Track & Field Set To Host SEC Outdoor Championships
Starkville, Miss. – With 18 men’s and women’s SEC teams ranked in the Top 25, the Mississippi State track and field teams turn their focus toward the most competitive conference championship in the NCAA as they prepare to host the 2015 SEC Outdoor Championships.
Both MSU track and field teams are ranked in the Top 25, along with eight other teams on both sides. The men’s team is ranked No. 18, while the women landed at No. 19 in the USTFCCCA rankings.
“This is obviously a very competitive league, the most competitive in the country,” MSU coach Steve Dudley said. “With the high quality athletes we have on these teams, I believe we have a chance to do something big for this program.”
Multi-event athlete Erica Bougard will begin the SEC Championships with the heptathlon on Thursday at noon CT. Bougard claimed the MSU school record in the high jump at the last home meet of the regular season, where she cleared 6-00 even. At the same meet, she ran a personal-best 13.03 in the 100m hurdles, the second-best time in school history.
Reigning NCAA and SEC outdoor champion in the 800m run, Brandon McBride looks to improve his season-best time of 1:46.28.
Last year in the women’s 1500m run Rhianwedd Price finished 11th in the event. This season Price’s best time is 4:11.67, which is currently third in the nation, first in the SEC and the second best in MSU school history.
Another distance runner looking to improve her season best in the 3000m steeplechase is junior Cornelia Griesche. Her best time this season came at the Florida relays where she ran 10:04.03, the second-best in the conference.
Undefeated in the 400m hurdles this season, junior Scottie Hearn hopes to maintain that status. Hearn’s personal-best time of 49.68 came this season at the Florida Relays and is sixth best in the nation and second best in the SEC.
Ebony Brinker will make her last appearance in the SEC Championships with hopes of improving her season-best leap in the long jump of 41-09.25, which is sixth in the SEC.
With a season-best and school-record clearance of 7-05.75 in the high jump, Marcus Jackson holds the third-best height in the nation and best in the SEC so far this season. This will also be Jackson’s last time to compete for the Bulldogs on his home turf.
Holding the 10-best throw in the nation, senior Tautvydas Kieras will be competing in the discus with hopes of improving his season-best and school-record throw of 196-11.
After breaking the 400m hurdles MSU school-record twice this season, Ocian Archer (58.29) goes into the SEC’s with the eight-best time in the SEC. Right behind Archer is teammate Ste’yce McNeil in ninth with a time of 58.38.
The championships will be held at the Mike Sanders Track Complex located on the campus of MSU. The women’s hammer throw and the men’s decathlon kick off the event at 11 a.m.
To view a complete schedule for the upcoming championships, visit the SEC Championship site at HailState.com
For more information on the MSU track and field teams follow on Twitter (@HailStateTF). Additional information on the 2015 SEC Championships can also be found on HailState.com and on Twitter (@SEC_TFChamps15).