Mississippi State
NCAA East Prelims (O)
Maroon & White Will Be Well Represented In Iowa
May 27, 2012 | Track & Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After a fruitful day three at the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary, Mississippi State is returning to Starkville with the task of preparing itself for a trip to the NCAA Championships in Iowa.
"I am really proud of the way our team battled," coach Steve Dudley said. "We had some athletes who barely missed out on qualifying. That could have gotten them down, but they did not let that stop them, they just kept going and really stepped up to get qualified."
Favian Cowards was first up for the Lady Bulldogs. After fouling her first throw, Cowards stepped back into the cage and threw a personal best 206-5 in the hammer throw to finish third and punch the day's first NCAA Championship ticket.
After moving forward on day two, Racquel Farquharson laced up for the quarterfinals of the 100-meter hurdles where she ran 13.48 to finish 17th, barely missing out on a trip to Iowa in June.
MSU's next qualification came in the form of Marcus Jackson in the high jump. On his fifth jump of the day Jackson reached 7-2.25 to finish third moving himself on to the Championships. Jackson's third place finish also placed him ahead of teammate James Harris who at a height of 7-1 finished 17th.
Ed Wesela closed out Maroon and White individual competition as he threw 54-8.75 to finish 37th in the shot put.
The Bulldogs closed out their day with a pair of relay qualifications. First up was the 4x100-meter squad of Justin Christian, Jarrett Samuels, Tavaris Tate and D'Angelo Cherry. The quartet posted a qualifying time of 39.50 to finish third. Following that impressive performance the foursome of Tate, Emanuel Mayers, Daundre Barnaby, and Harris ran 3:04.61 to finish fifth, making them eligible for the NCAA Championships.
In total MSU qualified 14 athletes in eight events. Individuals making the NCAA Championship trip will be Erica Bougard in the heptathlon, Cowards in the hammer throw, Jody-Ann Muir in the 400-meter dash, Nathan Arnett in the 400-meter hurdles and Jackson in the high jump. Also making the trek to Iowa will be the 4x100-meter squad of Christian, Samuels, Tate and Cherry, as well as the 4x400-meter quartet of Tate, Barnaby, Mayers and Harris.
Women's Results
Hammer Throw Prelim: Nikola Lomnicka, Georgia, 210-10
MSU: 3. Favian Cowards, 206-5
100m Hurdles Quarterfinal: Christina Manning, Ohio State, 12.78
MSU: 17. Racquel Farquharson, 13.48
Men's Results
High Jump Prelim: Ronnie Black, Virginia Tech, 7-2.25
MSU: 3. Marcus Jackson, 7-2.25; 17. James Harris, 7-1
Shot Put Prelim: Joe Kovacs, 65-4
MSU: 37. Ed Wesela, 54-8.75
4x100m Relay Prelim: Florida State, 39.05
MSU: 3. Christian, Samuels, Tate, Cherry, 39.50
4x400m Relay Prelim: LSU, 3:03.20
MSU: 5. Tate, Mayers, Barnaby, Harris, 3:04.61
Players Mentioned
