Mississippi State’s #JavU Corps Sweeps SEC Podium

Thursday, May 9

Fayetteville, Ark.

All Day

Mississippi State

SEC Championships (O)

Mississippi State’s #JavU Corps Sweeps SEC Podium

May 09, 2019 | Track & Field

Day 1 Results (PDF)Day 1 Photo Gallery

by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Anderson Peters led from his very first throw. The defending SEC javelin champion took control early on his way to breaking his own meet record for a second straight conference title.

Mississippi State's javelin group stole the show on the first day of the SEC Championships as the Bulldogs swept the podium behind Peters' championship. The St. Andrews, Grenada, native threw 83.35m (273-5) to become the first MSU man to successfully defend a conference championship since Garry Frank (shot put) did so in 1987.

His performance landed him at No. 8 on the collegiate all-time list. Peters has now thrown the Nos. 3, 4, 7 and 8 marks in NCAA history this season alone. Along the way he also broke the John McDonnell Field record that had stood since 2009 and extended his winning streak in collegiate meets to seven straight.

Curtis Thompson followed Peters with a 77.88m (255-6) throw to place second, and Tyriq Horsford placed third. Horsford broke his personal best for the fourth straight meet with a mark of 72.62m (238-3). Horsford now ranks second nationally among freshmen.

State's men held the team lead after the first day with 24 points, all coming from the javelin runway. On the women's side, Sarah Blake finished fourth in the javelin to collect five points after throwing 50.95m (167-2).

"We had a really good first day of competition," interim head coach Chris Woods said. "With the men going 1-2-3 in the javelin it puts us in great position to reach our team goals. The 800 men did what they needed to do in order to ensure us much-needed points on the final day."

The Bulldogs advanced five of their six 800m runners to Saturday's finals. Daniel Nixon posted the second-fastest time in the prelims while winning his heat in 1:48.96. Dejon Devroe was right on his heels, finishing second in the heat and third overall in 1:49.11. Marco Arop also won his heat in 1:49.60 to move on.

Charlotte Cayton-Smith and Alon Lewis both advanced as well. Cayton-Smith clocked in at 2:06.11 to place second in the prelims. Lewis was second in her heat with a time of 2:08.03.

Two 400m hurdlers made it through the prelims. Rasheed Tatham ran a personal-best 50.13 to move into fourth in school history and finished second. Riley White ran the eighth-fastest time in the women's prelims, crossing the line in 59.93 to advance to Saturday.

Through one day of heptathlon competition, Zaria Tillman is fifth with 3,231 points. That total is 44 points higher than her previous career-best first-day total. Asia Poe is seventh with 3,104 points.

"On the women's side our first day went better than expected with Sarah [Blake] placing higher than she was seeded in the javelin along with getting finalists in the 800 as well as the 400 hurdles" Woods added. "Zaria [Tillman] and Asia [Poe] are performing well enough to score big points for the program also. The important thing to do on both sides is take the momentum we've garnered and continue to build upon that going into Day 2."

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

Women's Results

200m (Prelims): Abby Steiner, Kentucky, 22.79^w (Q)
MSU: 31. Faith Gilbert, 24.48^w

400m Hurdles (Prelims): Brittley Humphrey, LSU, 57.82 (Q)
MSU: 8. Riley White, 59.93 (q); 14. Katie Martin, 1:03.19

800m (Prelims): Jazmine Fray, Texas A&M, 2:05.54 (Q)
MSU: 2. Charlotte Cayton-Smith, 2:06.11 (Q); 9. Alon Lewis, 2:08.03 (Q)

10,000m: Jessica Pascoe, Florida, 34:08.41
MSU: 14. Shannon Fair, 35:37.25

Javelin: Kylee Carter, Auburn, 55.26m (181-3)
MSU: 4. Sarah Blake, 50.95m (167-2)

Heptathlon First Day: Tyra Gittens, Texas A&M, 3,599 pts
MSU: 5. Zaria Tillman, 3,231 pts; 7. Asia Poe, 3,104 pts

Heptathlon 100m Hurdles: Sterling Lester, Georgia, 13.39 (1,066 pts)
MSU: 5. Zaria Tillman, 13.87 (997 pts); 8. Asia Poe, 14.07 (968 pts)

Heptathlon 200m: Sterling Lester, Georgia, 24.03^w (978 pts)
MSU: 6. Zaria Tillman, 25.08 (879 pts); 9. Asia Poe, 26.03 (795 pts)

Heptathlon High Jump: Tyra Gittens, Texas A&M, 1.76m (5-9.25, 928 pts)
MSU: 3. Asia Poe, 1.70m (5-7.0, 855 pts); 7. Zaria Tillman, 1.58m (5-2.25, 712 pts)

Heptathlon Shot Put: Tyra Gittens, Texas A&M, 12.88m (42-3.75, 719 pts)
MSU: 3. Zaria Tillman, 11.73m (38-6.0, 643 pts); 8. Asia Poe, 9.34m (30-7.75, 486 pts)

Men's Results

200m (Prelims): Hakim Sani Brown, Florida, 20.36^w (Q)
MSU: 11. Karson Kowalchuk, 20.97; 27. Okheme Moore, 21.38; 29. Cameron Crump, 21.48

400m Hurdles (Prelims): Robert Grant, Texas A&M, 49.56 (Q)
MSU: 2. Rasheed Tatham, 50.13 (Q); 13. Charles Brockman III, 52.02; 14. Malcum Tatum, 52.44

800m (Prelims): Devin Dixon, Texas A&M, 1:48.64 (Q)
MSU: 2. Daniel Nixon, 1:48.96 (Q); 3. Dejon Devroe, 1:49.11 (Q); 5. Marco Arop, 1:49.60 (Q)

10,000m: Gilbert Kigen, Alabama, 29:27.77
MSU: 11. Luke Zacharias, 31:04.07; 14. Chandler Underwood, 31:15.00; 18. JT Mackay, 31:30.93

Javelin: Anderson Peters, 83.35m (273-5)
MSU: 2. Curtis Thompson, 77.88m (255-6); 3. Tyriq Horsford, 72.62m (238-3)