Bulldogs Set For Action At Clemson, Vanderbilt

Friday, February 8

Nashville, Tenn.

All Day

Mississippi State

Music City Challenge (I)

MSU will compete in two meets this weekend, with some Bulldogs going to Clemson for the Tiger Paw Invitational while others head to Nashville for the Music City Challenge.

Bulldogs Set For Action At Clemson, Vanderbilt

February 07, 2019 | Track & Field

Live Results (Clemson)Live Results (Vanderbilt)Meet Notes (PDF)

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – With the calendar turning to February, competition continues to thicken for Mississippi State track and field, which is set to compete in a split meet Feb. 8-9 at Clemson and Vanderbilt.

Several Bulldogs will head to Clemson, South Carolina, for the Tiger Paw Invitational – a meet that features multiple top-25 teams. Another MSU contingent will return to Nashville for the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt.

"When we set up our schedule, we wanted our competition to get tougher with each meet leading up to the SEC Championships," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "We were able to test ourselves against some national title contenders two weeks ago at Arkansas, and that opportunity presents itself again this weekend in Clemson and Nashville. We're very excited about another chance to see how we've grown from meet to meet and to see how we stack up against these top programs."

On the men's side, the Bulldogs will take on six ranked opponents at the Tiger Paw Invitational, including No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Houston, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 11 Southern California and No. 20 Penn State. In addition to the Gators and the Aggies, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee round out MSU's SEC foes at Clemson.

In Nashville, State's men will take on No. 7 Alabama and No. 15 North Dakota State, while Ole Miss is the only other conference opponent in the Music City Challenge.

MSU's women will face 10 ranked opponents at Clemson, including five top-10 teams in No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Florida State and No. 10 Kentucky. No. 16 Tennessee, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 19 Penn State, No. 21Ohio State and No. 24 Georgia Tech round out the ranked opponents. Auburn joins the group as one of seven SEC teams represented at Clemson.

At the Music City Challenge, the Bulldog women are set to take on No. 14 Alabama and No. 24 Georgia Tech in addition to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

MSU opens the weekend Friday at 11:45 a.m. CT in Clemson with Charles Brockman III, Jesse Henderson and Herbert Wise III in men's 60m hurdles qualifying. In Nashville, State will start at 3:30 p.m. with the men's and women's high jumps in addition to the women's weight throw.

First gun on Saturday is set for 10:30 a.m. in Clemson, starting with Charlotte Cayton-Smith, Olivia Knox and Alon Lewis in the women's 800m. 2018 NCAA Outdoor runner-up Marco Arop, along with Dejon Devroe and Daniel Nixon, will follow at 10:50 a.m. in the men's 800m.

In Nashville, Sylvia Russell, Carly Terp and Alex Wallace will start things off in the women's 3000m unseeded sections at 10 a.m., with Shannon Fair closing out the day's events in the seeded 3000m at 4:25 p.m.

Need To Know …

The last time the Bulldogs were at Vanderbilt, Asia Poe launched herself into the MSU record books in the long jump, leaping 6.30m (20-8.0) to move into fifth all-time in the event. Her mark currently ranks eighth nationally, putting her in position to qualify for nationals, and earned her SEC Women's Freshman of the Week honors. Poe is also the top-ranked freshman in the event going into the weekend.
In the USTFCCCA's most recent #EventSquad rankings, MSU's men's 800m group of Marco Arop, Dejon Devroe, Daniel Nixon and Kenya Small ranked third nationally. MSU was also ranked in the top 25 in the men's 200m (No. 18) and men's 60m (No. 24).
Arop currently ranks third in the SEC and seventh nationally in the men's 800m, while Devroe sits fifth and 21^st, respectively.
On Jan. 25 at the Razorback Invitational, freshman Peyton Mickelson broke MSU's school record in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 3.91m (12-10.0)
Faith Gilbert currently ranks third all-time in the women's 60m, after running 7.51 in the finals at Vanderbilt.
Alexis Farley currently ranks 28^th in the nation in the women's triple jump.
The SEC holds five of the top 10 spots in both the men's and women's USTFCCCA rankings this week.

Next Up For MSU …

One meet remains on MSU's 2019 indoor slate before the SEC Championships, with the Bulldogs set to travel to South Bend, Indiana, for the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Feb. 16.

For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.