It’s an Olympic year and the Missouri Tigers’ track and field unit possesses several athletes from around the world hoping to punch a ticket to Paris for the opportunity to compete in the world’s greatest athletic showcase. Before the Olympics, however, the Tigers have to roll through the 2024 outdoor season.

As the indoor season wraps up, we look ahead to the outdoor season. So, what can we expect out of the Tigers this year? Let’s evaluate this past indoor season’s performance as well as past outdoor seasons for reference as we preview the upcoming outdoor season.

The Tigers will open up competition at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia on March 15 and 16. They follow up this opener with multiple athletes competing in Gainesville, Florida at the Florida Relays, with others competing at the Stanford Invitational. Each of these meets takes place across March 29 and 30. The next two meets will take place on April 12 and 13 in Azusa and Long Beach, California for the Bryan Clay Invitational and Beach Invitational. The regular season culminates on April 26 and 27 in Manhattan, Kansas for the Ward Haylett Invitational. 

The postseason begins on May 9, continuing through May 11, with the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida. If any Tiger athletes are to qualify, they will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first round of the NCAA Championships taking place from May 22 through May 25. The collegiate season concludes with the NCAA Championship Finals opening on June 5 and finishing on June 8.

On the heels of a lackluster team finish at the SEC Indoor Championships, two athletes have broken through and shattered all expectations en route to Indoor NCAA Championships appearances.

Senior sprinter Alicia Burnett and freshman long jumper Sterling Scott have excelled, with Burnett showcasing her speed in the 200-meter dash, while also qualifying for the NCAA Championships after a seventh-place finish in the 60-meter dash at the SEC Championships. 

Meanwhile, Scott has jumped impressive distances all season long. The three-time high school Mississippi state champion competed in the triple jump and the long jump, with the triple jump stamping his ticket to the NCAA Championships thanks to a bronze medal finish at the conference finals. Both of these athletes will hope to carry their momentum into the spring season.

There are many other female Tigers to keep an eye out for this upcoming season, including sophomore hurdler Isabella Sokolova, junior distance runner Jenna Schwartz, junior middle distance runner Kelsey Schweizer, junior jumper Claudina Diaz and junior jumper Euphenia Andre. 

Other names to watch out for are graduate discus thrower Emily Offensheiser, junior discus thrower Ames Burton, sophomore hammer thrower Carolina Daza, and a stellar batch of javelin throwers, graduate Skylar Ciccolini, junior Valentina Bornacelli, graduate Ava Curry, and graduate Erin Zimmerman. Each of these athletes possesses a top-ten mark in Missouri track and field history.

On the men’s side, sophomore sprinter Robert Hines, sophomore distance runner Drew Rogers, junior distance runner Davis Helmerich, graduate discus thrower Mitch Weber, and junior discus thrower Rece Rowan each possess top-ten marks of their own in the school’s history.

With this talented crop of athletes, this season’s team seems destined to better its results from last year’s SEC Outdoor Championships. At last year’s meet, the men finished last in scoring with a thirteenth place finish, while the women posted a slightly better finish, coming in tenth. 

In his twelfth season as the University of Missouri track and field head coach, Brett Halter looks to restore glory to the Tigers who won the Indoor NCAA Championships back in 1965.

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com