The No. 14 ranking is tied for the best preseason mark under coach Steve Dudley.
Bulldog Men Open Season Ranked No. 14 in USTFCCCA Polls
March 20, 2018 | Track & Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State's men's track and field program is ranked No. 14 in the USTFCCCA preseason poll for the outdoor season.
The ranking marks the Bulldog men's highest spot in both the indoor and outdoor polls since they finished the outdoor season ranked ninth in 2016. It is also tied for the highest preseason outdoor ranking in head coach Steve Dudley's tenure. The Bulldogs have twice opened the year at No. 14, dating back to the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
"I said back in the indoor season that our team was built better for the outdoor portion of the year," Dudley said. "We wanted to be in the Top 20 team scores at indoor nationals, then use that as a boost into the outdoor rankings. The men didn't quite get the team finish we hoped for, but this is a good place to start the outdoor season."
MSU totaled 124.01 points in the rankings thanks in large part to its contingent of javelin throwers. The Bulldogs boast the NCAA Runner-Up from last season in Nicolas Quijera, a former national champion in Curtis Thompson and the Grenadian national record holder in freshman Anderson Peters. Those three combined for 64.5 percent of MSU's score (80.0 points).
Last year MSU sent Quijera and Thompson to the NCAA Championships along with two relays and long jumper Willie-Lionel Reed, who returns for his senior season.
The Bulldogs will open the outdoor season as a team on March 23-24 at the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays in Starkville.
For more information on the MSU track and field team, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching @HailStateTF. You can also find all access coverage on SnapChat by searching 'HailStateSnap'.
The ranking marks the Bulldog men's highest spot in both the indoor and outdoor polls since they finished the outdoor season ranked ninth in 2016. It is also tied for the highest preseason outdoor ranking in head coach Steve Dudley's tenure. The Bulldogs have twice opened the year at No. 14, dating back to the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
"I said back in the indoor season that our team was built better for the outdoor portion of the year," Dudley said. "We wanted to be in the Top 20 team scores at indoor nationals, then use that as a boost into the outdoor rankings. The men didn't quite get the team finish we hoped for, but this is a good place to start the outdoor season."
MSU totaled 124.01 points in the rankings thanks in large part to its contingent of javelin throwers. The Bulldogs boast the NCAA Runner-Up from last season in Nicolas Quijera, a former national champion in Curtis Thompson and the Grenadian national record holder in freshman Anderson Peters. Those three combined for 64.5 percent of MSU's score (80.0 points).
Last year MSU sent Quijera and Thompson to the NCAA Championships along with two relays and long jumper Willie-Lionel Reed, who returns for his senior season.
The Bulldogs will open the outdoor season as a team on March 23-24 at the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays in Starkville.
For more information on the MSU track and field team, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching @HailStateTF. You can also find all access coverage on SnapChat by searching 'HailStateSnap'.
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