COLUMBIA, Mo. – Making his home debut at Audrey J. Walton Stadium, freshman Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) posted a top-five national mark in the long jump on Friday, winning the event with a jump of 7.88m (25-10.25). The freshman standout's performance was one of four first place finishes and five personal records set for Mizzou Track & Field on the first day of the Tom Botts Invitational.
Ward, who redshirted the indoor season, used his second jump of the day to post a wind-aided mark of 7.88m (25-10.25), a collegiate personal record for him after he began the season with a jump of 7.44m (24-5) at the Texas Relays on April 1. Ward's jump currently ranks fourth in the nation and will most likely hold up as a regional qualifying mark. Since the jump was recorded with a wind measurement of 3.2 m/s, the jump does not count in the program record book, but counts towards NCAA qualifying.
Ward's counterpart in the long jump – redshirt senior Mollie Gribbin (Montpelier, Vt.) – also recorded a first-place finish as the Nebraska transfer recorded a mark of 5.88m (19-3.5) to win the women's long jump. Gribbin, who already holds the third-best outdoor triple jump mark in program history, needs to improve her mark by just six inches to reach the program top-10 list.
In track events, the Tigers had two other first place finishes as redshirt senior Ollie Lockley (Colby, Isle of Man) finished first in the 5000m run and redshirt freshman Samantha Farmer (Columbia, Mo.) finished first in the 3000m steeplechase. Both Tigers recorded personal records on the day, as Lockley finished at 14:14.78 and Farmer at 11:11.35.
In the men's hammer throw, redshirt freshman Patrick Kunza (Wentzville, Mo.) and redshirt junior Sean Harrell (Springfield, Mo.) each recorded personal records. Kunza finished second with a mark of 60.37m (198-0), while Harrell finished seventh with a throw of 52.49m (172-2).
Mizzou returns to action for the second day of the Tom Botts Invitational tomorrow, with field events beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT and track events at 1 p.m. CT. Prior to the final event of the day, the 4x400m relay, Mizzou will honor its 23 seniors at 3:25 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
Track Results
1500m Run, Men – 17. Brian Hernan, 4:13.52
1500m Run, Women – 8. Hannah Thomas, 4:43.36 // 18. Elly DeTurris, 5:00.51
5000m Run, Men – 1. Ollie Lockley, 14:14.78 PR // 3. Drew White, 14:47.61 // 4. Marc Dubrick, 14:56.54
5000m Run, Women – 4. Kaitlyn Fischer, 17:18.96 // 8. Ellyn Atkinson, 17:48.89
3000m Steeplechase, Men – 2. Tim Johnson, 9:48.66
3000m Steeplechase, Women – 1. Samantha Farmer, 11:11.35 PR
Field Results
Long Jump, Men – 1. Ja'Mari Ward, 7.88m (25-10.25) PR, #5
Long Jump, Women – 1. Mollie Gribbin, 5.88m (19-3.5)
Hammer Throw, Men – 2. Patrick Kunza, 60.37m (198-0) PR // 5. Ahren Bohanan, 55.04m (180-7) // 7. Sean Harrell, 52.49m (172-2) PR
Hammer Throw, Women – 2. Rebecca Keating, 57.00m (187-0) // 7. Emily Stauffer, 47.31m (155-2) // 13. Allie Webb, 39.41m (129-3)
