After an open week of preparation, the Mississippi State women’s track and field team competes today through Sunday in the SEC Indoor Championship. Seven MSU athletes enter the championship at the University of Kentucky ranked among the top 20 in the SEC in their respective events.
The Maroon and White veterans look to continue past successes. Senior Marrissa Harris, of Memphis, Tenn., is the returning pentathlon runner-up and outdoor heptathlon champion. She also placed the second fastest 60-meter hurdles time in the conference in 2009. Harris is set to compete in multiple events for the Lady Bulldogs.
Head coach Al Schmidt said he thinks Harris is the best multi-athlete in the SEC.
“[Harris] was outdoor champion, so I would like to see her add another championship for her sake and ours,” he said.
Another upperclassman, junior Wendy Copeland of Tupelo, comes into the championship at Nutter Field House with the sixth-best long jump mark in the SEC for the season.
Copeland said the competitive environment of the previous meet, the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 13, has prepared her to set a personal record and make All-SEC.
Copeland has potential to not only make best in the conference, but in the nation, Schmidt said.
“[Copeland] is on the verge of being one of the best long jumpers in the country,” he said. “She is a good sprinter and has a lot of talent.”
In the long jump, Copeland is joined by Harris and senior Priscilla Gaines, of Marietta, Ga. Gaines jumped a personal record at Tyson.
“We are still waiting on [Gaines] to bust out,” Schmidt said.
Against the SEC’s best, Copeland said the team will need peak performances.
“[The SEC meet] will be pretty tough,” Copeland said. “We will have to perform our best to be in the competition because [the other teams] are strong.”
The team will compete against many of the best in the nation, Schmidt said. He said he hopes more of the women will make an impact.
“We need some heroes to step up,” Schmidt said.
Judgment for the season hinges on the SEC meet, and the team as a whole will rise to the occasion, Harris said.
“It is conference [meet], everybody as a group needs to and will step up,” Harris said.
One woman that could surprise is junior LaQuinta Aaron, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Schmidt said.
“[Aaron] is a really good pentathlete, too,” Schmidt said. “I think [Harris] and her could score pretty good points in indoor and outdoor.”
Freshmen Candice Polk, of Madison, and Anjoure Teele, of Orlando, Fla., could send a message for the years to come, Copeland said.
“[Polk] is going to be great, if she can get more years under her belt,” Copeland said. “I think [Polk and Teele] have a lot of talent and have to stay confident because they will succeed.”
With a youthful team, the women’s squad must work through the rebuilding, but the hope remains for the future, Schmidt said.
“We are young, but we are learning,” he said. “We will hopefully be able to get more consistent and hang in there with Tennessee, LSU and others.”
As the two-month-long indoor season finishes, the more extensive outdoor track season begins, Harris said.
“Outdoor has several more meets to find a good rhythm because indoor is much shorter,” she said. “Many people do a lot better in outdoor than indoor because of the length of the season.”
In outdoor season, the men once again join the women’s team. The addition should bolster the team as one group. The events tend to play more to the strengths of the team, Schmidt said.
“We are a much better outdoor team with more relays and hurdles,” Schmidt said. “It is better when the men are with us because we are not just a men’s or women’s team, we are a track team.”
MSU track faces other obstacles beyond the competition, Harris said.
“As far as depth goes, [MSU] does not have as many people as [the top teams] do,” she said. “That sort of puts us at a disadvantage.”
In an off year for SEC powerhouse LSU, MSU still has a chance to do well, Schmidt said. The favorite is Tennessee, but reigning indoor SEC champs Arkansas will also do well, he said.
The indoor track season will conclude March 13 and 14 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas.
For complete results on the 2009 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, visit ukathletics.com or ukathletics.com.