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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri track and field team is sending groups to the Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Tyson Invitational, hosted by Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10. The two meets serve as the final tuneups before postseason competition begins at the SEC Championships in two weeks.
The Tigers will send 15 women and 19 men to Nashville, while just jumpers Claudina Diaz and Sterling Scott in addition to the 4x400m relay squad will take the trip to Fayetteville.
LAST TIME OUT
- Missouri had a monster weekend at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational hosted by Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas.
- Two Tigers won events, as junior Rece Rowan took home the men’s shot put title and freshman Sterling Scott topped the podium in the men’s triple jump.
- In addition to Scott and Rowan’s success, senior Alicia Burnett compiled an impressive weekend with two program record-breaking runs in the women’s 60m, finishing the weekend with a 7.21 in the event final for Missouri’s best-ever mark.
- The trio played a part in the Tigers racking up 20 top-five finishes across the two-day event.
FEELIN’ THE BURN
- Sprinter Alicia Burnett has been on a record-breaking tear through the indoor season as she looks to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
- In the 60m prelims at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, the St. Louis, Missouri, product set the program’s women’s 60m record with a 7.28 mark. Burnett broke LaQuisha Jackson’s time of 7.31 set in 2015.
- In the event final, she blew away her old mark set earlier in the day with a 7.21 sprint.
- Her 7.21 stands not only as the best time in the history of Missouri Track and Field, but as one of the best times in the country this season. Her time is tied for the seventh-best 60m mark in the NCAA.
A STERLING SEASON
- Through just two meets, jumper Sterling Scott has made his mark as one of the top freshmen in the country.
- At the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, the Starkville, Mississippi, native scored his first collegiate event win in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 15.72m to beat out No. 16-ranked jumper Garison Breeding from Texas Tech for the top spot.
- The mark set a lifetime best and moved Scott up four spots on Missouri’s all-time best triple jump marks to No. 6. Additionally, the leap helped him qualify for the U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru, far surpassing the qualifying mark of 15.50m
TAKING OUR BEST SHOT
- Throughout the 2024 indoor season, the shot put group has been putting in solid performances with a pair of event wins in two meets.
- In Missouri’s season opener at the Vanderbilt Invitational, graduate student Emily Offenheiser won the women’s shot put with a 15.77m (51-9) toss, a mark that ranked 10th on Missouri’s all-time shot put leaderboard.
- Last weekend at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, junior Rece Rowan earned the men’s shot put title with a 17.94m (58-10.25) throw that set a personal record.
- Offenheiser and Rowan, in addition to junior Skylar Coffey, who finished just behind Rowan with a 17.78m (58-4) at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, are all ranked among the top-75 shot putters in the country.
RESPECT THE CLAU
- As one of the two Tiger jumpers traveling to the Tyson Invitational, Claudina Diaz is hoping to improve upon a strong start to the season as she looks to repeat her outdoor All-American success on the indoor stage.
- Diaz has secured a pair of third-place results in the women’s high jump this winter, executing a 1.80m (5-10.75) jump that is just shy of her indoor personal best.
- In her most recent trip to the Tyson Invitational in 2022, the Meridian, Yucatan, Mexico, native captured her first collegiate event win with an indoor PR of 1.82m (5-11.5).
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).
