SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State track and field team is kicking back into action on Friday (April 14) in Columbia, Mo., at the Tom Botts Invitational at Missouri's Audrey J. Walton Stadium. Events will kick off on Friday with the hammer throw and long jump at 4:30 p.m., while the 1,500-meter run will start at 7:35 p.m. On Saturday, the pole vault will begin the field events at 11:30 a.m. as the 4 x 100-meter relay will mark the start of track competition at 1:00 p.m.

 

Missouri State Track and Field at Tom Botts Invitational
Date	Friday, April 14 - Saturday, April 15
Location	Columbia, Mo.
Site	Audrey J. Walton Stadium
Meet Information	Schedule of Events | Live Results
MissouriStateBears.com	Track and Field Homepage
Connect	@MSUBearsTrackXC | Bears on Facebook | Bears on Instagram | #MSUBears

Keeping Track of the Bears:

• The Bears will compete against MVC foe Northern Iowa, as well as Nebraska, Missouri-St. Louis and host Missouri in the Tom Botts Invitational.
• Junior Chelsey Linton is set to have a busy meet, scheduled to compete in a team-leading four individual events and one relay on Saturday. Thrower Mirissa Massey and sprinter Taryn Smiley will compete in four different events while many Bears' will participate in three events.
• The Bears are no strangers to the Tom Botts Invitational. Last year Holly Pattie-Belleli broke the MSU program record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.31. Pattie-Belleli would go on to record a faster time of 13.27 later in the season at the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship in Terre Haute, Ind.
• Also in 2016, Marissa Kurtimah reset the 100-meter dash record at the Tom Botts Invitational with a time of 11.47.
• Through four meets in the 2017 outdoor track season, the Bears' have three athletes in the Missouri Valley Conference top-10 in the 100-meter dash, led by Marissa Kurtimah's 11.69 seconds at No. 2. Shani Adams paces the MVC with a time of 59.92 in the 400-meter hurdles and is in the top five in the 400-meter dash (56.04). Jessica Allen's time of 17:18.81 in the 5,000-meter run is fourth in the Valley while thrower Melanie Raterman is second in the javelin throw (44.23 meters) and seventh in the hammer throw (49.88 meters).
• Seniors Holly Pattie-Belleli and Melanie Raterman opened the 2017 Outdoor season with MVC Track and Field Athlete of the week honors on March 21.
• Director of track and field and cross country, Ronald Boyce, enters his 21st season at the helm in 2016-17. In his time at MSU, his indoor and outdoor track and field teams have claimed nine Missouri Valley Conference Championships and have been Valley runners-up six times.