MSU Men Win Bulldog Invitational And Women Take Runner-Up
Team Rankings
MSU Men's Results
MSU Women's Results
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University's men's team won the team crown for the 2004 Bulldog Invitational with 178 points, 66 1/2 points better than second place Indiana State University. The women finished runner-up with 149 points behind the winner Southwest Missouri State with 180 points.
"We are really proud of our teams today," said head coach Al Schmidt. "We set a lot of regional qualifying marks and had a great meet."
The Bulldogs set nine regional qualifying marks on the day. LaChristopher Lewis recorded a 10.50 in the 100m for a fourth place finish, setting his second individual regional qualifying mark. In the 400m dash, Kendall Pyant II and Jamel Ashley finished in second and fourth, respectively, with qualifying marks of 47.14 and 47.17. The 4x100m relay team of Eliott Morant, Jamel Ashley, Arthur Davis and LaChristopher Lewis recorded the fastest time of the season for MSU in the event (40.06), setting the third consecutive qualifying mark run by the team this season.
Kendall Pyant II won the long jump with his regional qualifying time and career best time of 25-0 3/4. In the shot put, JD Erickson won the event with his regional mark of 56-6 and Matt Whalen took third with his personal best distance of 54-8 1/4, both are qualifying marks. Erickson also set a qualifying mark in the discus with a 169-2 for second place. The winner in the hammer event, Matt Holcomb threw 185-9 to qualifying for regionals.
Lewis took runner-up in the 200m dash in a time of 20.83. Elmore McConnell missed setting a regional qualifying time in the 800m by less than three-tenths of a second. McConnell finished third in the event (1:50.88). Matt Denton came in second in the high jump with a height of 6-8 3/4. Trey Hardee was the individual winner in the pole vault with a measurement of 15-5. Whalen's distance of 175-9 in the hammer left him in third overall.
On the women's side, the Lady Bulldogs set their first regional qualifying marks of the year. Tiffany McWilliams set a new W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track record in the 800m with her regional qualifying time of 2:03.23 for first place. Jennifer McPherson took first in the 1500m run in a regional qualifying mark of 4:28.69, also a personal best. Teammate Zita Magloire recorded a career best time in the 1500m in 4:38.12 for third.
Lauren Johnson finished third in the 100m hurdles in 14.26. In the 5000m run, Joy Griffith set a career high with an 18:19.50 for a third place showing. The women's 4x400m relay team of Kia James, Nicole Dunn, Magloire and McWilliams took second in the relay with a time of 3:48.52. Each finishing the high jump in second, Renata Hendrix and Jasmine Walls leapt 5-5, career-best marks for each athlete. Lacey Johnson finished tied for third in the pole vault with a height of 10-4.
Nicola Wilson won the shot put with her career top mark of 46-5 1/2. Junior Crystal Averitt won both the discus and hammer events with her distances of 148-4 and 171-4, respectively. Taking second in the discus, Christina Hernandez recorded a new career best mark in 143-11. Jennifer Johnstone threw the hammer 156-7 for a second place showing. Senior Kia James had a career day breaking her personal records in the 100m with a 12.34 and in the 200m with a 25.18.
Next, State travels to Austin, Texas, on March 31 for the Texas Relays.