The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Championships
Rebels Shine On First Day Of NCAA Indoors
3/11/2011 | Track and Field
March 11, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Two school records fell and Juliana Smith finished fifth in the women's weight throw as Ole Miss produced an impressive showing on the first day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday.
Competing at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M, three of the four Rebels active on Friday finished among the top five in their respective events.
"We had a great first day," head coach Joe Walker said. "I am so proud of all of them."
Smith, a senior from Loganville, Ga., shattered her own school record in the weight throw when her second of six attempts went 66-11.50. She earned four team points with her fifth-place result. Her previous best was 66-04.00, which she achieved at the Meyo Invitational earlier this season.
Smith is the first female in school history to score points in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships.
"Juliana came in ranked 16th nationally and really showed her competitive mettle to score four points for our team," Walker said.
Also breaking a prestigious school record was Mike Granger in the men's 60 meter preliminaries. He won his heat with a blazing time of 6.59 to break Greg Saddler's 17-year-old record time of 6.60 (1994) and finish third among all runners in the prelims. The sophomore from Hickory, Miss., advanced to Saturday's final that is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT.
"Mike ran a tremendous race to set the school record," Walker said. "And he defeated SEC champ Jeff Demps in the process."
Senior Swede Sofie Persson continued her fantastic season on Friday by finishing second in the 800 meter preliminaries with a time of 2:04.96. She qualified for Saturday's final that is scheduled for 6:20 p.m., immediately after Granger's race.
"Sofie ran in the 2:04s again and ran a very good strategic race," Walker said.
Junior Caleb Lee placed 15th in the long jump with a mark of 24-03.75 on his first attempt. On his second attempt, he fouled on what would have been an even further distance. He did not advance to the final flight.
"Caleb had a little trouble with his steps and didn't advance," Walker said. "He did have one foul that would have been a really good jump."
In addition to Granger and Persson, sophomore Ricky Robertson will also compete on Saturday. The No. 2 nationally ranked high jumper will compete in that event at 4:15 p.m. A native of Hernando, Miss., Robertson recently claimed his third straight SEC Championship in the high jump and boasts a school-record leap of 7-05.75 from earlier this season.
ESPN2 will show a tape delay of the event on March 16 at 1:30 p.m. CT. ESPN3 will stream the event live on Saturday from 3-6:50 p.m. The remainder of the event will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
AGATE
MEN
60 Meter Prelims
3. Mike Granger - 6.59q (SR)
Long Jump
Caleb Lee - FOUL
WOMEN
800 Meter Prelims
2. Sofie Persson - 2:04.96q
Weight Throw
5. Juliana Smith - 66-11.50 (SR)
