Last year at the SEC Indoor Championships, Missouri only took home one event win and finished seventh overall. Some had record performances, like then-junior Ja’Mari Ward and then-sophomore Arianna Fisher, who both set program records in their field events.

This year, they hope to finish first.

This year’s championships are finally here, taking place this weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

“Moving into championship form at this point in the season is key,” head coach Brett Halter said.

Ward has dominated the entire season in the men’s long jump, winning the event multiple times this year.

Traditionally, Ward succeeds at the SEC Indoor Championships. As a junior in 2020, he finished third with a jump of 7.97 meters, with two seniors ahead of him. That mark still stands as a personal and school record.

Now he has a chance in his last year to make a run at first place, and a performance like last year might do it. He also still holds the fifth-longest jump in the nation this year, which means he will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships following this meet.

Fisher also had one of her best performances at last year’s championship in the women’s triple jump. She finished fourth but set a personal and program record with a distance of 13.25 meters.

This year, Fisher has put up solid numbers, with her best distance of 13.11 meters at the Wooo Pig Classic back in January. That still hasn’t been enough for first place in any meets this season. A great finish this weekend would be a major boost to the team’s performance.

Sophomore Euphenie Andre has been fun to watch in the triple jump as well. She’s been right with Fisher almost every meet and can take another step with an impressive performance in the postseason.

“Euphenie Andre is a great story,” Halter said. “She came out on her own to try out and was given a two-year trial, and now she’s one of the top-10 athletes in the country for her event, so it worked out.”

The indoor championship is a major event for the Tigers to go against the best competition and prove themselves, with eight of the SEC’s 14 teams inside the top-25. The men’s team has been close to wins against SEC teams like Arkansas, the defending conference champions, earlier in the season. This will be a chance for redemption.

The meet will be three days long, starting this Thursday and going through Saturday.

_Edited by Jack Soble | jsoble@themaneater.com_