MSU Track And Field Squads Head To Music City For SEC Championships
Results
SEC Championship Notes
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STARKVILLE, Miss. ?€“?€“ In what has typically been a preview of the national championships, Mississippi State University's track and field squads are set to compete at the 2005 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Events begin Thursday, May 12, and continue through Sunday, May 15, at the Vanderbilt Track on the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tenn.
"We're in really good shape on the men's side," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "We have pretty high goals going into this weekend. We just need to get out there and perform the way we have been. You can assume that whatever points you score on the men's side reflects 50-70 percent of what you may score at nationals. I think if we can score 70+ points at the conference meet, we could be top four at nationals."
The Bulldogs enter the conference championships ranked 13th in the country in the latest installment of the Trackwire 25. At the 111th Penn Relay Carnival, April 28-30, freshman John Brigham finished the 5000-meter championship with a personal best 14 minutes, 30.04 seconds, the fifth fastest time in school history. Junior Steve Mullings and all-Americans senior Jamel Ashley, sophomore Arthur Davis and senior LaChristopher Lewis won their heat of the 4x200-meter relay in 1:21.31. The mark is the second fastest time in school history.
In the 4x400-meter relay prelims, Ashley, Davis, freshman Elzie Coleman and Lewis ran a regional qualifying 3:05.16. Mullings, Ashley, Davis and Lewis paced the Bulldogs to a third place finish in the 4x200-meter relay in 1:21.77. In the 4x400-meter relay, Ashley, Davis, Coleman and Lewis posted another third-place finish with the third best time in school history, a regional qualifying 3:03.44.
In field events, senior Matt Denton tied for seventh in the high jump with a leap of 6-8 3/4. Freshman Tim Williams set a new personal record with his 6-8 3/4 clearing, placing him ninth. In the long jump, junior Kendall Pyant II finished fourth (23-10 3/4).
On the women's side Crystal Averitt took eighth in the discus with a regional qualifying throw of 156-8. In a tie for eighth place, junior high jumper Jasmine Walls cleared 5-7, meeting her personal best and second best mark in school history. Sophomore Nicola Wilson took ninth place in the shot put with a throw of 42-11 3/4. On the track, junior Zita Magloire placed ninth in the 3000-meter run with a personal best 10:03.36.
Last season in Oxford, Miss., the Bulldogs finished seventh overall with 42 points. Ashley finished fifth in the 100-meter dash in a regional qualifying 10.49. Lewis set a regional marks with his fourth-place finishes in the 200-meter dash and long jump. The 4x400-meter relay team of Ashley, Davis, Keston Nelson and Lewis placed second (3:03.42). In his first SEC Championships, Jerald Wilson leaped 44-8 3/4 to finish ninth in the triple jump.
The Lady Bulldogs took 11th overall, finishing with 22 points. Kia James set a personal best in the 400-meter dash (57.53), while Magloire set a regional qualifying mark in the 800-meter dash (2:10.24). Walls cleared 5-6 in the high jump en route to a tie for ninth. Jennifer Johnstone finished ninth in the javelin (120-4).
MSU's lone SEC Championship came in 1962 by the men's team in Baton Rouge, La.
Regional qualifying individuals compete at the 2005 NCAA Mideast Regional on May 27-28 at Indiana University in Bloomington.