Women's, Fifth-Ranked Men's Track Set For NCAA Mideast Regional
May 25, 2016 | Track & Field
The MSU men's team comes to Columbus ranked fifth in the country by Trackwire.com. The Dogs have 11 athletes scheduled to compete during the two-day event.
Leading the men's team is the nation's top-ranked sprinters Pierre Browne and Marquis Davis. The duo ranks one-two in the 100-meter dash and is among the top five in the 200m. They also run on the nation's top-ranked 4x100m relay team.
Other Bulldogs running this weekend include Glenn McFadden (100m, 200m, 4x100m), LaChristopher Lewis (200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m), Keston Nelson (200m, 400m, 4x400m), Jamel Ashley (400m, 4x400m) and Kelvin Harris (110m hurdles, 4x400m). Browne and Harris are both seniors for head coach Al Schmidt's squad.
State also has four men's field event athletes in Columbus. Throwers J.D. Erickson (shot put, discus) and Clay Garner (javelin), along high jumper Matthew Denton and pole-vaulter Trey Hardee will compete this weekend.
MSU's women had four athletes advance to the regional meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Sophomore Tiffany McWilliams runs in the 800m and 1500m this weekend, two events where she leads the region. Meggan Hodge will be in the steeplechase, while Lauren Johnson runs in the 100-meter hurdles. Crystal Averitt will throw the hammer and discus.
In its first year of existence, the regional meets put a new emphasis on head-to-head performances. In the past, athletes made the NCAA Championships based on their top performance during the year. Under the new format, the top five athletes per event in each regional will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, along with six wild-card entries per event.
Events begin Friday for MSU with the women's 1500m preliminaries at 4 p.m. EDT.
