MSU Turns Focus Toward SEC Outdoor Championships
Action at Spec Towns Track begins at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday with the women's heptathlon and concludes late Sunday after 42 event winners and two team champions have been crowned.
"I said earlier in the season that one of the biggest competitions was just making it on the bus," Steve Dudley said. "I am confident heading into Athens, because I know the right athletes are on the bus, and they are prepared both mentally and physically to compete against some of the best in the nation."
The Bulldogs carry with them to Athens a No. 22 national ranking and runners ranked in the Top 25 in six different events. Freshman James Harris leads the charge with his No. 5 standing in the high jump, followed by D'Angelo Cherry at No. 8 in the 100m dash.
Ed Wesela heads to Athens coming off of three straight wins in the shot put. The Slinger, Wis., native hopes to carry that momentum into the SEC Championships and improve on his fourth place finish from 2010.
Another Bulldog looking to improve on a 2010 finish is Trevarus Christian. The junior finished sixth in the decathlon last year and is hoping that another year of experience under his feet will allow him to finish big on day one of competition.
MSU's relay teams faired well at the 2010 SEC Championships with the 4x400m team finishing second, while the 4x100m squad placed first. This year's squads hope to continue those winning ways.
That challenge, though, will be more cumbersome as the Bulldogs will be without two All-Americans. Emanuel Mayers, a hurdle specialist and No. 25 in the 400-meter hurdles, had season-ending surgery to repair nerve damage in his right foot back in April. In. addition, Tavaris Tate will sit this weekend out with a pulled hamstring. Tate is ranked 21st in the 400-meter and 42nd in the 200-meter dash.
"We have been sidelined by injury this season," Dudley commented. "But we aren't going to use that as an excuse. I feel that injuries are like opinions; no one wants to hear about them. So we are not going to focus on that. We are going to go out there give it our all, and as I always say we are going to be better than we were yesterday. And if we do those things, then I feel that we will get the outcome we want."
The Lady Bulldogs travel to Athens with two individuals ranked in the Top 25. Jessica Merriweather leads the way with her 13th place ranking in the high jump. Merriweather is joined in the Top 25 by Richesa McCaleb at No. 17 in the 200m dash.
Merriweather and McCaleb are sure to turn in top notch performances in Athens, but Jody-Ann Muir is another to keep an eye on. The Jamaican native brought home a third-place 400m dash finish in 2010 as a freshman. Now in her second year wearing Maroon and White, she continues to put up big numbers and improve on 2010 times.
After wrapping up action in Athens, MSU will travel to Bloomington, Ind., May 26-28 for the preliminary rounds of NCAA Championship competition before heading to Iowa June 9-11 for the NCAA Championships.