Mississippi State
Penn Relays (O)
MSU Wins Three Event Crowns On Final Day At Franklin Field
April 24, 2010 | Track & Field
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - On the final day of the of the Penn Relays the No. 10 Mississippi State men's track and field team showed the world that they were a team that was definitely a national contender. The Bulldogs won event titles in every relay they put on the track at Franklin Field Saturday.
"This was a historic day for the Mississippi State track and field program," head coach Al Schmidt said. "We won two Championship of America event titles and another college relay title. I couldn't ask for a better performance out of our guys. This was a big day for MSU."
After just missing the Texas Relays 4x200-meter relay title to Texas A&M two weeks ago, MSU had been longing for a rematch. They got that chance in the Championship of America final and proved they were the best.
"The 4x2 ran a tremendous race," Schmidt said. "They did a fabulous job. We added Kendall (May) in the final, so give credit to Gerron (Hendricks) who ran great to get us in the final."
Bulldogs Dwight Mullings, May, O'Neal Wilder and Tavaris Tate ran 1 minute, 21.49 seconds for the win in front of SEC foes Florida and South Carolina. Texas A&M finished fourth.
"It was just a great race, and we beat two great teams in Florida and Texas A&M," Schmidt added.
The Championship of America 4x400-meter relay was no different from the 4x200, a battle against MSU and A&M. For the second time of the day MSU found the finish line before the Aggies. Wilder, Tate, Mullings and Emanuel Mayers ran 3:04.92 to get the victory over Texas A&M and South Carolina.
"In the 4x4 we changed our legs up a little and ran Tavaris second, and ran the fastest time of day in as the weather got cold and rainy," Schmidt said.
MSU's third event title of the day came in the college 4x100-meter relay final. Justin Christian, D'Angelo Cherry, Hendricks and Tate finished in 40.09 seconds for the win. Christian also finished eighth in the 100-meter dash championship running 10.71 seconds.
The Lady Bulldogs ended their stint at the Penn Relays with a fifth-place performance in the college 4x400-meter relay.
"This was a great weekend for us," Schmidt said. "But now we've only got round one of three complete, and have to put this behind us and get ready for round two and three, the SEC Championships and NCAAs."
Players Mentioned
