The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Host Ole Miss Invitational, Offer Free Admission
4/9/2009 | Track and Field
Competition begins at 11:30 a.m. with the men’s hammer throw and the women’s javelin. Admission to this year’s Ole Miss Invitational will be free of charge. Due to the size of the meet, the women's 5000 meters will now begin at 1 p.m. and not at the originally scheduled 2 p.m. Refer back to this article Friday morning for the complete schedule of events. Several teams from around the region are expected to compete this weekend, including Alabama, Jackson State, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Tulane and Vanderbilt, while Big East foe Notre Dame will also take part in the meet. “We are excited about hosting our first meet of the season on Saturday,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Walker said. “We have a really good group of teams coming in from around the region along with Notre Dame from the Big East. In addition, we are excited about the professional athletes that will be competing because of the open meet. More than anything, we are looking forward to competing in front of our Ole Miss family and friends.” Individually, the Rebels feature some of the top talent in the nation and all will be in action Saturday. Sophomore LaJada Baldwin ranks as one of the fastest sprinters in the nation and stands first in the country with a time of 52.27 in the 400 meters. She also ranks 30th in the nation in the 100 meters with a top time of 11.68 she set at the Alabama Relays. Freshman Kristin Bridges is another strong sprinter for Ole Miss and ranks 37th in the nation in the 100 meters with a time of 11.70. Sophomore Sofie Persson stands 19th in the country in the 400 meters with a top time of 54.40. Persson also ranks 31st in the 400 meter hurdles after posting a time of 1:00.14 at the Alabama Relays. In field events, Junior Davina Orieukwu is third in the nation in the shot put after recording a school record distance of 55-03.00 last weekend at the Florida Relays. Juliana Smith currently ranks 41st in the hammer throw with a school record mark of 181-04.00. In addition to all the current members of the team, former Ole Miss All-American Brittney Reese is scheduled to make her outdoor debut and compete in the long jump. Since it is an open meet, several other pro athletes are expected to compete in various events during the course of the day. On the men’s side, sophomore Lee Ellis Moore ranks sixth in the nation in the 400 meter hurdles with his NCAA regional time of 50.38 he recorded last weekend at the Florida Relays. Freshman jumper Caleb Lee has provided an immediate impact for the Rebels in both the long jump and triple jump. Lee ranks sixth in the long jump with a top mark of 25-03.50, while also standing 26th in the triple jump with a distance of 49-08.50. Also in the triple jump, senior Wale Odetunde opens the meet as the nation’s fifth ranked triple jumper with his distance of 51-06.25. Derek McGuire stands 30th in the nation in the shot put with a distance of 56-08.75, while Bryce Willen ranks 35th in the javelin after throwing a school record distance of 210-07.00 at the Rhodes Invitational.
