Four Rebels Named All-Americans At NCAA Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Ole Miss track and field athletes Lee Ellis Moore, Derek McGuire, Colin Moleton and LaJada Baldwin were each named NCAA All-Americans in their respective events over the course of the four days of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships from John McDonnell Field. 

Moore was named an All-American in the 400 meter hurdles after racing to a ninth place finish Friday evening with a time of 50.53.  He becomes just the second male athlete in school history to earn the distinction of All-American in the 400 meter hurdles, joining former Ole Miss great Donavan Bassett.   

Moore turned in a time of 49.87 Wednesday to set a new school record en route to a first place finish in the 400 meter hurdle preliminaries.  He surpassed the previous school record of 50.01 he set earlier in the year at the SEC Outdoor Championships.  Moore went on to take seventh in the semifinals with a qualifying time of 50.11 on Thursday. 

McGuire posted a new school record in the shot put Wednesday as he turned in a distance of 60-08.75 in the preliminaries on his way to a seventh place finish.  He bested the old school record of 59-10.25 he posted last week at the MidEast Regional. 

He went on to finish in ninth place in the finals Thursday with a distance of 59-04.75.  McGuire is the only Rebel in school history to compete at the NCAA Championships in the shot put, and he is also the first Rebel in school history to be selected as an All-American in the shot put. 

Moleton became the third Ole Miss All-American as he took 11th in the javelin throw with a distance of 216-11.00.  Moleton qualified in the javelin throw as he placed eighth in the preliminaries with a distance of 222-0.00.  

He is the first male in school history to be an All-American in the javelin throw. 

Baldwin earned the distinction in the 400 meters after finishing in eighth place in the finals following a time of 52.31.  She advanced to the semifinals as she took 10th place in the preliminaries Wednesday with a time of 53.97.  She turned in a time of 52.89 in the semifinals Friday night to earn her spot in the finals. 

It is the second straight year in which Baldwin has been named an outdoor All-American in the 400 meters.  She joins former Ole Miss standouts Brittney Reese and Kenyata Coleman as the only three females in school history to be named an outdoor All-American in back-to-back seasons. 

“I thought we had a real good meet considering we had such a young team,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Walker said.  “We were real close on several occasions to scoring points to help our overall finish, but I’m still very pleased with our performance.  We came away with four All-Americans, and I am very proud of what we accomplished given how young we are.”

Bryce Willen fell just shy of reaching the finals of the javelin throw as he earned a 14th place finish with a mark of 213-10.00.  

In the triple jump, senior Wale Odetunde finished 20th overall after leaping to a distance of 50-08.75. 

Britney Barnard finished 24th overall in the 800 meters Wednesday with a time of 2:10.06, while Sofie Persson took 21st place in the 400 meter hurdles with her mark of 58.77. 

The Rebel quartet of Jasmine Dacus, Persson, Barnard and Baldwin finished in 16th place of the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:36.49. 

AGATE

MEN

400 Meter Hurdle Prelims

1. Lee Ellis Moore 49.87qsr

400 Meter Hurdle Semifinals

7. Lee Ellis Moore 50.11q

400 Meter Hurdle Finals

9. Lee Ellis Moore 50.53

Triple Jump Prelims

20. Wale Odetunde 50-08.75

Shot Put Prelims

7. Derek McGuire 60-08.75qsr

Shot Put Finals

9. Derek McGuire 59-04.75. 

Javelin Throw Prelims

8. Colin Moleton 222-05.00q

14. Bryce Willen 213-10.00

Javelin Throw Finals

11. Colin Moleton 216-11.00

WOMEN

400 Meter Prelims

10. LaJada Baldwin 53.97q

400 Meter Semifinals

8. LaJada Baldwin 52.89q

400 Meter Finals

8. LaJada Baldwin 52.31

800 Meter Prelims

24. Britney Barnard 2:10.06

400 Meter Hurdle Prelims

21. Sofie Persson 58.77

4x400 Meter Relay

16. Ole Miss A’ 3:36.49

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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