MSU won more wheels in 2018 than it ever has in a single year at the Penn Relays.
Weekend Review: Looking Back at a Historic Penn Relays
May 02, 2018 | Track & Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With five finishes that ranked inside the Top 5 in school history, last weekend's Penn Relays was a meet for the record books at Mississippi State.
It all started with the wheels. There were three of them, including two Championships of America, the most the Bulldogs have ever won in a single year at the longest-running track meet in the United States.
In its 124th year, the Penn Relays Carnival attracts thousands of athletes and spectators from across the globe. More than 200 universities competed this year, traveling from across the country along with schools from the Bahamas, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
And the Jamaicans came out in force, dominating the high school races and challenging for wheels in the collegiate competition. MSU's first wheel of the weekend, winning the men's shuttle hurdle relay Championship of America, came by narrowly edging out the island's UTech by 0.10 seconds.
Willie-Lionel Reed, Ro'Derick Spears, Herbert Wise III and Charles Brockman III ran a school-record and NCAA-leading 57.04 on Friday to give the Bulldogs their first taste of the podium at Penn since 2010.
"That was a great race all around," head coach Steve Dudley said. "Our guys ran hard, and I was going to be so disappointed for them if they had lost such a close, hard-fought race."
On the same day, the men's distance medley relay team of Caden Foos, Malcum Tatum, Daniel Nixon and Aaron Phelps won the college division of the distance medley relay.
The first day of the meet seemed headed for disappointment. MSU had setbacks in the women's 4x400m relay and men's 4x100m relay qualifying heats and did not advance to the finals, but the Bulldogs just needed to wait. Penn's midnight distance races provided plenty to write home about.
Antonia Hehr ran the No. 4 outdoor 3000m time, clocking in at 9:39.78, while Stephanie Peterson put her name in the record books with the fourth-fastest 10,000m at 35:14.21. JT Mackay also ran an impressive 10,000m race, breaking his personal best by 23 seconds.
To wrap up the weekend, the Bulldogs claimed three first-place finishes on Saturday. Nicolas Quijera won the javelin championship with a throw of 73.80m (242-1). His teammate Anderson Peters, the NCAA-leader in the event, took second at 72.51m (237-10).
"We didn't throw our best, but at least managed to win the competition," Quijera said. "Our target is nationals. That's our main goal. We have SEC's in two weeks so that's also a goal. The goal here was to come here, try to win, but just get some rhythm and good throws."
Rhianwedd Price-Weimer opened the action on the track for MSU where she was the top collegiate finisher in the Olympic Development mile.
Finally, in one of the most anticipated races of the meet, Nixon, Kenya Small, Dejon Devroe and Marco Arop broke the school record in the 4x800m relay by more than six seconds. Their time is the fastest in the world this season and No. 14 in NCAA history.
"We have been looking forward to this for a while," Small said. "Indiana got us a couple times this year, so we were really looking to show ourselves. It's an added bonus to win the whole thing. We have worked as a group together, and to finally come together as a team for something as big as Penn Relays is amazing."
Devroe split 1:46.00, narrowly missing out on the Top 10 800m splits in Penn Relays history. His split would rank third in the NCAA in the open 800m. Marco Arop ran a 1:46.85 leg, which would have broken his freshman record of 1:47.62 had it been run in the open event.
Additional highlights included the men's sprint medley relay, where MSU placed third with the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season. The Bulldogs clocked in a 3:15.70, which is third in school history. Freshman Faith Gilbert was the only freshman to advance to the championship finals of the 100m. She placed eighth.
MSU now turns its attention toward the conference championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 11-13. The Bulldogs have 42 athletes ranked inside the Top 20 of the conference in individual events. MSU's men are one of nine Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the latest Top 25.
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'.
It all started with the wheels. There were three of them, including two Championships of America, the most the Bulldogs have ever won in a single year at the longest-running track meet in the United States.
In its 124th year, the Penn Relays Carnival attracts thousands of athletes and spectators from across the globe. More than 200 universities competed this year, traveling from across the country along with schools from the Bahamas, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
And the Jamaicans came out in force, dominating the high school races and challenging for wheels in the collegiate competition. MSU's first wheel of the weekend, winning the men's shuttle hurdle relay Championship of America, came by narrowly edging out the island's UTech by 0.10 seconds.
Willie-Lionel Reed, Ro'Derick Spears, Herbert Wise III and Charles Brockman III ran a school-record and NCAA-leading 57.04 on Friday to give the Bulldogs their first taste of the podium at Penn since 2010.
"That was a great race all around," head coach Steve Dudley said. "Our guys ran hard, and I was going to be so disappointed for them if they had lost such a close, hard-fought race."
On the same day, the men's distance medley relay team of Caden Foos, Malcum Tatum, Daniel Nixon and Aaron Phelps won the college division of the distance medley relay.
The first day of the meet seemed headed for disappointment. MSU had setbacks in the women's 4x400m relay and men's 4x100m relay qualifying heats and did not advance to the finals, but the Bulldogs just needed to wait. Penn's midnight distance races provided plenty to write home about.
Antonia Hehr ran the No. 4 outdoor 3000m time, clocking in at 9:39.78, while Stephanie Peterson put her name in the record books with the fourth-fastest 10,000m at 35:14.21. JT Mackay also ran an impressive 10,000m race, breaking his personal best by 23 seconds.
To wrap up the weekend, the Bulldogs claimed three first-place finishes on Saturday. Nicolas Quijera won the javelin championship with a throw of 73.80m (242-1). His teammate Anderson Peters, the NCAA-leader in the event, took second at 72.51m (237-10).
"We didn't throw our best, but at least managed to win the competition," Quijera said. "Our target is nationals. That's our main goal. We have SEC's in two weeks so that's also a goal. The goal here was to come here, try to win, but just get some rhythm and good throws."
Rhianwedd Price-Weimer opened the action on the track for MSU where she was the top collegiate finisher in the Olympic Development mile.
Finally, in one of the most anticipated races of the meet, Nixon, Kenya Small, Dejon Devroe and Marco Arop broke the school record in the 4x800m relay by more than six seconds. Their time is the fastest in the world this season and No. 14 in NCAA history.
"We have been looking forward to this for a while," Small said. "Indiana got us a couple times this year, so we were really looking to show ourselves. It's an added bonus to win the whole thing. We have worked as a group together, and to finally come together as a team for something as big as Penn Relays is amazing."
Devroe split 1:46.00, narrowly missing out on the Top 10 800m splits in Penn Relays history. His split would rank third in the NCAA in the open 800m. Marco Arop ran a 1:46.85 leg, which would have broken his freshman record of 1:47.62 had it been run in the open event.
Additional highlights included the men's sprint medley relay, where MSU placed third with the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season. The Bulldogs clocked in a 3:15.70, which is third in school history. Freshman Faith Gilbert was the only freshman to advance to the championship finals of the 100m. She placed eighth.
MSU now turns its attention toward the conference championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 11-13. The Bulldogs have 42 athletes ranked inside the Top 20 of the conference in individual events. MSU's men are one of nine Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the latest Top 25.
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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