Mississippi State
NCAA Mideast Region Prelims (O)
Hubbard, Coachman And 4x4 Win Titles At Mideast Regional
May 31, 2008 | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? Mississippi State seniors Jamil Hubbard (400-meter dash) and Golden Coachman (800-meter run) and the men's 4x400-meter relay claimed event titles on the final day of the 2008 NCAA Mideast Track and Field Regional at John McDonnell Field on the University of Arkansas campus. In all, five individuals and the men's 4x4 advanced to the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa.
"We couldn't have had a better meet," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "We're going to the national meet with a lot of power. We're setup to have a top 10 finish there. I'm so pleased with today, though. The women were top 20 and Marrissa (Harris) set a school record once again.
"We have two Mideast Regional champions in Golden and Jamil. It's been a magical season for both Jamil and Marrissa."
The day's final event, the men's 4x400-meter relay, saw the Bulldogs trade the lead with SEC rival Kentucky through the first three legs and Hubbard capitalized on Kentucky's misfortune of a dropped baton to take the lead in the final leg as MSU won in 3 minutes, 5.62 seconds.
Hubbard followed his SEC championship in the 400-meter dash by winning the regional title in 45.72. Freshman O'Neal Wilder placed second in 46.20. In the next men's event, senior Golden Coachman edged Elkana Kosgei from LSU to win the meet title in 1:48.07. Senior Chris Woods took fourth in 1:48.54.
State's men scored a total of 48 points to finish sixth, the Bulldogs' highest finish ever at the meet.
Harris narrowly missed automatically qualifying for the national meet in the 100-meter hurdles. She finished sixth, running 13.05 and breaking her school record for the second consecutive day and fifth time this season. She qualified for the national meet in the heptathlon at the SEC Championships and in the long jump on Friday.
State's 4x100-meter relay team of Kendall May, Wilder, Hubbard and Mayers ran 40.89 to finish seventh. The team will await the selection of at-large bids for the national meet. The Bulldogs' season-best in the event was 39.42 run at the SEC Championships.
In the women's 4x100-meter relay, MSU's team of LaQuinta Aaron, Harris, Bridgett Rose and Priscilla Gaines ran 45.30 to finish fifth. Overall, the women scored the second-most points in school history at the regional meet, finishing 18th with 13.
May ran a personal-best 10.24 in the 100-meter dash to finish seventh. He will also await word on an at-large bid to the national meet. Freshman Emmanuel Mayers scored for the Bulldogs in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing eighth in 52.22.
All of MSU's athletes competing on Saturday earned USTFCCCA all-Region honors.
2008 NCAA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS ? MISSISSIPPI STATE
June 11-14 - Drake Stadium (Des Moines, Iowa)
Golden Coachman (Senior): 800-meter run
Marrissa Harris (Junior): Heptathlon, Long jump
Jamil Hubbard (Senior): 400-meter dash, 4x400-meter relay
Emmanuel Mayers (Freshman): 4x400-meter relay
O'Neal Wilder (Freshman): 400-meter dash, 4x400-meter relay
Chris Woods (Senior): 800-meter run, 4x400-meter relay
Players Mentioned
