The outdoor season is coming in fast, and the Tigers are ready for their first meet at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Friday and Saturday, March 20-21.
This meet will hopefully mark the season debut for Mizzou’s javelin throwers, adding an extra layer of excitement to the competition. It also gives many of our athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills in different events they did not have during the indoor season.
“I would say expectations are to just kind of see where everybody opens up,”
assistant coach Jordon Andreassen said. “It’s a new environment, outdoor is very different from indoor, different events, you know, new people traveling, so just kind of a different type of culture than indoor, so I think this is a really good opener. The weather should be great.”
Friday’s Meet Schedule
According to Georgia Tech’s meet schedule, the meet will kick off at 11:30 a.m., with hammer throw. Field events will resume at 5:30 p.m., with the shot put, javelin, pole vault and long jump Running events are scheduled for approximately 6 p.m., beginning with the 100-meter hurdles, 110m H, 100m, 1500m, 300m steeplechase, and concluding with the 5000m. Each running event will start with the women and finish with the men’s race.
Saturday’s Meet Schedule
Saturday’s slate of events will start a bit later in the afternoon, at 12 p.m., with field events. There will be high jumpers, women’s pole vault, triple jumper and discus throw for both women and men. Shortly after, running events will begin at 1 p.m., starting with the 4x100m relays, followed by the 400m intermediate hurdles, 400m, 800m, 200m and finishing with the 4x400m relay. Each event will start with the women’s race, and conclude with the men’s.
Schedule of events link: https://ramblinwreck.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Yellow-Jacket-Inv-2026-Schedule-TENTATIVE-3.pdf
Last Year’s Yellow Jacket Invitational
Last year, the meet took place Friday and Saturday, March 21-22. During the first day of events,Petra Gombas placed seventh which advanced her to the finals on Saturday. Clayton Kamp did the same with an eighth place finish.
On another high note, 14 Tigers managed to earn personal bests that day and Robert Hines finished in bronze in the men’s 100m race. Ryan Eddington took the podium during the men’s 1500m race as well.
During Saturday’s slate of events, Hines and other athletes claimed Mizzou’s ninth best record in the 4x100m race. Also, Hines claimed a personal best in the men’s 200m. Anna Vedral claimed seventh overall in the women’s pole vault and Ames Burton finished fourth in the discus.
This Meets Expectations
With this being the Tigers first outdoor season outing, a lot of Mizzou fan favorites will return after last year’s success.
Valentina Barrios will hit the ground running after capturing the school’s record in the javelin and hit marks no one has ever had for the University. Barrios advanced to the World Athletics Championship where her talent was displayed for the world to see.
Other athletes that the fans are waiting for are Skylar and Taylor Ciccolini. They are both javelin throwers and Skylar claimed sixth in the javelin at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships and Taylor had high remarks in 2022.
The discus and hammer throw will also resume, and Mizzou throwers are ready for action. The outdoor season introduces different events for both sprinters and distance runners. Unlike the indoor season, which is held on a 200-meter track, the outdoor season takes place on a 400-meter track. This allows for a wider range of events, including longer races for sprinters.
“I’m excited to see the Ciccolini’s Taylor and Skylar compete. Valentina, all the jav girls, really,” Andreassen said. “Yeah, they’ve been working their butts off all indoor, just preparing for outdoor, and it can seem like a long, a long time for them without seeing a competition, so I’m really excited to see how they do some of our throwers as well, you know, in the hammer and the discus, to see how they how they pan out.”
The outdoor season will feature six meets, before heading to the SEC Outdoor Championships in Auburn, Ala. The competition will not be light on their journey to the top and the Tigers will have to pounce during every occasion.
Their schedule highlights a two-day border war versus Kansas, a three-day Big Red Classic meet and the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, La. This will set the stage for a stacked and highly competitive 2026 season.
To read more about Missouri’s Track and Field team, follow @Rock MNation and @SophBleedsLA on twitter/X.
