Jen McPherson finished fourth in the mile run, and Nicola Wilson once again broke the school shot put record, but the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs could only muster an 11th place finish this past weekend at the 2006 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
“There’s next year,” MSU head coach Al Schmidt said. “We’re not a good indoor team just yet. We’ll get it done, though.”
McPherson qualified for the mile on Saturday with a preliminary time of four minutes, 51.20 seconds. She returned the next day with a final time of 4:52.99 and also contributed to the distance medley relay squad’s fifth-place finish.
McPherson, Antrese Banks, Andrea Wahlin and Zita Magloire combined for 11:43.77 in the event, the fourth-best time in school history.
Magloire anchored the squad, redeeming herself after failing to finish the 3,000-meter race the day before.
Wilson’s throw of 49 feet, one and three-quarter inches in the shot put allowed her to place fifth and was just a half-inch shy of provisionally qualifying the junior for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Lauren Johnson had a field day of her own, setting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark by scoring 3,700 points in the pentathlon on the opening day of competition. Johnson’s ninth-place finish marks a personal record, and the total ranks second on the MSU all-time list in the event.
“Lauren gave a phenomenal effort,” said assistant coach Karen Rademeyer, who coaches combined event athletes. “She did so well against some tough competition. She met a provisional mark and didn’t even score.”
Johnson finished fourth and set personal bests in two events. In the shot put, she threw 36-06 and leaped 18-09 in the long jump. In the 55-meter hurdles, Johnson ran 8.12 (8.69, converted to 60-meter hurdle-time), the fourth best time in school history. She closed out the competition with a ninth-place finish in the 800-meter run.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs finished 11th with 13 points, good enough to beat out Vanderbilt. Georgia topped Auburn 101.5 to 96 to take the conference title.
The Lady Bulldogs begin the outdoor season March 16-19 at the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The men’s squad begins outdoor competition next weekend, March 3-4, at the Florida State-hosted FSU Snowbird in Tallahassee.