Mississippi State Bulldogs Ranked Sixth In USTFCCCA Poll
In what will be the last rankings before the national championships, MSU is one of seven SEC teams ranked in the Top 25, including defending champions Florida who is No. 1 and Arkansas who is a close second. The seven ranked SEC team's ties with the Big Ten for the most ranked teams. Both premier conferences' athletes will compete later this month at the SEC/Big Ten Challenge which will be hosted by MSU on March 23.
The Bulldogs have six athletes ranked individually in five different categories, with Tavaris Tate leading the way with three rankings. Tate's highest ranking is in the 400-meter dash where he is second, followed by an eighth place spot in the 200-meter dash. Tate is also a member of the No- 2 ranking 4x400-meter relay team that also includes teammates James Harris, Daundre Barnaby and Emanuel Mayers. The 4x400-meter relay is not the only time that James Harris finds himself ranked, as the sophomore is also ranked second in the high jump, just ahead of teammate Marcus Jackson who is in seventh. Sprinter D'Angelo Cherry rounds out the ranked Bulldogs as he comes in at No. 4 in the 60-meter dash.
While not ranked as a team, the Lady Bulldogs do have one member ranked individually. Erica Bougard, who has had a stellar freshman year for the Maroon and White, is ranked fifth in the pentathlon.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be hosted by Boise State University in Nampa, Idaho on March 9-10.
MSU Men's Rankings
60m Dash
4th D'Angelo Cherry
200m Dash
8th Tavaris Tate
400m Dash
2nd Tavaris Tate
High Jump
2nd James Harris
7th Marcus Jackson
4x400m Relay
2nd James Harris, Daundre Barnaby, Emanuel Mayers, Tavaris Tate
MSU Women's Rankings
Pentathlon
5th Erica Bougard