Two Bulldog relay squads earned USTFCCCA Accusplit Relay Awards with school-record marks in 2018.
Bulldog Relay Squads Honored For Nation’s Best Times In 2018
December 13, 2018 | Track & Field
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – A pair of Mississippi State track and field relay teams were recognized for holding the nation's top times in 2018, the USTFCCCA announced Thursday.
MSU's men's 4x800m and shuttle hurdle relay teams earned the coaches' association's Accusplit Relay Award for their NCAA-best and program-record marks this past season. Both times were run at the Penn Relays to win Championship of America wheels in April.
"It's always an honor to be recognized for all your hard work and outstanding accomplishments," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "Hopefully, in 2019, we will be able to earn more of these types of awards. Our kids deserve all the credit for this honor."
In the shuttle hurdle relay on April 27, Willie-Lionel Reed, Ro'Derick Spears, Herbert Wise III and Charles Brockman III combined to post a school-record 57.04 at Franklin Field. That performance gave State its first men's shuttle hurdle Championship of America, while also breaking the group's previous record set March 31 at the Pepsi Florida Relays. That team holds the top four times in Bulldog history.
The Bulldogs were in third when Spears took over on the second leg and gave them a two-stride lead. Wise held that advantage before passing off to Brockman, who fell behind and trailed Jamaican UTech by the narrowest of margins before coming over the final hurdle, but a final burst by the Plano, Texas, product gave the Bulldogs its first wheel in the event by a tenth of a second.
The next day, Daniel Nixon, Kenya Small, Dejon Devroe and Marco Arop made up the Bulldogs award-winning 4x800 squad that ran 7:14.16, which shattered the 11-year-old school record by over six seconds. That mark was also faster than any time the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recognized that year. To be recognized, all four relay members must be from the same country.
In that record-breaking performance, Devroe split 1:46.00, just a tenth of a second off the Top 10 800m splits in Penn Relays history, while Arop finished in 1:46.85.
Next Up For The Bulldogs …
The Bulldogs will open up indoor season Jan. 11 at the UAB Blazer Invitational, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. Six of the eight athletes honored Thursday return for the 2019 campaign, including the entire 4x800 team.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
STARKVILLE – A pair of Mississippi State track and field relay teams were recognized for holding the nation's top times in 2018, the USTFCCCA announced Thursday.
MSU's men's 4x800m and shuttle hurdle relay teams earned the coaches' association's Accusplit Relay Award for their NCAA-best and program-record marks this past season. Both times were run at the Penn Relays to win Championship of America wheels in April.
"It's always an honor to be recognized for all your hard work and outstanding accomplishments," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "Hopefully, in 2019, we will be able to earn more of these types of awards. Our kids deserve all the credit for this honor."
In the shuttle hurdle relay on April 27, Willie-Lionel Reed, Ro'Derick Spears, Herbert Wise III and Charles Brockman III combined to post a school-record 57.04 at Franklin Field. That performance gave State its first men's shuttle hurdle Championship of America, while also breaking the group's previous record set March 31 at the Pepsi Florida Relays. That team holds the top four times in Bulldog history.
The Bulldogs were in third when Spears took over on the second leg and gave them a two-stride lead. Wise held that advantage before passing off to Brockman, who fell behind and trailed Jamaican UTech by the narrowest of margins before coming over the final hurdle, but a final burst by the Plano, Texas, product gave the Bulldogs its first wheel in the event by a tenth of a second.
The next day, Daniel Nixon, Kenya Small, Dejon Devroe and Marco Arop made up the Bulldogs award-winning 4x800 squad that ran 7:14.16, which shattered the 11-year-old school record by over six seconds. That mark was also faster than any time the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recognized that year. To be recognized, all four relay members must be from the same country.
In that record-breaking performance, Devroe split 1:46.00, just a tenth of a second off the Top 10 800m splits in Penn Relays history, while Arop finished in 1:46.85.
Next Up For The Bulldogs …
The Bulldogs will open up indoor season Jan. 11 at the UAB Blazer Invitational, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. Six of the eight athletes honored Thursday return for the 2019 campaign, including the entire 4x800 team.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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