State Closes Out Alabama Relays With Four Relay Wins
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Mississippi State University wrapped up the 2005 Alabama Relayson Sunday afternoon with the MSU men's team capturing meet titles in the4x100-, 4x200-, 4x400-meter, and sprint medley relays. The event was held atthe Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex on the campus of the University ofAlabama.
"We broke an Alabama Relays record and put a mark on the all-time list in the4x2," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "That's just phenomenal. We just couldn'tfinish it off. Alabama won the relays we didn't. The difference was in theshuttle hurdle. We finished third, and they won it. Our sprint group didoutstanding. It was a great meet."
As a team, the Bulldogs finished second with 70 points behind Alabama's 72.State won the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays in regional-qualifying times of39.72 seconds and 3:05.84, respectively. The 4x200-meter relay team of Steve Mullings, Jamel Ashley, Arthur Davis, andLaChristopher Lewis set a new Alabama Relays record with their winning time of1:21.34. The time also ranks second on MSU's all-Time Outdoor Superlativeslist. The Bulldogs won the sprint medley relay in 3:17.82.
Ryan Irwin, Phillip Moore, Matt Martin, and Chris Woods ran the 4x800-meterrelay that finished second in 7:44.86. In the 4x1500-meter relay, the Bulldogsplaced second with a time of 16:11.77. The men's distance medley relay team ofMoore, Woods, Isaiah Marshall, and Travis McKay also finished second(10:11.02). The men's 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle team of Joseph Queen, MitchellEvans, Eliott Morant, and Calvin Wyche finished third in 1:11.85.
Sophomore Jerald Wilson leaped a personal best 47-8 in the triple jump to finishfourth. Matt Denton cleared 6-6 3/4 in a fourth-place finish in the high jump.
For the Lady Bulldogs, senior Jennifer Johnstone finished sixth in the hammerthrow with a career-best toss of 163-8. The women's 4x800-meter relay team ofJennifer McPherson, Andrea Wahlin, Zita Magloire, and Annie Falor finishedthird in 9:12.82. The Lady Bulldogs' distance medley tandem of McPherson,Wahlin, Magloire, and Meggan Hodge finished third in 12:00.43.
State returns to action on April 2 when the MSU squads host the BulldogInvitational. The first events are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at W.O. SpencerStadium/Carl Maddox Track.