Mississippi State’s men’s track team had a familiar face add his name to the Bulldogs’ NCAA qualifiers, while the distance medley relay teams set records on the first day of the Arkansas State Invitational.
Senior Pierre Browne became the fifth male individual to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, clocking a 21.41 to win the 200-meter dash. Junior Marquis Davis, a Memphis, Tenn., native, came in second at 21.45, while sophomore Glenn McFadden clocked a 21.50 while finishing fourth.
For the women, their distance medley relay team of Jennifer McPherson, Nicole Dunn, Zita Magloire and Tiffany McWilliams clocked in at 11:41.88, surpassing the Convocation Center’s record by over 16 seconds. The team took first place.
Not to be outdone, the men’s team set a new school and Convocation Center record in winning the distance medley relay. Jason Odom, Keston Nelson, Elmore McConnell and Chris Boldt completed the event in 9:50.53, beating the old school record by over five seconds.
Also for the women, freshman Lauren Johnson took fourth place in the long jump, leaping 17-9 1/4. The men’s J.D. Erickson took sixth in the shot put with a throw of 52-10 1/2.
Sophomore Tiffany McWilliams added a third school record to her resume on the final day of competition at the Arkansas State Invitational.
The Red Bay, Ala., native clocked a 2:09.58 around the track, taking first in the meet and passing Iyabo Ajayi on MSU’s indoor 800m list. She also holds school records in the indoor mile and outdoor 1500m.
On the men’s side, the 4x400m relay team of Dion Crabbe, Kelvin Harris, LaChristopher Lewis and Glenn McFadden finished first with a time of 3:13.15. The squad fell 1.15 seconds outside the NCAA’s provisional qualifying mark for the sprint relay event.
Freshman Trey Hardee also took home a win, clearing 15-9 3/4 in the pole vault to top the field in the Convocation Center in Jonesboro. Sophomore J.D. Erickson also had a personal-best 58-9 weight throw, finishing third in the event.
The men’s team also had three individuals finish second on the final day of the Arkansas State-hosted event. Jason Odom clocked a 4:13.00 in the mile to place second, while Elmore McConnell tied for second in the 800m with a time of 1:55.08. Sophomore Matthew Denton also placed second in the high jump, leaping 6-10, a new personal best.
“This was a great meet for us,” head coach Al Schmidt said. “We had a number of personal bests set this weekend. We’re feeling really good right now about the direction we’re going.”
For the women, two individuals placed third. Freshman Zita Magloire completed the mile in 5:06.00 to come in third, while sophomore Meggan Hodge finished third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:01.01.
State’s track teams have next weekend off before competing in the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., Feb. 7-8.