Mississippi State
NCAA East Preliminary (O)
MSU Track & Field Stands Out At NCAA East Prelims
May 29, 2015 | Track & Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Six Mississippi State track and field athletes moved into the semifinals at the NCAA East Preliminaries after an outstanding opening day on Thursday.
“Today we saw a strong start to the meet for many athletes,” MSU coach Steve Dudley said. “Unfortunately the season ended for some of our athletes, but we had many athletes step up and stand out today. There's still a lot we have left to do this weekend, and hopefully we will be taking many of these athletes to Oregon.”
Two Bulldogs qualified for Saturday's quarterfinals in the 1500m run. Marta Freitas ran a time of 4:20.86 to finish fifth overall. Immediately behind Freitas in sixth was Rhianwedd Price with a time of 4:20.95. Both Freitas and Price finished first in their heats. The two will run at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
SEC 400m hurdles champion Scottie Hearn also finished first in his heat with a time of 50.43 to place second overall. Jovan Davis was just short of qualifying as he finished 26th with a time of 52.08 in the event. Hearn will be back in action on Friday at 7:45 p.m.
Another qualifier for the Maroon and White was Brandon McBride. He will race in Friday's 800m quarterfinals after placing fifth Thursday night in the event with a time of 1:48.19. McBride finished second in his heat.
With the 10th best time in the event, Shayla Luckett tied her personal-best 52.74 in the 400m dash to qualify for Friday's quarterfinals. Also qualifying in the 400m dash, Alfred Larry ran a time of 46.21 to finish third in his heat and 10th overall.
After running a time of 59.55 in the 400m hurdles, Ocian Archer came up short and was not able to make the quarterfinals as she finished 30th. Ste'yce McNeil also did not make the finals, as she placed 32nd with a time of 59.73.
In the last event of the day, Damian Roszko competed in the 10,000m run, but did not advance to the finals in Eugene, Ore.
Day 2 of the preliminaries will begin at noon for the Bulldogs with Sasha-Gaye Marston in the discus. Kicking off the running events will be McNeil and Erica Bougard in the first round of the 100m hurdles at 5 p.m.
For more information on the MSU track and field teams visit HailState.com and follow on Twitter (@HailStateTF).
Thursday Results
Women:
400m Dash (First Round): Kala Funderburk, Florida State, 51.72
MSU: 10. Shayla Luckett, 52.74q
400m Hurdles (First Round): Kendra Harrison, Kentucky, 55.82Q
MSU: 30. Ocian Archer, 59.55; 32. Ste'yce McNeil, 59.73
1500m Run (First Round): Rosie Clarke, Iona, 4:20.02Q
MSU: 5. Marta Freitas, 4:20.86Q; 6. Rhianwedd Price, 4:20.95Q
Men:
400m Run (First Round):: Najee Glass, Florida, 45.38
MSU: 10. Alfred Larry, 46.21Q
400m Hurdles (First Round):: Quincy Downing, LSU, 50.35
MSU: 2. Scottie Hearn, 50.43Q; 26. Jovan Davis, 52.08
800m Run (First Round): Clayton Murphy, Akron, 1:47.66
MSU: 5. Brandon McBride, 1:48.19Q
10,000m Run: Matt McClintock, Purdue, 29:47.98
MSU: 41. Damian Roszko, 31:26.31
Players Mentioned
