Track & Field Men?s Team Ranked No. 8; Women No. 15
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Moving up 10 spots after the SEC Outdoors Track & Field Championships, the Mississippi State men’s team is ranked No. 8 in the USTFCCCA rankings.
Ranked No. 18 going into the rankings, the men’s team moved up 10 spots. The women’s team also moved up in the rankings, jumping from No. 19 to No. 15.
“We had a lot of outstanding performances at this weekends’ championships,” MSU coach Steve Dudley said. “Our conference is the toughest in the nation. Our men finished eighth in the SEC Championships and now they are eighth in the nation. This just shows how strong our teams have gotten.”
Finishing second in the men’s decathlon, sophomore Zachary Taylor has already made it to this year’s NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. Taylor scored 7,466 points in the event, which ranks him 15th in the country.
This year’s SEC 400m hurdles champion, Scottie Hearn, ran a time of 49.39 to tie the MSU school record and claim the victory. Hearn had the sixth-best time in the country going into the event, but jumped up to second after last weekend. Improving in the same event was Jovan Davis, who also ran a personal-best in the finals of 50.14, which is the 15th-best time countrywide.
Running his season best in the 800m run, Brandon McBride ran 1:45.87 at the championships, which now ranks him third nationally.
Making his career debut in the SEC Championships this past weekend, freshman Curtis Thompson had a personal-best throw in the javelin of 248-01, which ranks second all-time in the MSU record books. His throw is the sixth-best nationally.
On the women’s side, Erica Bougard had nothing short of a standout performance during her third SEC Outdoor Championships. Bougard was crowned the 2015 SEC Heptathlon Champion, in which she set the meet record for most points scored in the event, ranking her No. 1 in the country. She score 6,250 points to claim her title after breaking meet records in the heptathlon long jump, high jump and 200m dash.
Competing with teammate Ste'yce McNeil in the 100m hurdles finals at the championships, Bougard also went on to run a personal-best 13.02, while McNeil ran a personal-best time of 13.28. Bougard is ranked No. 10 in the event, while McNeil in No. 31.
Breaking the school record in the triple jump, Ebony Brinker had a leap of 41-11.25 at the championships to finish eight overall. Her leap ranks her 42nd in the nation.
Ranking fourth nationally, Rhianwedd Price finished second overall in the 1500m run at the SEC Championships, but her best time this season in the event, 4:11.67, came at the Florida Relays. Teammate Marta Freitas ran a personal-best in the event with a time of 4:19.38, ranking her 43rd.
The two also participated in the 800m run at the SEC Championships where they both earned a personal-best in the event. Price ran a time of 2:04.02 in the preliminaries to win her heat and secure her a spot in the finals. Her time now ranks her 17th in the country. Running a time of 2:05.99, which is the 45th best time nationally, Freitas also made it to the finals in the event.
Both teams will now make their way to Jacksonville, Fla., for the 2015 NCAA East Preliminaries.
For more information on the MSU track and field teams visit HailState.com and follow on Twitter (@HailStateTF).