Seven Tigers qualify for NCAA Track & Field Championships

By Matt Cavanah

Published June 6, 2007

Missouri's Audrey J. Walton Stadium played host to the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Mideast Regional on May 25 and 26 and welcomed more than 900 athletes from 88 schools.

Seven MU track and field athletes advanced to the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.

Standing out on the MU women's side was sophomore Krishna Lee, who, in addition to qualifying for the championships, recorded a personal best in the shot put and a school record in the hammer throw.

On the first day of competition, Lee used a 16-inch improvement on her personal best in the shot put, throwing 52 1/2 to take second place and become the first Tiger to qualify for the championships.

In similar form, Lee made a 119-6 toss in the hammer throw, which placed her fifth and the event and first in the Missouri record books.

"Getting two personal records doesn't happen every day, so it was really exciting," Lee said.

The other Missouri women joining Lee were junior Shernelle Nicholls, who recorded a 12th place finish in the shot put and a top five national ranking, and junior Trisa Nickoley, who qualified in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 5.11 seconds.

On the men's side, four Tigers qualified. Senior Bill Hobson recorded a personal best in the shot put with a throw of 58-9 1/4, which earned him not only a fifth place finish, but also an automatic bid to the championships.

Hobson said he likes the reward of bringing it all together and going to the national meet.

Rounding out the men's side for MU were senior Marcus Mayes, who qualified in the 800-meter run with a personal best of 1:47.71, junior Jason Morris in the hammer throw and senior Bjorn Sommerfeldt in the decathlon.

After the two-day event came to a close, both the men and women teams scored 17 team points through 19 events.

The women's 17 points placed them at 13th overall, and the men's points left them at 15th overall.

The 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships will be held today through Saturday at Sacramento's Alex G. Spanos Stadium.