Mississippi State
SEC Championships (O)
Harris? Bid To Repeat As Heptathlon Champ Falls Short
May 15, 2009 | Track & Field
The Mississippi State All-American held a slim 12-point lead going into the final event, the 800-meter run, but Chaplin crossed the finish line two seconds ahead of Harris to finish third and garner the title. However, Harris' time of 2:23.79 was a personal best.
She finished with 5,579 points (second only in the MSU record books to the 5,600 she collected last year en route to the crown) to take second place and earn an automatic qualifying mark at next month's NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., while Chaplin won with 5,594 points.
Harris, who also had a personal best in the javelin with a throw of 124-3, entered the second day of competition at
“It was one heck of an effort by her to be down and turn things around and fight like she did,” MSU coach Al Schmidt said. “It came down to the last 10 meters, and Chaplin was just able to get by her. It was a high-quality race.”
Junior LaQuinta Aaron had another stellar afternoon as she finished fifth with a career-best 5,351 points, the third-most in school history. She aided her cause with a second-place finish in the long jump (18' 10 ?”), then secured her spot with a personal-best time of 2:25.39 in the 800-meter dash.
“LaQuinta has turned into a national class hurdler and a national class 200-meter runner and a national class heptathlete,” Schmidt said. “She has a chance to be as great a heptathlete as Marrissa, and maybe even better before her career is over.”
Overall, the Lady Bulldogs are fifth in the standings with 12 points, while
On the men's side in the decathlon, the Bulldogs had an impressive showing after placing three in the Top 10 following a rain delay for the second-straight day.
Senior Darryl Brady finished fifth with 6,573 points, while freshman Antoine Lipscomb was sixth with 6,302 points. Sophomore Trevarus Christian placed 10th with 5,963 points.
All three aided their own causes on Thursday as Christian won the 100-meter dash, while Lipscomb and Brady won the long jump and high jump, respectively.
“These guys aren't superstars, but they compete hard,” Schmidt said. “They had a great two days and are very deserving of what they accomplished. I'm really proud of Darrly. He has scored every year in the SECs. He has been solid for us.”
In individual events, Dwight Mullings enters Saturday's finals after finishing second in the preliminaries in the 200-meter dash with a regional qualifying mark of 20.73. In the sectionals of the 400-meter hurdles, Emanuel Mayers placed fifth with a time of 50.68, also a regional qualifying mark.
Players Mentioned
