Bulldog Quartet Heads To USATF Outdoor Championships
July 23, 2026 | Track & Field
NEW YORK – Mississippi State will be represented by four former Bulldogs at the 2026 USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships this weekend at Icahn Stadium in New York.
Curtis Thompson (2015-19), Cameron Crump (2019-23), Kevin Grubbs (2026) and Sarah Blake (2019-21) are entered in five separate events. Crump will compete in both the men's 100m and the men's long jump, and the Bulldogs will be well-represented in the throws by the remaining trio. Thompson will look to defend his men's javelin title for fourth year in a row, while Blake competes in the women's javelin. Grubbs will toss the men's discus.
Competition opens on Thursday afternoon on a busy day for Crump. He will start things off with the first round of the men's 100m at 3:23 p.m. CT before competing in the long jump final beginning at 5:50 p.m. Blake will also throw in her final on Thursday at 4:40 p.m.
Crump was a five-time All-American in the long jump and won the 2023 SEC Indoor Championship in the event with an indoor-school-record leap of 8.39m. His collegiate-best 8.04m outdoors ranks second in program history. He enters the U.S. Championships among the top 100 in the world rankings in both the long jump (No. 45) and 100m (No. 100). Last year, he placed seventh at the World Athletics Indoor Championships with a jump of 8.13m in Nanjing, China.
Blake was a Second Team All-American in 2019 and holds MSU's school record in the women's javelin at 52.73m. She is currently ranked No. 65 in the world and recently finished second at the NSAF American JavFest two weeks ago. She tossed a lifetime-best 59.69m in May. Blake made her first USATF podium last summer, placing third in Eugene, Oregon.
Friday's action is limited to Crump's successive rounds in the 100m. Should he advance, the semifinals are set for 5:35 p.m. with the finals at 6:53 p.m.
On Saturday, the men's throws take center stage. Thompson will look to join an exclusive club in the men's javelin final at 12:10 p.m., and Grubbs throws at 2:40 p.m.
Thompson is already one of the most-decorated U.S. javelin throwers in history. At last year's World Athletics Championships, Thompson earned the first men's javelin medal for the United States since 2007. His 86.87m toss was just 23 centimeters shy of the longest American throw ever at a World Championships. The Florence, New Jersey, native is seeking his sixth career USATF crown and would be just the fifth American man to collect that many titles in the event. A win would also make him just the third man to ever win four straight USATF javelin championships along with legendary Breaux Greer (2000-07) and George Bronder (1914-19).
Grubbs closed a successful career with an impressive final season in Starkville. He broke the school record in the discus with a toss of 61.71m, surpassing a mark that had stood for more than a decade. That throw came at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he earned Second Team All-American status. He also placed fifth at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
Curtis Thompson (2015-19), Cameron Crump (2019-23), Kevin Grubbs (2026) and Sarah Blake (2019-21) are entered in five separate events. Crump will compete in both the men's 100m and the men's long jump, and the Bulldogs will be well-represented in the throws by the remaining trio. Thompson will look to defend his men's javelin title for fourth year in a row, while Blake competes in the women's javelin. Grubbs will toss the men's discus.
Competition opens on Thursday afternoon on a busy day for Crump. He will start things off with the first round of the men's 100m at 3:23 p.m. CT before competing in the long jump final beginning at 5:50 p.m. Blake will also throw in her final on Thursday at 4:40 p.m.
Crump was a five-time All-American in the long jump and won the 2023 SEC Indoor Championship in the event with an indoor-school-record leap of 8.39m. His collegiate-best 8.04m outdoors ranks second in program history. He enters the U.S. Championships among the top 100 in the world rankings in both the long jump (No. 45) and 100m (No. 100). Last year, he placed seventh at the World Athletics Indoor Championships with a jump of 8.13m in Nanjing, China.
Blake was a Second Team All-American in 2019 and holds MSU's school record in the women's javelin at 52.73m. She is currently ranked No. 65 in the world and recently finished second at the NSAF American JavFest two weeks ago. She tossed a lifetime-best 59.69m in May. Blake made her first USATF podium last summer, placing third in Eugene, Oregon.
Friday's action is limited to Crump's successive rounds in the 100m. Should he advance, the semifinals are set for 5:35 p.m. with the finals at 6:53 p.m.
On Saturday, the men's throws take center stage. Thompson will look to join an exclusive club in the men's javelin final at 12:10 p.m., and Grubbs throws at 2:40 p.m.
Thompson is already one of the most-decorated U.S. javelin throwers in history. At last year's World Athletics Championships, Thompson earned the first men's javelin medal for the United States since 2007. His 86.87m toss was just 23 centimeters shy of the longest American throw ever at a World Championships. The Florence, New Jersey, native is seeking his sixth career USATF crown and would be just the fifth American man to collect that many titles in the event. A win would also make him just the third man to ever win four straight USATF javelin championships along with legendary Breaux Greer (2000-07) and George Bronder (1914-19).
Grubbs closed a successful career with an impressive final season in Starkville. He broke the school record in the discus with a toss of 61.71m, surpassing a mark that had stood for more than a decade. That throw came at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he earned Second Team All-American status. He also placed fifth at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
Throws
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