University of Missouri
NCAA Outdoor Championships - Regional
Schweizer and 4x100m Relay Team Qualify for NCAA Championships
5/27/2017 10:45:00 PM | Track & Field
AUSTIN, Texas – Mizzou Track & Field added two more entries to the NCAA Championships on Saturday, the final day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships. Junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) continued her phenomenal junior campaign by clinching her spot in the 5000m run, while the women's 4x100m relay team of sophomore Maya Cody (St. Louis, Mo.), senior Sandrae Farquharson (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica), senior LaQuisha Jackson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and redshirt sophomore Tsai-Anne Joseph (St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago) finished 12th to punch their ticket to Eugene.
In total, Mizzou will have seven entries at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon. On Thursday, senior Reinhard Van Zyl (Hoedspruit, South Africa) and redshirt junior Alex Pascal (Cayman Islands) qualified in the javelin, while redshirt sophomore Jamie Kempfer (Festus, Mo.) did so in the 10,000m run. Yesterday, redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) punched her ticket in the discus with a school record, while senior Valerie Thames (Milwaukee, Wis.) qualified in the 400m hurdles.
"I thought our student-athletes competed very well over the last three days," said head coach Brett Halter. "We have fought through everything Mother Nature could throw at us this year, this time extreme heat and humidity, but our student-athletes never let that stand in the way of them achieving their goals. We have a terrific group heading towards Eugene. I thought Jamie and Karissa both ran smart races in their events to clinch their spot, the women's 4x100 team fought really hard and ran a season-best by a lot. Gabi's throw exemplified it just takes one and that kind of competitive integrity is what champions are made of. Alex and Reinhard took care of business this weekend, and Valerie is such a competitor. She always finds a way to race the people she is with. I'm really excited to see what she can do in the long hurdles at Eugene."
A surprise to none, Schweizer ran near the middle of the pack for a majority of the race before taking the lead with four laps to go. Schweizer and Boise State's Allie Ostrander separated themselves from the rest of the pack at that point, but with one lap remaining, Schweizer kicked her pace into another gear and pulled away from Ostrander, finishing the race at 16:24.07. The Tiger junior will make her second NCAA Championships appearance after she finished third in the 5000m run in 2016.
After a review, three teams were disqualified in the women's 4x100m relay, vaulting the Tigers into 12th place and qualifying them for a spot in the NCAA Championships. The team finished at 44.59, besting their mark of 45.00 set at the Crimson Tide Invite on April 8 to rank third in program history. Farquharson will make her second appearance at the NCAA Championships after qualifying for the 400m dash last season, while Cody, Jackson and Joseph will all make their NCAA Championships debuts in Eugene.
In the women's shot, Jacobs and freshman Emily Stauffer (Reinholds, Penn.) each posted personal records, finishing 17th and 25th, respectively. Jacobs recorded the seventh-best throw in program history at 15.78m (51-9.25), while Stauffer threw 15.25m (50-0.5). Redshirt Mollie Gribbin (Montpelier, Vt.) finished 28th in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 12.61m (41-4.5), which ranks second in program history.
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Track Results
200m Dash, Women – 24. LaQuisha Jackson, 23.56
5000m Run, Women – 1. Karissa Schweizer, 16:24.07Q // 39. Teylar Adelsberger, 17:32.25
100m Hurdles, Women – 24. Valerie Thames, 13.70
4x100m Relay, Women – 12. Maya Cody, LaQuisha Jackson, Tsai-Anne Joseph, Sandrae Farquharson, 44.59q PR, #3
4x400m Relay, Women – 19. Sandrae Farquharson, LaQuisha Jackson, Sydney Wells, Valerie Thames, 3:39.38
Field Events
Triple Jump, Women – 28. Mollie Gribbin, 12.61m (41-4.5) #2
Shot Put, Women – 17. Gabi Jacobs, 15.78m (51-9.25) PR, #7 // 25. Emily Stauffer, 15.25m (50-0.5) PR
Players Mentioned
