MState Track And Field To Host Jace Lacoste Invitational
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State track and field squads will host the 12th annual Jace Lacoste Invitational on Saturday, March 22. Action begins at 9 a.m. at the W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track on the MSU campus. Admission to all MSU track and field meets is free.
Other teams scheduled to participate include UAB, Wallace State (Ala.) Community College, Vanderbilt, Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s men and Tennessee State’s men.
Entering the meet, State has posted regional qualifying marks in four events. On the men’s side, senior Jamil Hubbard (Atlanta, Ga.), sophomore Kendall May (Northport, Ala.) and John Bailey (Terry, Miss.) earned their regional qualifying marks in the 200-meter dash at the Jaguar Premier with times of 20.92, 21.27 and 21.22, respectively. O’Neal Wilder (Carthage, Miss.) finished first in the 200-meter dash (21.12) at the Southern Miss Invitational to notch his regional qualifying mark.
Repeating the success of past relay teams, both 4x100- and 4x400- meter relay teams have already carded regional qualifying marks early in the season. In women’s events, sophomore Bridgett Rose (Leeds, Ala.) qualified in the 100-meter hurdles with her second place finish at the Southern Miss Invitational with her time of 13.76.
Named in honor of MSU’s late all-Southeastern Conference decathlete and team captain, who was killed in a 1995 automobile accident, the Jace Lacoste Invitational has been held annually since 1996. Lacoste was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll from 1987-1990, president of the M-Club, State’s student-athlete community service organization, a student senator and a member of the MSU Hall of Fame. He was also a member of various other MSU organizations.
In addition, the Jace Lacoste Award is presented each year to the most outstanding Bulldog track and field athlete. Past recipients of the award include: Rayton Archer (1996), Terry Day (1997), Dedric Ruffin (1998), Fred Collier (1999), Rod Newton (2000), Pierre Browne (2001, 2002), Marquis Davis (2003), LaChristopher Lewis (2004), Jamel Ashley (2005) and Arthur Davis (2006, 2007).