While Missouri track and field was competing at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, last weekend, redshirt senior Megan Cunningham was busy posting a personal record and annihilating the field in the 5,000-meter run at the Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Cunningham posted the fourth-fastest time in school history as she crossed the finish line with a time of 16:03.20, the seventh-fastest time in the West region this season.
Cunningham had to wait for over 2.5 minutes until runner-up Anne Wood of Pittsburg State finished with a time of 18:35.61.
In Fayetteville, the Tigers recorded five event wins, all from field events.
Redshirt junior Gabi Jacobs started competition by winning the women’s discus. The All-American won with a throw of 55.42 meters, the 12th-longest throw in the West region so far this season.
The top-12 finishers in the West Regional from May 24-26 in Sacramento, California, will qualify for the national championships in Eugene, Oregon, that begin June 6.
On Saturday, junior Becky Keating won the women’s hammer throw with a toss of 58.58 meters to start the second day of competition.
Then, redshirt junior Will Fife won the men’s shot put with a mark of 17.82 meters. Redshirt junior Avery Carter finished third with a mark of 16.46 meters.
Missouri finished first and second in the women’s javelin. Sophomore Allie Webb won with a throw of 43.74 meters while freshman Megan Haley finished second with a mark of 40.05 meters.
The fifth win for the Tigers came from junior Karissa Roman, who won the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.70 meters.
On the track, Missouri had three runners finish in the top three of their respective events.
In the 800-meter run, freshman Chris Conrad took third place with a time of 1:51.26 on the men’s side while redshirt freshman Karina Liz finished third with a personal-record of 2:10.78 for the women’s team.
Redshirt senior Jerrad Mason also finished third, posting a time of 52.25 in his season debut in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.
Next, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel back to Columbia to compete in the Tom Botts Invitational from April 20-21 at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.
_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_