MSU Track Teams Return Home To Host Bulldog Invitational
Bulldog Invitational Notes (PDF)
MSU Athlete Bios (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss.?€“ The Mississippi State University outdoor track and fieldsquads return home this weekend to host the Bulldog Invitational at W.O.Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track. MSU welcomes over 100 high schools fromacross Mississippi and Alabama on Friday for the high school meet beginning atnoon CT. The collegiate meet is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 9 a.m.Admission is free of charge.
"We're looking forward to Friday's high school meet," said MSU head coach AlSchmidt. "We're excited to have some of the best athletes in Mississippi andAlabama competing here. As for Saturday, LSU is a perennial powerhouse and SWMissouri State is a good school on the national scene. Alabama's women andLouisiana Tech will help fill out this meet."
Saturday's collegiate meet brings national powerhouse LSU to the Starkvillecampus. In addition to the Tigers, in state school Alcorn State, Arkansas-PineBluff, Alabama's women, Louisiana Tech, Samford and Southwest Missouri Stateare slated to compete.
At the Alabama Relays, junior Meggan Hodge won the 3000-meter steeplechase in 10minutes, 50.44 seconds, a regional qualifying time, new Alabama Relays recordand new Sam Bailey Track record. For her performance, Hodge was named theSoutheastern Conference Female Runner of the Week on March 23. Sophomore MattWhalen won the hammer with a throw of 178-4.
State won the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays in regional-qualifying times of 39.72seconds and 3:05.84, respectively. The 4x200-meter relay team of SteveMullings, Jamel Ashley, Arthur Davis and LaChristopher Lewis set a new AlabamaRelays record with their winning time of 1:21.34. The Bulldogs won the sprintmedley relay in 3:17.82.
In their first outdoor competition for the Maroon and White, Natalie Neely andDominique Rogers set new freshmen records in their respective events. Neelycleared 10-6 to finish eighth in the pole vault, while Rogers finished third inthe 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.66.
In addition to posting regionally-qualifying times in the 4x100 and 4x400-meterrelays at Alabama, the Bulldogs set three regional qualifying marks on theiropening weekend at the FSU Snowbird. Whalen won the shot put with a throw of55-0. State's 4x100-meter relay team of Eliott Morant, Ashley, Mullings, Lewisset a regional mark with their 40.52 time.The 4x400-meter relay team of Ashley,Kendall Pyant II, Mullings, and Lewis wonin 3:07.08.
Now in its third decade of service to Mississippi State's track and fieldprogram, W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track is located on Lakeview Drive,behind the Shira Fieldhouse Complex.