsai-Anne Joseph, 11.86 (Wind – 3.2)
200m Dash, Men – 6. Niager Mathis, 21.64 (Wind – 1.4) // 7. Kahmari Montgomery, 21.65 (Wind – 2.6)
200m Dash, Women – 18. Emma Vickers, 25.99 (Wind – 3.5)
400m Dash, Men – 5. Kahmari Montgomery, 47.61 // 14. Niager Mathis, 49.48
400m Dash, Women – 5. LaQuisha Jackson, 55.49 // 7. Sydney Wells, 56.12 PR // 14. Emma Vickers, 58.67
800m Run, Women – 12. Faramola Shonekan, 2:21.30
1500m Run, Men – 5. Luca Russo, 3:47.46 // 20. Zach Cook, 3:56.14 PR // 23. Cain Winebrenner, 3:58.45 // 28. Michael Widmann, 4:09.42 // 29. Brian Hernan, 4:17.62
1500m Run, Women – 16. Elly DeTurris, 5:00.40
3000m Run, Women – 4. Hannah Thomas, 10:06.88 // 7. Kaelyn Balch, 10:24.01
100m Hurdles, Women – 3. Valerie Thames, 13.91 (Wind – 2.8)
400m Hurdles, Men – 3. Jerrad Mason, 51.65
400m Hurdles, Women – 5. Valerie Thames, 1:02.69
3000m Steeplechase, Men – 3. Tim Johnson, 10:01.61
3000m Steeplechase, Women – 4. Samantha Farmer, 11;17.80
4x400m Relay, Women – Sandrae Farquharson, LaQuisha Jackson, Sydney Wells, Valerie Thames, 3:40.08 PR, #4
Field Results
High Jump, Women – 2. Karissa Roman, 1.70m (5-7)
Triple Jump, Men – 2. Ja'Mari Ward, 15.44m (50-8) PR, #8 (Wind – 1.1)
Triple Jump, Women – 2. Shammai Ilis, 11.94m (39-2.25) (Wind – 1.9)
Shot Put, Men – 4. Will Fife, 16.77m (55-0.25)
Shot Put, Women – 1. Gabi Jacobs, 15.03m (49-3.75) // 3. Emily Stauffer, 14.49m (47-6.5)
Discus, Men – 5. Tanner Buschmann, 46.93m (153-11) // 7. Will Fife, 46.32m (152-0)
Discus, Women – 1. Gabi Jacobs, 56.35m (184-10) PR, #2
Hammer Throw, Men – 1. Patrick Kunza, 59.47m (195-1) // 3. Ahren Bohanan, 58.04m (190-5) // 4. Sean Harrell, 50.37m (165-3)
Hammer Throw, Women – 1. Rebecca Keating, 56.52m (185-5) // 3. Emily Stauffer, 46.87m (153-9) // 6. Allie Webb, 41.30m (135-6)
Javelin, Men – 2. Alex Pascal, 65.18m (213-10)
Javelin, Women – 6. Allie Webb, 31.41m (103-0)
Players Mentioned
