Bulldogs Move Up Three Spots To No. 12 In The Polls
STARKVILLE, Miss. - After an impressive showing at the SEC Championships this past weekend at Tennessee, the Mississippi State men's track team moved up three spots to No. 12 in the latest USTFCCCA poll released on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs are also ranked in six different events, and while the women didn't enter the poll as a team, they have players ranked in six events as well.
"Obviously, what we did at the SEC Championships put us in this position," said MSU coach Al Schmidt, whose team is off this week before returning to action at the NCAA East Region prelims in Greensboro, N.C., May 28-29. "In track and field, you have to earn your rankings. They are not someone's opinions."
Freshman Tavaris Tate remains the highest-ranked Bulldog, coming in at No. 2 in the 400m dash, followed by O'Neal Wilder at No. 6 and Dwight Mullings at No. 10. Mullings is also 12th in the 200-meter dash.
Emanuel Mayers also garnered a Top 10 ranking, coming in at No. 6 in the 400m hurdles.
In the relays, the 4x100 team of Justin Christian, Kendall May, Mullings and Tate is fourth after, winning the event at the SECs, while the 4x400 relay squad of Wilder, Mullings, Mayers and Tate is 6th after placing second in Knoxville.
The Lady Bulldogs are led by LaQuinta Aaron of Tuscaloosa, Ala., at No. 8 in the heptathlon, as she moved up 12 spots after coming in second at the SECs with a personal-best 5,563 points, the second-most in school history.
Also in the Top 20 are Wendy Copeland and Jody-Ann Muir. Both are No. 16 in the long jump and 400-meter, respectively.
Jody-Ann Muir is No. 16 in the 400m dash thanks to her time of 53.46, which is currently the 3rd fastest time in the world in the under-20 category.
And moving into the rankings in the 4x400-meter relay team of Aaron, Muir, Crystal Wilson and Taneisha Baker, who finished fourth in the SECs with a school-record time of 3:36.43.
MSU Men's Rankings
100m Dash
31st Kendall May
39th Dwight Mullings
200m Dash
12th Dwight Mullings
T29th Tavaris Tate
T29th Kendall May
400m Dash
2nd Tavaris Tate
6th O'Neal Wilder
10th Dwight Mullings
400m Hurdles
6th Emanuel Mayers
4x100m Relay
4th Justin Christian, Kendall May, Dwight Mullings, Tevaris Tate
4x400m Relay
6th O'Neal Wilder, Dwight Mullings, Emanuel Mayers, Tavaris Tate
MSU Women's Rankings
200m Dash
41st Taneisha Baker
400m Dash
16th Jody-Ann Muir
100m Hurdles
49th Keisha Wallace
4x400m Relay
24th LaQuinta Aaron, Crystal Wilson, Taneisha Baker, Jody-Ann Muir
Long Jump
16th Wendy Copeland
Heptathlon
8th LaQuinta Aaron