Two MSU School Records Fall On Final Day Of NCAA Championships
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ?€“?€“ The Mississippi State University men's outdoor track and field team closed out the 2005 season on Saturday night at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event was held at the Alex G. Spanos Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
"The 400-meter dash was a tremendous race," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "It was Jamel's (Ashley) fifth 400 on the weekend. His last three races were 44.98, 44.75 and 44.80 on a relay. Everybody stepped up for us tonight. LaChristopher (Lewis) hadn't run a 400 since the Penn Relays because of his injury. Elzie (Coleman) did a great job. He really just popped out of the blocks and that's a lot to ask of a freshman.
"Jamel running the anchor leg allowed LaChristopher to take some pressure off, and he ran quite a leg. Hopefully, we'll be top 25 after this. We're proud of our athletes. After everything we've been through this week, they've helped with the stress and pain. They've handled themselves with class, and the people here have treated them with respect. We'll be back."
In the 400-meter dash, senior Jamel Ashley finished second in 44.75 seconds, breaking his day-old school record. The Dudley, Ga.-native was awarded his second all-America honor in the event. Darrold Williamson of Baylor won in 44.51. SEC 400-meter dash champion Kelly Willie of LSU (45.17) and Arkansas' Terry Gatson (45.68) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
In the 4x400-meter relay, State led off with freshman Elzie Coleman and followed with sophomore Arthur Davis, senior LaChristopher Lewis and Ashley. The Bulldogs clocked a school record 3:01.63, breaking the second-oldest standing record from 1982. The previous school record was 3:02.80 run by Michael Hadley, Daryl Jones, Michael Moore and George Washington when they won the 4x400-meter relay national championship.
Davis, Ashley and Lewis were each garnered with their second all-American awards in the event, while Coleman, junior Kendall Pyant II and freshman Chris Woods picked up their first.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished tied for 26th with 12 points.