Mississippi State
SEC Championships (O)
MSU Off To Strong Start In Multi Events At SEC Championships
May 13, 2010 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - As the day progressed at the 2010 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday, LaQuinta Aaron only got better. And as a result, she's put herself in excellent position to give Mississippi State some valuable points.
Through four of the heptathlon's seven events, the senior from Tuscaloosa finds herself in fifth place with 3,231 points. Also vying to score is freshman Racquel Farquharson, who is currently ninth with 3,140 points.
But to totally appreciate Aaron's day at Tennessee's Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, you have to understand where she stood after the first two events (100-meter hurdles and high jump) - in 10th place.
It was at that point, however, she put her production in another gear.
In her third event of the afternoon, Aaron threw a personal-best 38-07.75 in the shot put to move to eighth. Then came the 200-meter dash, where she sprinted to a time of 24.72 to finish third to climb to fifth in the overall standings, where Alabama's Chealsea Taylor sits first with 3,580 points.
"She really came on strong," MSU coach Al Schmidt said of Aaron. "I expect her to have a huge day tomorrow. She's always much better on the second day."
Schmidt also had plenty of praise for Farquharson. And rightfully so.
The Jamaican product turned in three personal-best performances to ensure her standings heading into Friday's action.
After posting a time of 13.73 in the 100-meter hurdles, she set career highs in the high jump (5-00.5), shot put (33-11.5) and 200-meter dash (24.80).
"She might be a freshman, but she wasn't intimidated at all," Schmidt said. "If not for a few injuries, she might be even higher."
It wasn't just the women who turned in exceptional performances on Thursday. So too did the men.
While Trevarus Christian set the pace for the Bulldogs heading into tomorrow's final five events of the decathlon in fourth place with 3,931 points, Antione Lipscomb is seventh (3,672), while Martin Lee is 11th (3,377) despite struggling with hamstring injuries all day. Georgia's Cory Holman is first with 4,164 points.
Christian finished third in the 100-meter dash (10.79), fourth in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 23-02.5 and ninth in the shot put (38-11.50). He also finished tied for third in the high jump (6-04.25), while finishing third in the 400-meter dash at 49.35.
"Trevarus had a huge day for us," Schmidt said. "We just need him to finish just as strong. Really all three did really well. It's unfortunate Martin had the hamstring problems, but we got medicine in him and he should be fine tomorrow."
Lipscomb's best outing came in the high jump, where he matched Christian's leap of 6-04.25. He also finished seventh in the 400 (50.61).
Lee's day didn't go unnoticed either. He placed first in the shot put with a throw of 42-10.25, while finishing second in the 400-meter dash with a season-best run of 49.25.
