MSU Men's Track Squad Carries No. 16 National Ranking Into Busy Weekend
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State men’s track and field team is ranked 16th in the latest USTFCCA Division I national rankings heading into the busy weekend, as released by the national organization on Wednesday.
State joins LSU (#2), Tennessee (#4), Florida (#6), Auburn (#8), Alabama (#12), Kentucky (#17), Georgia (#20) and South Carolina (#22) as the Southeastern Conference representatives in the 25-team poll. Kentucky and South Carolina joined the ranks after not being in the top 25 in last week’s poll.
The Bulldogs earned six NCAA regional qualifying marks at the Ole Miss Invitational to maintain their ranking after being ranked 10th in the first poll of the season.
Sophomore Kendall May (Northport, Ala.) ran a personal-best 10.39 seconds in the 100-meter dash to notch his regional qualifying mark. Senior Jamil Hubbard (Atlanta, Ga.) pulled double duty earning regional qualifying standards in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Hubbard took third in the 200 with a time of 21.06 and second in the 400 with a personal-best time of 46.96.
Senior Golden Coachman (Birmingham, Ala.) won the 800-meter run, carding a time of 1:49.23 to gain his second regional qualifying mark of the season. Freshman Emanuel Mayers (Lakewood, N.J.) also earned his second regional qualifying standard with his second-place time of 52.32 in the 400-meter hurdles.
MState grabbed their last mark of the weekend with a 3:08.47 first-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. This was the first time the Bulldogs used the combination of Hubbard, senior Chris Woods (Atlanta, Ga.), Coachman and Mayers.
Although not ranked this week, sophomore Bridgett Rose (Leeds, Ala.) also earned a regional qualifying mark in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 13.68.
The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs will split time this weekend with some of the athletes competing at the Mt. SAC Invitational in Walnut Grove, Calif. on April 18, while the others will take part in the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga. on April 19.