Mississippi State
NCAA Championships (O)
MSU's Harris In Fifth Place After Day One Of Heptathlon; Men's 4x400 Advances
June 11, 2009 | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? Mississippi State's Marrissa Harris ended the opening day of the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in fifth place with 3,483 points.
“Marrissa is having a All-American type meet,” Schmidt said. “She finished the day with a personal best day-one total and is looking score big tomorrow, and if she can do that she will prove that she is one of the best in the country.”
Harris ran a personal-best 24.02 seconds in the 200-meter dash and jumped 5 feet, 7.75 inches in the high jump, to secure a spot in the Top 5 going into Friday's final three events. USC's Nia Ali is the events leader after four events scored with 3,663 points, and MSU's LaQuinta Aaron is in 17th place with 3,281 points.
On the men's side, the 4x400-meter relay team bettered their stellar performance form the Mideast Regional Championships with a 3 minutes, 3.13 seconds to finish second in their preliminary heat.
“I can't be more excited with how our 4x4 is running,” Schmidt added. “They really ran a fabulous race and are now right there behind Florida State with the second fastest time.”
Trey Charles, Dwight Mullings, Emanuel Mayers and John Bailey advance to Saturday's final with the second best time. MSU is only one-one hundredth a second behind event time leader Florida State who finished in 3:03.13.
In other events, Mayers advanced to the 400-meter hurdle final to be run Friday at 8:05 p.m. Mayers enters the final with a new personal-best, 50.24 seconds, the ninth fastest time. Harris also advanced to the semi-final round in the 100-meter hurdles for the Lady Bulldogs. Harris ran 13.47 seconds to have the tenth best time advancing to Friday's semi final.
“We really had an all around great day today,” Schmidt said. “I can't be more proud of how we competed today, and I am looking forward to see how we compete tomorrow. “
Due to severe weather, MSU had two Bulldogs advance in their respective events Wednesday evening.. D'Angelo Cherry ran 10.34 seconds in the semi-finals of the 100-meter dash to have the fourth best time going into Friday evenings final. Teammate Mullings won his preliminary heat in the 400-meter dash to advance to the semi-final round. Mullings ran 45.96 seconds, the fourth best time in the event.
Mississippi State continues in its phenomenal stay in Fayetteville Friday beginning with the completion of the heptathlon at 1:45 p.m.
“(Friday) is a big day for us and it will do a lot to determine where we end up ranked in the country,” Schmidt said.
The men will start things off on the track at 6:15 p.m. in the 4x100-meter relay final followed by Harris in the 100-meter hurdle semi-final at 7:15 p.m. The evening races will be televised live on CBS beginning at 6 p.m.
Day Two Results
Heptathlon Day 1 Point Leader: Nia Ali, 3,663 points, USC
MSU: 5. Marrissa Harris, 3,483 points; 17. LaQuinta Aaron, 3,281 points
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Prelim Individual Leader: Tiffany Ofili, 13.07 seconds, Michigan
MSU: 10. Marrissa Harris, 13.47 seconds
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles Semi-Final Individual Leader: Jeshua Anderson, 49.27 seconds, Washington State
MSU: 9. Emanuel Mayers, 50.24 seconds
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Prelim Individual Leader: Florida State, 3:03.13
MSU: 4. T. Charles, D. Mullings, E. Mayers, J. Bailey, 3:03.14
Day One Evening Results
Men's 100-Meter Dash Semi-Final Individual Leader: Trindon Holliday, 10.14 seconds, LSU
MSU: 4. D'Angelo Cherry, 10.34 seconds
Men's 400-Meter Dash Prelim Individual Leader: Jonathan Borlee, 45.50, Florida State
MSU: 4. Dwight Mullings, 45.96; 22. John Bailey, 46.73
Women's Long Jump Prelim Individual Leader: Jamesha Youngblood, 21-05.25, Oregon
MSU: 17. Wendy Copeland, 19-08; 19. Priscilla Gaines, 19-05.25
