Track and Field Opens 2024 Indoor Campaign At Vanderbilt Invitational

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri track and field program hits the road for its 2024 indoor season opener at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee on Jan. 19-20. The two-day event takes place at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility and begins Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT and concludes Saturday at 6:10 p.m CT.

The meet is set to feature 45 teams, including host Vanderbilt and five other SEC programs. The Tigers will travel 18 competitors from the women’s team and 20 from the men’s team.

• Numerous Tigers had a banner 2023 campaign, as Missouri claimed a pair of USTFCCCA All-American First Team placements and six top-10 finishes at the SEC Championships.
• Roberto Vilches closed out his sensational collegiate indoor career by securing his third All-American honor with a seventh-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships and taking second in the event at the SEC Indoor Championships to take second and earn All-SEC Second Team recognition.
• Arianna Fisher ended her indoor tenure with the Tigers by setting a program record in the triple jump with a 14.06m (46-1.50) leap at the NCAA Indoor Championships to secure her second All-American nod.

• Despite just competing in two indoor meets in 2023, senior Claudina Diaz made a major impact in the high jump and is prepared to take an even bigger step with a full 2024 campaign.
• At the Don Kirby Invitational hosted by New Mexico, the Meridia, Mexico, jumper placed fifth with a 1.77m (5-9.75) in her lone regular-season meet.
• Diaz rounded out her indoor campaign at the SEC Indoor Championships, posting a fifth-place finish with a 1.80m (5-10.75).
• After earning USTFCCCA All-American First Team honors in the outdoor high jump, Diaz is hoping to replicate that success on the indoor stage this season.

• Junior Angus Beer returns for his third year as one of the strongest middle distance runners for the Tigers.
• The competitor from Rozelle, Australia competed in the 800m, mile and 4x400m relay and finished among the top eight in six events last season.
• At the SEC Indoor Championships, Beer ran a personal-record 4:04.83 in the mile prelims to take eighth place. In the event finals, he finished sixth with a 4:05.67.

• After a strong 2023 indoor season on shot put, graduate student Emily Offenheiser is looking to close out her Missouri career with an even stronger 2024 campaign.
• During the regular season, the Elizabeth, Illinois, product logged top-eight finishes in all four regular-season meets.
• At the Mark Colligan Memorial hosted by Nebraska, Offenheiser scored her personal-best indoor shot put mark, tossing a 15.34m (50-4) to take the bronze medal in the event.

• After yet another solid outdoor season in 2023, graduate student Mitch Weber returns to the indoor scene for the first time since 2022 looking to make a splash. 
• The 2022 SEC discus champion’s last indoor competition came at the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships, where he set a personal-best mark in the weight throw, coming in sixth with a hurl of 20.88m (68-6).
• In last year’s outdoor campaign, Weber racked up five top-five placements, including a fifth-place result at the SEC Outdoor Championships in the discus throw. Additionally, Weber competed at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, placing 16th at the event.

• Freshman jumper Sterling Scott enters his collegiate debut in Nashville as one of the most exciting prospects in the country in the triple jump and long jump.
• Scott joins the Tigers after a momentous summer at the national and international level, securing the long jump title at the New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia this past June.
• The Starkville, Mississippi, native capped off his summer by claiming the triple jump title at the Pan American U20 Championships with a 15.67m (51-4) in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
• The 2022-23 Gatorade Boys Track and Field Player of the Year for the state of Mississippi finished his prep career ranked ninth in the country in the triple jump.

• In addition to Scott, the Tigers will travel 12 new competitors to the Vanderbilt Invitational to make their Missouri debuts.
• On the men’s side, six competitors — Skylar Coffey, Steven Marks, Jack Forer, Andrew Simard and Eddie Zuercher — will make their debuts in the Black and Gold.
• On the women’s roster, five Tigers — Nicole Louw, Anneken Viljoen, Reagan Kimrey, Charnay Davis, Elissa Barnard and Blair Pace — will suit up for their first meet as a member of Mizzou Track and Field.

For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).