Missouri track and field returned home this past Friday for the first time since hosting the Missouri Invitational on Jan. 20. The Tigers, who set 15 personal records at the meet, finished with a total of seven first-place finishes, setting the tone for the SEC Indoor Championships this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.
Highlighting the meet was junior Valerie Thames, who finished with a record-breaking time of 8.45 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. This mark surpassed all previous school, meet and facility records. For Thames, the time breaks her previous best by 0.15 seconds, and breaks the previous school indoor 60-meter record by 0.05 seconds.
Fourteen other athletes set personal records on Friday, with many highlights coming from women’s sprinters and men’s weight throwers.
Other notable performers included sophomore Kahmari Montgomery, who took first place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.85, and senior LaQuisha Jackson, who set a meet record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.28.
The men’s weight throw made an impression on Friday, as Missouri had athletes finish in first, second and fourth place. Redshirt freshman Patrick Kunza took first place with a throw of 19.22 meters, while redshirt senior Ahren Bohanan finished second with a throw of 18.96 meters. Redshirt junior Sean Harrell placed fourth with a throw of 16.52 meters.
Four Tigers set personal records in sprint events, with junior Jerrad Mason posting a time of 6.95 and sophomore Beresford Sweeney finishing at 7.14 in the 60-meter dash. Redshirt sophomore Tsai-Anne Joseph finished with a time of 7.77 for the women in the 60-meter dash, while senior Sydney Wells finished second with a time of 56.84 in the 400-meter dash.
In addition, redshirt sophomore Avery Carter finished first with a throw of 16.25 meters in the shot put, while junior Shammai Ilis set a personal mark in the triple jump with a total distance of 12.01 meters.
Long-distance freshman Faramola Shonekan finished third place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.34, while freshman Dylan Quisenberry finished fifth with a time of 1:59.49.
Other headlines from the meet include sophomore Hannah Thomas’ first-place finish in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:05.56, and freshman Karina Liz’s first-place finish in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:37.70. Junior Rauno Liitmae finished his pole vault debut with a mark of 4.58 meters.
Missouri track and field enters postseason competition next week at the SEC Indoor Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
