MSU track teams earned seven new regional qualifying marks on Saturday at the Mississippi Invitational in Oxford. Mississippi State track and field teams participated in the Mississippi Invitational at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex.
Junior Gabrielle Dillon ran a season-best 12 seconds in the finals of the 100-meter dash to walk away with fifth place in the event after advancing out of the preliminaries. Junior Priscilla Gaines ran a personal best of 24.19 in the 200-meter dash, finishing in second place, collegiately. MSU’s track and field team took three out of the top five spots in the 5000-meter run.
Freshman Sarah Hammes finished in second place with 17:48.41, Simone Domingue took third place with 17:59.45 and Lydia Chebii ran a personal-best of 18:25.87. Sophomore Bridgett Rose captured first place in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles with a regional-qualifying and personal best time of 13.68 to advance to the finals to score second place.
In women’s field events, junior Dorothy Youmans jumped a personal-best 5 feet 7 inches to take third place in the high jump. Junior Janelle Finley sprung her way into third place with a jump of 18 feet 11 inches in the long jump. In the shotput portion of the competition, both junior Antrese Banks and sophomore LaTisha Rodgers established new season-best throws.
Finishing in second place with a personal best and regional qualifying time of 10.39,
sophomore Kendall May improved on his 100-meter dash. Senior Jamil Hubbard pulled double duty competing in the 200-meter dash with 21.06 and the 400-meter dash with 46.96, establishing new personal bests and regional-qualifying times.
Junior John Bailey finished in third with a time of 47.41.
Senior Golden Coachman pulled out his second 800-meter run regional qualifying standard with a time of 1:49.23 to land him first place. Freshman Ben Blakenship finished second in the 1,500 meter run, completing the race in 3:55.91.
Grabbing his second 400-meter hurdle regional qualifying mark, freshman Emanuel Mayers had a second place finish in the event with a time of 52.32.
Sophomore Daniel Simpkins, who competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase, had a time of 9:35.71, landing him first place.
MSU’s 4×400 meter relay team of Hubbard, senior Chris Woods, Coachman, and Mayers took first place and qualified with a time of 3:08.47. In men’s field event action, junior Allen Cassell jumped 6-02 3/4 in the high jump, while junior Darryl Brady grabbed third place in the pole vault with a mark of 14 feet, one inch.
“We had a pretty good day,” said MSU Head Coach Al Schmidt. “The big ones were Jamil Hubbard qualifying in the 400, Bridgett Rose improved on her hurdle time [100-meter hurdles] and Kendall May got his 100 meter time down. Those were great performances All-in-all, it was a good day. It was cold and windy, so it was difficult running. In every race we ran we were right in the front.”
“It’s always worth going to a meet when you come out with more regional qualifiers,” said assistant coach Steve Dudley.