Jackson's Career Days Nets Coveted Points For MSU At NCAAs
DES MOINES, Iowa - Simply being better than yesterday has always been the motto of Mississippi State's track and field team. On Thursday, Marcus Jackson took that advice seriously as he picked up the first points for the team, set a new personal record and became the Bulldogs latest All-American.
Jackson entered the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a personal best high jump height of 7-3.25, but when competition on day two was over he surpassed that with a new height of 7-4.25. Jackson's jump placed him fifth on the day and earned first team All-American honors for the sophomore.
"It feels great to be an All-American," the Carrollton, Miss., native said. "When I got up this morning, that was not on my mind. I just went out there and gave it my all. Setting a new personal best and being named All-American was just a bonus."
Jackson's fifth place finish provided the Bulldogs with four points to place them 23rd heading into the final two days of competition. Currently, Texas leads the pack with 19 points, followed by Arkansas (16) and Nebraska (14) who round out the top three.
MSU's 4x400-meter quartet of Tavaris Tate, Emanuel Mayers, Daundre Barnaby and James Harris closed out the day with MSU's third-fastest time in school history at 3:02.16 to finish third and secure a place in Saturday's finals.
Favian Cowards started the Lady Bulldogs off as she competed in the hammer throw. On her second throw of the day, she reached 206-3 to finish ninth.
Thursday also marked the beginning of the women's heptathlon, featuring MSU's Erica Bougard. Competing in four events, Bougard closed her day with 3191 points to stand at 20th place heading into Friday final three events. Highlighting Bougard's day was a sixth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (13.64), a height of 5-3 in the high jump where she finished 21st, a 23rd place length of 28-11 in the shot put and a fourth-place time of 24.08 in the 200-meter dash.
Bougard will finish heptathlon competition on Friday as she competes in the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. Also competing on Friday will be Jody-Ann Muir, who qualified for the 400-meter dash finals with her seventh place finish on Wednesday.
To keep up with all of the Maroon and White happenings in Iowa, follow @msutrackjason and @msuhoopsgregg on Twitter; or visit www.flashresults.com for live results.
Women's Results
Hammer Throw: Jeneva McCall, Southern Illinois, 225-3
MSU: 9. Favian Cowards, 206-3
100m Hurdles- Heptathlon: Chelsea Carrier-Eades, West Virginia, 13.15
MSU: 6. Erica Bougard, 13.64
High Jump- Heptathlon: Brianne Theisen, Oregon, 6-0.5
MSU: 21. Erica Bougard, 5-3
Shot Put- Heptathlon: Dorcas Akinniyi, Wisconsin, 45-4.25
MSU: 23. Erica Bougard, 28-11
200m Dash- Heptathlon: Chelsea Carrier-Eades, West Virginia, 23.73
MSU: 4. Erica Bougard, 24.08
Men's Results
High Jump: Erik Kynard, Kansas State, 7-8
MSU: 5. Marcus Jackson, 7-4.25
4x400m Relay Semi-Final: Penn State, 3:01.52
MSU: 3. Tate, Mayers, Barnaby, Harris, 3:02.16
Men's Team Scores
1. Texas, 19.00
2. Arkansas, 16.00
3. Nebraska, 14.00
4. Arizona, 13.00
5. Kansas State, 12.00
23. Mississippi State, 4.00