Track athletes compete with nation's best
Published March 14, 2007
Tigers finish strong in Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When an athlete makes the All-American team in any sport, it is a praiseworthy accomplishment.
For track, the system of placing athletes on the team is even more of an accomplishment because the All-American team is not voted on. Instead the top eight American finishers in each event at the national meet are named to the team.
The MU track team placed four athletes on the All-American team, including two in the men's weight throw, a stat that thrilled coach Rick McGuire.
"You've got four kids that are All-Americans," he said. "You start out with 900, and every one of those is trying to get to the national meet and take an All-American certificate home. It's thrilling. You hope to get one, and we get four."
Sophomore Chris Rohr and junior Tyler Dailey were both named to the All-American team after their performances in the weight throw.
Rohr's seventh-place finish was good enough to make him the first Tiger to make All-American-status twice in the weight throw.
"We just had to go out there, get a mark and then go after it," he said. "It helps me carry into my other events knowing that I can do well in those. I'm looking for more, though."
Rohr said the indoor meet provided a stark contrast to having to deal with outside factors later in the year.
"Here is a lot different from any other thing because it's indoors and it's a separate facility," he said. "It gets so quiet in here. It's like a pin dropping in here."
Dailey finished just outside the top eight, coming in at ninth overall. But because one of the eight who placed above him was not an American, Dailey's performance was good enough to join Rohr as an All-American.
"I went into the meet knowing that the top 10 spots would be Americans," he said. "I knew the throw that I'd have to have to get into the top 10 wouldn't have to be anything exceptional. I knew it would just be near my season's best, that was the goal."
Dailey credits his coaches with helping him avoid the stress of the national meet.
"My mental approach to avoid the national hype was that I just told myself that I'd been here before, even though I hadn't," he said. "I felt no pressure yesterday, and at Big 12s I was freaking out."
McGuire said he was impressed with his weight-throwers, who placed in the top 10 despite being underclassmen and American-born.
Being American-born is a disadvantage in the weight throw because the United States is the only area where the event is not a competition before the collegiate level.
"That event's an event dominated by international athletes," McGuire said. "They have a great coach. Not me, Brett (Halter). Coach Halter is the deal."
Seniors Marcus Mayes and Elisha Hunt joined Rohr and Dailey as All-Americans with their performances in the 800-meters and weight throw. Hunt's performance made her the third Tiger in the weight throw to earn All-America honors. All three weight-throw All-Americans are from Missouri.
"It's very special to have two in one event, but two in that event when they're both from Missouri, that's very special," McGuire said. "It's the same with Elisha, another Missouri kid. You just watched her hit it big in a big arena."
MU track earns four all-american spots
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On a record-setting Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, two members of Missouri's team had strong finishes in the men's heptathlon and the women's weight throw at the Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas.
Senior Hans Uldal, a member of the 2004 Norwegian Olympic team, ended his college career with a ninth place finish in the men's heptathlon with 5,478 points, just one place and 33 points out of All-American status. After sitting last in 12th place after Friday's first four events, Uldal had a school record time in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.26 seconds.
Uldal needed to post a strong finish in the final event, the 1,000 meter run, and he finished 11th out of 12 with a time of 2:53.33. Uldal was disappointed with his finish but proud of his day-two rally.
"The first two events I was pretty happy, and then in the 1,000, the monkey jumped on my back," he said. "I'm not happy with my score, but compared to how I felt after Friday, I was pretty pleased."
Uldal, who has battled an Achilles' heel injury, said he tired during the latter parts of the race.
"My legs and back locked up real bad," he said. "It sucks that it happens at nationals, but that's how it goes."
Texas senior Donovan Kilmartin won the heptathlon with 5,998 points. Wisconsin senior Joe Detmer set a world record in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:29.42, clearing the second-place runner by more than 11 seconds. Detmer finished fifth overall.
In the women's weight throw, MU junior Elisha Hunt, who qualified 15th out of 16, had a strong showing to qualify third for the finals with a school-record throw of 20.79 meters. Hunt cleared her two previous tosses, which were both records when she threw them.
During the final, Clemson senior Della Clark passed Hunt with a throw of 20.85 meters to bump Hunt to a fourth place finish but not even that could take the smile off her face.
"I'm beyond cloud nine right now," she said. "I was just as surprised as anyone. I was just shooting for All-American."
The top eight throwers received All-American status. Hunt qualified for the status by more than two meters. Southern Illinois senior Brittany Riley set collegiate, American and world records by throwing the 20-pound weight 25.56 meters, more than 83 feet. That cleared the old collegiate record, set by Florida's Candice Scott in 2005, by 1.39 meters.
Tigers coach Rick McGuire sang the praises of both Hunt and Uldal and said he wished the senior could have finished one spot higher.
"I've loved Hans since the day he came to Columbia," McGuire said. "For him, I wish he could have gotten on the stand one more time."
As for Hunt, McGuire used one word to describe her performance: awesome.
"She delivers her best four times," McGuire said. "What in sport could be better than that? We're pretty proud of that and happy for her and happy how this weekend turned out."