Mississippi State University’s men’s track team came out with a bang in their opening meet of the outdoor season, the Florida State Snowbird Invitational, with the men’s 1,600-meter relay squad qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional.The returning quartet, consisting of senior All-Americans Bruce Davis, Chris Woods, Arthur Davis and Ezra Jones, who finished seventh at last year’s NCAA Championships, posted a regional qualifying mark of 3 minutes, 7.84 seconds.
“Having the four-by-400 relay team qualify for regionals was worth the trip,” head coach Al Schmidt said. “We had a very productive weekend.”
Many other Bulldogs posted personal best times and Top 10 finishes in their events at the Snowbird Invitational.
Sophomore John Bailey placed sixth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.83, a new personal best.
In addition to competing with the relay team, Davis and Woods also had success in other events.
Davis established a new personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.91, while Woods turned in a time of 48.34 in the 400-meter dash to finish third.
The Bulldogs had four newcomers competing in their first Division I Intercollegiate meet. Transfers Golden Coachman and Delandus O’Neal both competed in the 400-meter dash, finishing with times of 48.55 and 50.14 respectively.
Red shirt freshman Tyson Bonner notched a seventh-place finish in the 800-meter run, while freshman Demetrius Cobbins placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the jumps events, senior Jerad Wilson registered a jump of 46 feet, 11 inches in the triple jump to place second. He also posted a jump of 22-6 12/25 to place third in the long jump competition.
Sophomore Kiley Aguar posted a career-best mark in the hammer throw at 150 feet. Daniel Zabaldano finished second in the javelin throw while winning the discus with a throw of 144-32.
The Bulldogs also won two distance events on the opening day of the Snowbird Invitational. Senior Travis McKay won the men’s 5,000-meter run, while redshirt sophomores Pad Judd and Robert Scribner finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
The distance medley relay team, consisting of newcomers Coachman and Jonathan Rono and also Jones and Davis, took home top honors with a time of 10:10.23.
The Bulldogs have a two-week break from competition before competing in the Georgia Relays in Athens, Ga., March 16-17.