The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Heads To SEC Indoor Championships
2/23/2011 | Track and Field
Feb. 23, 2011
2011 SEC Indoor Championships Central
OXFORD, Miss. - Boasting some of the nation's top performers in their events, Ole Miss will participate in the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships this Friday-Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Competition begins Friday afternoon with women's pentathlon and men's heptathlon events. The meat of the schedule gets underway Saturday morning and continues through Sunday afternoon around 4:15.
"We are excited to be competing in the SECs at Arkansas this weekend," head coach Joe Walker said. " We are going in without some of our key people, but those going are ready, and we expect some great performances from our athletes. This is the best conference meet in the country."
For the 28th-ranked Ole Miss men, sophomore Ricky Robertson holds the No. 2 spot nationally in the high jump with a school-record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 7-05.75. He is one of only three jumpers in the country this year to clear 7-5, and he has done so four times this season.
Robertson, who hails from Hernando, Miss., is the defending SEC indoor and outdoor high jump champion.
Sophomore Mike Granger is ranked seventh nationally in the 60 meters with a personal-best time of 6.62, just shy of the 6.60 automatic qualifying time. He finished runner-up at the prestigious Tyson Invitational when he clocked 6.62 and continues to rank as the third-best 60-meter runner in school history.
Junior Caleb Lee ranks 12th in the nation in the long jump with a personal-best distance of 25-06.75.
The Rebels' 4x400 meter relay squad of Dante Oliver, Christopher Bush, Matt Daniels and Lee Ellis Moore is ranked just outside the typically selected number of NCAA participants as the No. 20 school nationally with a time of 3:10.79.
From the women's team, junior Sofie Persson is nationally ranked at No. 7 in the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.81, which is just off the automatic qualifying time of 2:05.00.
Senior Juliana Smith holds the No. 10 spot nationally in the weight throw with her school-record mark of 66-04.50.
Persson is joined by Lauren Hollingsworth, Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen and Kristin Bridges on the women's 4x400 meter relay team that ranks 20th among all schools with a time of 3:38.82.
At last year's SEC Indoor Championships, Robertson was crowned the SEC Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, while Rachel Jenkins earned All-SEC second team honors. Jenkins is currently injured and is not expected to compete this weekend. Robertson and Granger were both tabbed SEC All-Freshman a year ago.
Following the conference championships, several athletes will compete in NCAA Last Chance meets around the country attempting to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The NCAAs will be held in College Station, Texas, March 11-12. Robertson, Granger and Persson all earned Indoor All-America honors a year ago.
