Saturday, March 9
Birmingham, Ala.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Indoor Championships (I)
Marco Arop finished second in the men's 800m at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday in Birmingham.
Photo by: Kamp Fender
MSU’s Arop Finishes Second In 800m at NCAA Indoors
March 09, 2019 | Track & Field
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A record-setting indoor season for Mississippi State's Marco Arop came to a close on Saturday, as the sophomore placed second in the men's 800m final at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The silver-medal finish in 1:47.00 marks his second straight in NCAA Championships competition after he was the runner-up in the event in the outdoor championships last June. Arop finished no worse than second in every 800m final he competed in this indoor season.
"I just have to work more on my finish," Arop said. "That's really what gets me every single time. If I can perfect that, great things are going to happen. Every single loss is a lesson learned. I'm just going to learn from this race going forward into outdoor season."
Kansas' Bryce Hoppel won the event with a facility-record mark of 1:46.46. Arop finished ahead of Wake Forest's Robert Heppenstall in third, while American collegiate record-holder Devin Dixon of Texas A&M placed fourth.
Dixon led through the first 400m of the race before Arop cut ahead of the Aggie with 200m to go. Arop led late in the final lap before Hoppel surged ahead to claim the title.
In his sophomore season, Arop shattered both the Canadian national record and the MSU record in the indoor 800m with a blistering time of 1:45.90 at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson in February.
With Arop's second-place finish to earn eight points, MSU's men finished tied for 29th nationally, marking MSU's first top-30 finish since 2014. Florida captured the team championship with 55 points, while Arkansas claimed the women's team crown with 62 points.
"I'm really proud of how Marco raced today," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "He ran a smart race and he still has plenty of room to grow as an athlete. Track and field is often viewed as an individual sport, and our individual accolades we had this indoor season are great. I'm very proud of how we improved as a team throughout the season and finished among the nation's top 30 teams, something that hasn't been done here since 2014. However, our goal is to be even better than that, and we're looking forward to a great outdoor season."
Next Up For MSU …
With the indoor season in the books, the Bulldogs look to an exciting outdoor season that commences with the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays, held March 22-23 at MSU's Mike Sanders Track Complex.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Men's Results – NCAA Indoor Championships (Saturday)
TEAM RESULTS (85 teams)
1. Florida, 55 points
2. Houston, 44
3. LSU, 31
T4. Stanford, 30
T4. Wisconsin, 30
T6. Florida State, 24
T6. Texas Tech, 24
8. Alabama, 23
T9. Georgia, 20
T9. North Dakota State, 20
11. Texas A&M, 19
---
T13. Arkansas, 16
T20. South Carolina, 10
T29. Kentucky, 8
T29. Mississippi State, 8
800m (Final): Bryce Hoppel, Kansas, 1:46.46
MSU: 2. Marco Arop, 1:47.00
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A record-setting indoor season for Mississippi State's Marco Arop came to a close on Saturday, as the sophomore placed second in the men's 800m final at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The silver-medal finish in 1:47.00 marks his second straight in NCAA Championships competition after he was the runner-up in the event in the outdoor championships last June. Arop finished no worse than second in every 800m final he competed in this indoor season.
"I just have to work more on my finish," Arop said. "That's really what gets me every single time. If I can perfect that, great things are going to happen. Every single loss is a lesson learned. I'm just going to learn from this race going forward into outdoor season."
Kansas' Bryce Hoppel won the event with a facility-record mark of 1:46.46. Arop finished ahead of Wake Forest's Robert Heppenstall in third, while American collegiate record-holder Devin Dixon of Texas A&M placed fourth.
Dixon led through the first 400m of the race before Arop cut ahead of the Aggie with 200m to go. Arop led late in the final lap before Hoppel surged ahead to claim the title.
In his sophomore season, Arop shattered both the Canadian national record and the MSU record in the indoor 800m with a blistering time of 1:45.90 at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson in February.
With Arop's second-place finish to earn eight points, MSU's men finished tied for 29th nationally, marking MSU's first top-30 finish since 2014. Florida captured the team championship with 55 points, while Arkansas claimed the women's team crown with 62 points.
"I'm really proud of how Marco raced today," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "He ran a smart race and he still has plenty of room to grow as an athlete. Track and field is often viewed as an individual sport, and our individual accolades we had this indoor season are great. I'm very proud of how we improved as a team throughout the season and finished among the nation's top 30 teams, something that hasn't been done here since 2014. However, our goal is to be even better than that, and we're looking forward to a great outdoor season."
Next Up For MSU …
With the indoor season in the books, the Bulldogs look to an exciting outdoor season that commences with the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays, held March 22-23 at MSU's Mike Sanders Track Complex.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Men's Results – NCAA Indoor Championships (Saturday)
TEAM RESULTS (85 teams)
1. Florida, 55 points
2. Houston, 44
3. LSU, 31
T4. Stanford, 30
T4. Wisconsin, 30
T6. Florida State, 24
T6. Texas Tech, 24
8. Alabama, 23
T9. Georgia, 20
T9. North Dakota State, 20
11. Texas A&M, 19
---
T13. Arkansas, 16
T20. South Carolina, 10
T29. Kentucky, 8
T29. Mississippi State, 8
800m (Final): Bryce Hoppel, Kansas, 1:46.46
MSU: 2. Marco Arop, 1:47.00
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
Mid Dis
/ Track & FieldTRACK & FIELD | NCAA NATIONALS PLAYERS MEDIA SESSION 5/30/24
Thursday, May 30
TRACK & FIELD | NCAA NATIONALS COACHES MEDIA SESSION 5/30/24
Thursday, May 30
TRACK & FIELD | Chris Woods Media Session - 02/23/23
Friday, February 24
Track and Field Chris Woods Media Session 033122
Thursday, March 31