Prepped For East Prelims

Photo by: Matthew Shannon/AU Athletics

May 25, 2021 | Track & Field

Over 20 Bulldogs will compete for their place in the Championships.

By: Madelon Allen, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mississippi State track and field team sent over 20 of its student-athletes to the University of North Florida for the NCAA East Region Preliminary, set to begin on Wednesday, May 26 at UNF's Jax Track at Hodges Stadium.

The Prelims will start Wednesday and finish on Saturday, May 29^th. Men's and women's competition will alternate each day, with the men kicking it off on day one. The meet will be streamed on UNF's website all four days, and spectators are allowed with a ticket.

Going into the meet, the Bulldog men are ranked 26th and the women are 77th.

All field events will be the first round for the student-athletes, and those who qualify from these events move straight on. Most running events will have the first rounds competing in the first two days and then the quarterfinals competing on the last two days. Exceptions to this for the Bulldog runners will be the 3,000m steeplechase which is a semifinal, and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays which are quarterfinals. They will only compete once to qualify.

The javelin men look to solidify their NCAA Championship hopes to start off the Prelims for State at 1:30 p.m. ET. DJ Jónsson, the latest SEC Champion and current NCAA leader, will compete alongside NCAA and SEC runner-up Sindri Guðmundsson as well as the No. 6 in the NCAA East Region, Tyriq Horsford.

All-SEC Newcomer selection Cameron Crump will compete in the long jump at 3:00 p.m.

Events on the track in their first rounds begin at 6 p.m. with school record holder Jesse Henderson in the 110m hurdles. Behind that will be the 800m featuring Navasky Anderson, Leon Clarke, and Gabriel Moronta. Closing out the day will be the 200m with Shamar Rose and Crump.

The women's competition begins Thursday and the javelin starts it off once again at 1:30 p.m. with school record holder Sarah Blake.

One Bulldog has already punched her ticket to Eugene, Oregon, for the NCAA Championships as the heptathlon qualifiers move straight to the big show: Shayla Broughton. At the SEC Championships, she updated her personal-best point total to 5,758, making her second all-time at Mississippi State and 11^th in the NCAA. She still must qualify for two other events at the Prelims.

She will continue the field action for the Bulldogs on Thursday in the third flight of the long jump, the event beginning at 3 p.m. Also starting at 3 p.m. is school record holder Maddy Kish in the pole vault.

Maroon and white will be seen on the track starting at 6 p.m. when Broughton and freshman Rosealee Cooper take on the first round of the 100m hurdles. Freshman Jada McDougle will fly solo in the 400m at 7:25 p.m., as will Katie Martin in the 400m hurdles at 8:20 p.m.

A full recap, meet results, and preview for the next day will be posted on HailState.com after each days' competition has concluded.

For more information on the Bulldog track and field program, search "HailStateTF" on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.