Jan. 4, 2010

After what was another very successful season for head coach Rick McGuire and his entire Mizzou track and field coaching staff in 2009, expectations have been elevated throughout the program as it enters the 2010 season. Offering some of the best student-athletes in the Big 12 Conference this season, Mizzou returns a defending Big 12 Champion, a slew of All-Americans and All-Big 12 athletes, and plenty of NCAA Regional qualifiers to its roster.

The amount of experience that these athletes have developed over the course of their career will undoubtedly help Mizzou establish a presence at the Big 12 Championships during the indoor and outdoor season, but it will also give Mizzou a chance to make a mark during NCAA postseason competition and beyond.

Not only does the track and field program return a majority of its talent from a season ago, it does so across the board, in all of the major event groups.

Combined Events
During his tenure as the head coach, McGuire - a combined event specialist - has mentored some of the program's finest multi-event student-athletes. The combined events have continued to grow under the direction of combined events coach Dan Lefever since his welcome to the program nearly eight years ago. And entering 2010, Lefever may have the best corps of combined event specialists that he has ever had, highlighted by a pair of returning All-Americans in Nick Adcock and Lars Rise. Both put together phenomenal years in 2009 and have high expectations heading into the 2010 season.

Although the men's combined athletes bring plenty of accolades, the women's team features one of the Big 12's top combined athletes as well in Lauren Begany. A four-time All-Big 12 selection herself, Begany seems ready for a breakout season. She set personal-best marks in nearly every event last season, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in both the Big 12 pentathlon and heptathlon last season, earning All-Big 12 honors in both events. She set personal-best point totals of 3,545 and 4,728 in each event at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively, last season.

Incoming freshman Kelcy Vanarsdall - the younger sister of 2010 team captain Katie Vanarsdall - will also compete in the combined events for the women as the coaching staff has high expectations for the freshman.

Distance/Mid-Distance
Entering the 2010 season, the mid-distance and distance runners may most accurately portray the quality depth on this season's roster. The men's team has the potential to advance as many as 11 runners to the NCAA Regional Championships during the outdoor season and will most likely have a strong presence at the NCAA National Indoor meet as well. Six of the Tigers' eight NCAA Regional qualifiers on the men's side from a season ago return to the track in 2010, highlighted by a strong group of mid-distance runners.

Tim Cornell highlights the men's middle distance group this season.

Irwin saw his times consistently improve until a personal-best time of 1:49.80 in the 800m run earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 team during the Big 12 Outdoor Championships last season. Not only will he make his mark felt in the 800m run, but he is also a seasoned 1,000m and mile runner. Scheff and Dixon each fall into that same category with Irwin, as they too are an NCAA Regional qualifiers and All-Big 12 honorees in the 800m run. Newcomer Ricky West, a transfer from Seton Hall, will also give the Tigers another 800m runner that will have a chance to qualify for regionals and make a run at All-Big 12 honors.

Senior Tim Cornell will be one of the leaders of a very strong middistance corps as well in 2010. Cornell is one of the few seniors who comprises the men's distance corps, and like the saying goes, he has gotten `better with age.' After qualifying for the 2009 USATF Outdoor Championships and participating in the championships that USA Track and Field uses to select the team that represented the USA in the World Championships, Cornell added a handful of national-level experience to his already expansive NCAA résumé. Cornell was an All-Big 12 and NCAA Regional qualifier in the 1,500m run last season and will look to duplicate that feat this season. Cornell also ranks in the Mizzou all-time top-five in the event, making him one of the top returning 1,5000m runners in the Big 12 in 2010.

After the mid-distance group, a young and dynamic class of distance runners has Wilmes excited for the distance events in 2010. Both Dan Quigley and Phillip King, who were each All-Big 12 recipients on the track last season - return for the 2010 campaign with lofty expectations. King was an All-Big 12 honoree in the 10,000m run in 2009 and will likely make his mark in that event again in 2010. Quigley, one of the Tigers' top runners during the cross country season in 2009, will also look to have a fine season in the 3,000m steeplechase, an event in which he ran one of the 10 fastest times in program history last season. Kyle Rood, who came into the program in the same season as King and Quigley, will also look to have a breakout season after redshirting in 2009.

Senior Michael Barrows was also granted a sixth season of indoor eligibility for the 2010 season as he will give the Tiger distance runners another strong presence in the 3,000m and 5,000m runs during the indoor slate. Michael Pandolfo and Max Storms highlight a great recruiting class for Wilmes as they both will look to make an immediate impact.

The middle distance and distance runners on the women's side have the coaching staff equally as excited. In fact, women's distance coach Rebecca Wilmes believes that this may be the most depth that she has ever coached during her time at Mizzou. Much like the men's group, the strength of the women's team lies in the 800m run, highlighted by senior Shannon Leinert, who swept the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the event last season.

Shannon Leinert returns as the defending Big 12 Champion in the 800m run.

Moving to the 1,500m run, the women return one of the Big 12's top runners in Emily Baker. An All-Big 12 honoree and NCAA Regional qualifier during the 2009 season, Baker will likely rank among the Big 12 elite during her senior season. Laura Roxberg, a big-time recruit for the program two years ago, will also likely make an impact in the middle-distance after redshirting last season.

A pair of freshmen who shined on the cross country circuit will get to show off their spikes on the track as both Kaitie Vanatta and Bailey Belvis look to prove that they are also very competitive track athletes this season. Vanatta will likely compete in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m runs throughout the season while Belvis will likely develop into a 3,000m steeplechase runner.

A big addition for the Tiger women's distance group will be the return of Kinsey Farren, who spent much of last season nicked up. An All-Big 12 and Drake Relays individual champion at 10,000m, Farren is a name to look out for in the women's distance events, because when she is healthy, she is one of the best runners in the Big 12 Conference.

The depth from the 800m run all the way to the 10,000m run give Wilmes a great confidence in what the Mizzou relays - especially the distance medley relay - can do this season. With the added depth, it gives the Tiger coaching staff more options on who should run which leg of the relay, and giving them yet another way to score points at the Big 12 Championship meets, both indoor and outdoor.

Throws
Mizzou has developed its track and field program into one of best throwing programs in the nation under the direction of Associate Head Coach Brett Halter. Heading into 2010, Halter faces the challenge of replacing some of the most decorated throwers in program history, Chris Rohr and Krishna Lee and Elisha Hunt saw their eligibility expire last season. All are Big 12 Champions, multiple-time All-Americans, school and Big 12 record holders. Rohr even garnered USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year honors last season while Lee scored more points than any other female competitor at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. So, needless to say, the Tigers lost a lot on the front end of their throws group.

Andy Oaker highlights a talented group of throwers on the men's side.

Sophomore Tim Opfer also had a fine fall training period and looks poised to make some noise in the Big 12 as well. According to Halter, Opfer is in the best physical shape of his career and with that, he has taken his technique to a whole new level. Opfer just missed All-Big 12 laurels last season, but with improvement in his technique and strength, he looks poised to take home a Big 12 honor this season.

Junior college transfer Chris Holly will also be competitive during the 2010 season as well. Holly is the 2009 JUCO National Champion in the hammer throw and finished as an All-American in the weight throw and discus during his time Neosho Community College. His hammer throw personal-best is 58.69m (192-6), a mark that would rank him in the all-time top-10 hammer throwers in Mizzou history.

Joining Holly as newcomers to Halter's throws regime are some of the best high school recruits to ever come out of the state of Missouri, highlighted by Bonnville's Corey Jones. Coming out of high school, Jones holds the all-time top mark of any thrower in the state in the shot put. Jones boasts a high school personal-best of 20.21m (66-3 ¼) in the shot put, but as a freshman, Jones will just be looked upon to develop his technique, and with that, the results will eventually follow.

Jones was not the only big-time recruit that Halter was able to land this season. Brooks Mosier and Alex McDonald also need to be put on that list as this may be the best recruiting class that Halter and Mizzou have ever had. Mosier and McDonald are each multiple-time State Champions in Missouri in a variety of different events and bring a great deal of toughness and a great will to win, which impresses Halter the most. Both battled through significant injuries in their senior seasons and still shattered school and program records and won state championships while winning at the highest levels.

Rounding out the throwers on the men's side will be javelin standout Asa Wyatt. A converted high school quarterback, Wyatt had little to no javelin experience before arriving at Mizzou, but has developed into the team's top athlete in the event. Despite a knee injury last season, Wyatt's technique has improved as has his overall strength, making him a threat to score in the event for the Tigers this season.

According to Halter, the throwers on the women's side may be, collectively, the youngest group that he has ever coached. With the departure of standout Krishna Lee - a Big 12 Champion and multiple-time All-American - Halter is faced with the task of finding a leader of an extremely young, yet immensely talented throws group. That task of replacing Lee's leadership came easily for Halter as he saw a lot of the same traits in Katie Vanarsdall, who is one of the team's captains for the 2010 season.

Katie Vanarsdall was an All-Big 12 honoree last season and will captain the 2010 throws group.

That foursome of throwers should start to make its mark this season. After a vigorous fall training period, the four should be ready to step up and make some noise in the Big 12 Conference this season.

Of the three, Coil brings the most experience at the collegiate level into the rings. Coil competed in the Big 12 Championship hammer throw competition last season and set personal-best marks in the hammer throw, shot put, discus and weight throw in 2009.

Collins and Ervin have had limited collegiate exposure, but due to their progression, Halter feels that each of them could contribute plenty to the throws group in 2010.

Just as he did on the men's side, Halter has brought in some of the most decorated throwers to ever come out of the high school ranks in the state of Missouri. The two big-name recruits for Halter this season are Katie Evans and Kylie Jones. Evans, out of Unionville, Mo., is a Missouri State Champion and a high school All-American in the shot put. She is also a state championship meet record holder in shot put and discus and the fourth generation of Missouri Class 2A state record holders to come through Mizzou. Jones comes into the program with similar accolades as she ranked fourth in the nation in the discus during her senior season and helped her team to four-straight state championships. Jones also finished as the 2009 Missouri State Champion in the discus in 2009 and finished as the runner up in 2008.

Big things are expected of this class in the 2010 season and down the road as the Tigers look to remain as one of the top throws programs in all of collegiate track and field.

Jumps/Pole Vault
A pair of team captains highlight the Tiger returners for coach Dan Lefever and the jumps corps. The most recognizable name for the event group is pole vaulter Brian Hancock, who earned All-America honors during both the indoor and outdoor season in 2009. Not only did Hancock earn All-America honors, but he was an All-Big 12 honoree during the indoor and outdoor season as well. He shattered his own indoor school record in the event at the Arkansas Last Chance Meet, earning him a spot at the Indoor National Championships.

Brian Hancock returns as a three-time All-American pole vaulter.

The men also feature one of the league's top high jumpers in Daniel Hunter, who finished third in the Big 12 in the event during last season's Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Hunter cleared a personal-best 2.15m (7-0 ½) and finished one height shy of a first-place finish. He is an NCAA Regional qualifier and a former high school All-American that will look to improve his marks during his senior season.

Coach Lefever also brought in several top recruits in Marcus Ferguson, Michael Hollembeak and Mitch Willman, who highlight a young group of jumpers for the Tigers in 2010. Ferguson will mark his mark in the horizontal jumps while Hollembeak and Willman will compete in the high jump.

Lana Mims, a 2010 team captain, highlights the returning jumpers on the women's side. Mims just missed All-Big 12 honors in the long jump last season and with a productive fall training period, looks primed to make that leap into the top eight in the event this year. Mims comes from a long lineage of track and field success. Her mother, Madeline Manning Mims, is a four-time Olympian and a Gold medalist at 800m, breaking the Olympic record in the 1968 Mexico City games (2:00.92) in a race in which she pulled away in the backstretch of the final lap and won by 40 meters. She also won a Silver medal in the 1972 Munich games with USA's 4x400m relay team. Mims' brother, John Jackson, competed in the long jump and triple jump events at the University of Oklahoma and is in the school's all-time top 10 in the triple jump.

Lana Mims is one of several jumpers on the women's side that will likely make an impact in 2010.

Megan Brougher and Stacey Swineburg also return for the Tigers in the high jump this season. Brougher finished just one spot shy of All-Big 12 honors in the event last season and has hopes of cracking the top eight this season. Swineburg made tremendous strides during her freshman campaign in 2009. She competed at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, earning a wealth of experience as she moves forward into her sophomore season.

A trio of sophomore pole vaulters return for Lefever on the women's side as well, highlighted by Hannah Cooper and Abbie Garlich, both of whom have experience at the Big 12 Championships. The other member of the trio is Holly Stewart. The three are entering only their second season at the collegiate level and could turn some heads in 2010. Look for Cat Mehri along with freshmen Cathy Jenkins and Heather Green to factor into the equation in the women's jump events as well in 2010.

Sprints/Hurdles/Relays
Ryan Blackwell and Jerron Forte return to the short track for sprints coach Derrick Peterson this season as both will serve as team captains in 2010. Blackwell is one of the Tigers' best and most-seasoned sprinters on the short track as he boasts experience at the championship level in the 200m and 400m dashes. He earned All-Big 12 honors while anchoring the 4x400m relay team two seasons ago and will likely be the Tigers' top runner at 400m this season.

Ryan Blackwell will make his mark in the spints and relays in 2010.

Davis leads a group of hurdlers that have high expectations heading into the 2010 campaign. Despite being a middle-distance standout in the 600-yard run, Davis also excels in the 400m hurdles, an event in which he earned fourth-place in the Big 12 last season and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional. Davis saw nearly every one of his top marks improve during his sophomore season in 2009 and looks for a repeat of that during his junior year in 2010.

Clifton Leake, Matt Pickerel, Brian Schultz and Kellyn Fogarty all return for the 2010 season as they round out what should be an impressive class of sprinters for the Tiger men.

Leslie Farmer and Lana Mims highlight the returners for the Tiger women on the short track. Farmer had a very successful freshman season in 2009 and looks to expand her accomplishments in 2010. An All-Big 12 performer in the 400m hurdles during 2009, Farmer is expected to be one of the top hurdlers in the Big 12 heading into the 2010 campaign Farmer will also compete in the 100m hurdles and various longer sprint events this season. Her best sprint event is the 400m dash as she consistently breaks the 57-second mark and holds and outdoor personal-best of 56.55. Farmer is also a regular in the Tiger relays as she will likely compete as a member of Mizzou's 4x400m relay team this season. In fact, she ran as a member of the 4x400m relay team that took home fourth-place and All-Big 12 honors at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships last season with a school-record time of 3:40.86.

Leslie Farmer will look to build upon a successful freshman season.

The 2010 Big 12 Outdoor Championships
In what is the ultimate home-field advantage, Mizzou will play host to the Big 12 Outdoor Championships this season. 2010 will mark the fourth time that Audrey J. Walton Stadium and Mizzou will play host to the Championships - the last time Mizzou hosted the Championships was back in 2002. That year, the men finished third in the conference, their best finish at the Championships in program history. The women finished fifth back when Mizzou hosted the Big 12 Championships in 2000, their best finish in any of the Mizzou-hosted Big 12 Championships.

The three-day event will run from May 14-16 and feature the top athletes from around what is widely considered to be one of the top track and field conferences in the country. Missouri will become the only school in the Big 12 to have hosted the outdoor championships four times as Mizzou's track and field facility has proved to be second to none.

A Look at the Schedule
The Mizzou track and field program will have eight meets at home this season. Starting with the indoor season, the Tigers will open the 2010 campaign with back-to-back home meets as they will play host to the Missouri Invitational on Jan. 8 and return to the Hearnes Center Field House for a dual with Kansas as part of the M&I Bank Border Showdown on Jan. 15. The Tigers will then hit the road for four-consecutive meets with back-to-back trips to Lincoln, Neb., for the Adidas Classic and the Nebraska Combined Events Meet on Jan. 23 and Jan. 29, respectively. The team will then travel to South Bend, Ind., for the prestigious Meyo Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The four-week road trip will culminate with the Iowa State Classic, one of the most well-renowned indoor meets, on Feb. 12-13.

Mizzou returns home the weekend of Feb. 20 as it hosts the Missouri Collegiate Challenge and the Missouri All-Comers Meet. That will serve as the Tigers' final tune-up prior to the Big 12 Indoor Championships, which will be held at Iowa State on Feb. 26-27. The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held on March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Mizzou will host the Missouri Relays and the Audrey Walton Combined Events from March 25-27 to open the outdoor slate. The following weekend, Mizzou will compete at home for the final time before the Big 12 Championships as it hosts the annual Tom Botts Invitational.

Two straight trips to the West Coast fall during the middle of April for the Tigers. First up is a trek to Track Town USA - Euegene, Ore. - as the Tigers will take part in the Pepsi Challenge on April 10. On April 14 the Tiger combined event athletes will travel to Asuza, Cal., for the Mt. SAC Combined Event meet.

Following their trek out west, the Tigers will stay in the Midwest for two of the nation's most prestigious events - the Kansas Relays (April 14-17) and the 101st running of the Drake Relays (April 22-24). The Arkansas Twilight closes out the outdoor regular season on April 30th.

The Big 12 Championships will be held at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on May 14-16. This will be the fourth time that Mizzou has hosted the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. The NCAA West Regional will be held on Austin, Texas, from May 28-29 while the NCAA National Championships will be in Eugene once again on June 9-12.