Thomas Jefferson statue on Francis Quadrangle on the University of Missouri campus
 
Thomas Jefferson statue on Francis Quadrangle on the University of Missouri campus
  
 
Jefferson Cup Promotes Education and Competition

... and, we're bringin' back the dual meet!

April 1, 2008

-Jefferson Cup-
April 4-5, 2008

Charlottesville, Va.
Lannigan Track

Quick Info and Links

  • Meet Schedule (EDT) :
    Friday: 3:30pm (hammer only)
    Saturday: 11:00am-4:30 p.m.
  • Scoring: dual-meet scoring, 5-3-2-1 (indiv. events, only two per team may score), 5-3 (relay events)
  • Series Record: first meeting
  • Missouri Head Coach: Rick McGuire, 25th Season at Missouri, 0-0 overall record
  • Host: Virginia
  • Weather

Shades of the Season

Latest USTFCCCA Rankings
Outdoor Preseason - March 26

COLUMBIA, Mo.--It's been 24 years since a Missouri Track & Field team has taken on another school head-to-head in a true dual meet, but, starting Friday, that will change, as the Tigers will start a new tradition with the University of Virginia, the Jefferson Cup.  With the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, this weekend’s inaugural meeting will take place in Charlottesville, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

The Origins of the Jefferson Cup
Jefferson, the third U.S. president, has ties to both the University of Virginia and the University of Missouri. Jefferson has been touted as the father of UVA as the University’s founder and architectural designer. It was Jefferson’s vision of a higher-education institution that was paid for by the general public for use by its ordinary citizens to help facilitate a more organized and educated society.

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Lewis & Clark Expeditions those following years during the Jefferson presidency guided Missouri to statehood in 1821. In 1839, the University of Missouri was the first state University to be established in the new lands that Jefferson purchased and its educational philosophy was shaped by the ideals of Jefferson.

In 1883, Jefferson’s family presented MU with a marker that was placed at his grave at his Monticello home. The granite headstone is still on the Columbia campus on the Francis Quadrangle outside of the Chancellor’s Residence, now resting beside a bronze statue of Jefferson. The inscription on the stone reads, “… dedicated on this campus at commencement June 4, 1885, and commemorates Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, whose faith in the future of western America and whose confidence in the people has shaped our national ideals.”

To this day, the University of Missouri celebrates Jefferson’s causes. Yearly, the UM System presents the Thomas Jefferson Award to the member of the UM community that “through personal influence and performance of duty in teaching, writing and scholarship, character and influence, devotion and loyalty to the University best exemplifies the principles and ideals of Thomas Jefferson. For example, Jefferson encouraged competition among ideas, rejected superstition in favor of a scientific and rational world view, believed that society and government should be tolerant of differences, supported free public education and the application of knowledge to the solution of public problems, and was devoted to free expression.”

Back to the Duals
The Tiger men are currently on a winning streak, of sorts, having won its last dual meet indoors on February 3, 1984, defeating Iowa State 69-61 in Columbia. The last outdoor dual meet for Missouri was on May 1, 1982, when the Tigers fell to Nebraska 91-61.

While the dual meet was a main sector of the culture of collegiate track and field for more than 80 years, in the 1970s and 1980s a smaller priority was given to these head-to-head contests in favor of a higher concentration on national-meet qualification.

“Teams started to design their schedule to fit the needs to qualify for national meets and quietly erased the head-to-head component that made the sport so fun,” said Head Coach Rick McGuire.

Most of the former rivalries would dissipate, but some such as the UCLA-USC dual and the Stanford-Cal match up, dubbed the “Big Meet”, still survived in the Pac-10.

Recently there has been a call to help revitalize the competitive spirit of collegiate track and field and make the sport fan friendly once again. The Michigan and Ohio State men brought back their dual for the first time since 1993 with an indoor dual meet during the indoor season. The Wolverines topped the Buckeyes on that January day 90-71 in front of over 1,300 fans. The outdoor version of “The Dual” will take place this weekend in Columbus.

Along with Missouri’s addition of the Jefferson Cup to their perennial schedule, Missouri and Kansas have decided to renew their traditional feud. The first “Border Dual” since 1976 will take place next January, resuming a series that began in 1901.

“Bringing back scored competition is essential to survival and growth of our sport,” said McGuire. “I am so excited to be a part of this upcoming weekend and hope all can learn from our experiences.”

The Tiger men won the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup over 10 other teams at Penn State in February and the excitement from that meet alone spurred McGuire to schedule more competitions for 2009.

“We have in the works five scored meets for next year, more than probably half of what I’ve witnessed here at Mizzou in the last 25 years combined.”

Tiger Throwers Jump on the Regional Board
Seven Tigers, all throwers, earned marks worthy of entry into May’s NCAA Mideast Regional Championship last weekend with great marks to start the year in the Missouri Relays. Junior Krishna Lee (Kansas City, Mo.) and senior Shernelle Nicholls (St. Andrew’s Parrish, Barbados) have already qualified for two events.

Lee had an impressive mark of 51-10½ (15.81m) in placing third in the shot to start the season on the right foot. Lee broke Mizzou’s indoor school record earlier this year. Lee also holds the Tigers’ school record in the hammer throw, and gained a regional qualifier with a 184-7 mark in that event in winning last weekend.

Nicholls broke her own school and Barbados national record with the discus last weekend. Throwing against a heavy cross wind, Nicholls will still able to traverse the disc to 170-7 (52.00m), placing her 12th in the country to this point. Nicholls also recorded a national-top five mark in the shot put last weekend with a throw of 52-4¾ (15.97m).

The hammer throw will take the stage alone on Friday as the only events contested that day in the Jefferson Cup.

 
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Rohr, Lee Finish As All-Americans

06/12/2009 - Track

Although Friday marked the end of the 2009 outdoor season for Missouri Track and Field, the Tigers finished the season with two more All-Americans in Chris Rohr and Krishna Lee despite more weather issues pushing back the start of the NCAA Outdoor Championships well past the 11 a.m. start time.

Rise Repeats As All-American

06/12/2009 - Track

After a grueling, nearly nine-hour competition, Tiger decathlete Lars Rise battled the elements and 21 other competitors over two days to finish his 2009 track season as an All-American for the second straight year on day two of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Tigers Qualify Despite Weather Issues

06/10/2009 - Track

Although weather problems would affect day one of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Tigers were still able to compete, paying off with three finals qualifiers in the hammer throw and pole vault and a top ten placing so far in five events of the decathlon.

Rohr Advances to Finals on First Attempt in Hammer Throw

06/10/2009 - Track

The Tigers had a strong start during the first event of the NCAA National Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. as Senior Chris Rohr automatically advanced to the finals of the Hammer Throw

Tigers Ready For Nationals

06/09/2009 - Track

Six Tigers have made it through the regional round of qualifying and have been accepted to the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field beginning tomorrow morning.