The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Host Mississippi Open Track Meet This Weekend
4/21/2011 | Track and Field
April 21, 2011
Mississippi Open Information | Mississippi Open Live Scoring
ATTENTION COACHES: The entry deadline for the Mississippi Open is being extended due to the online entry system (Direct Athletics) currently being down.
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss will host its final home meet of the year this weekend when a number of schools visit the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex for the Mississippi Open.
Competition begins Saturday with the hammer throw and javelin at 9 a.m., with most events to follow throughout the day. Three of the seven events that make up the women's heptathlon will take place Sunday morning starting at 10 a.m.
"With quite a few area schools and several SEC schools coming to Oxford, we're expecting a very good home meet," Rebel head coach Joe Walker said. "We have a bunch of Ole Miss athletes ranked nationally, and we've got some pro athletes competing with us this weekend. It's a great time for Rebel fans and track and field fans in general to come out and support us."
In addition to the high-level competition, Ole Miss will also honor its seniors at an evening ceremony during the running of the men's and women's 5,000 meter races. Included among the seniors that will be honored are All-Americans LaJada Baldwin, Lee Ellis Moore, Sofie Persson and Juliana Smith, as well as SEC Champion Martin Kirui.
Ranked No. 22 in the nation in this week's USTFCCCA poll, the Rebel men boast several athletes ranked among the nation's best in their events.
The men are led by a pair of 400 meter hurdlers. Moore is fourth in the country with a time of 49.86, while junior Carson Blanks is sixth with a time of 50.50. Those marks rank 1-2 among SEC runners this year.
Also ranked among the nation's top 10 are senior Jonathan Juin in the 200 meters (10th, 20.67), sophomore Ricky Robertson in the high jump (9th, 7-02.50), junior Caleb Lee in the long jump (10th, 25-06.00) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Dante Oliver, Blanks, Christopher Bush and Moore (9th, 3:06.77).
At last weekend's War Eagle Invitational, sophomore Mike Granger won the 100 meters and Lee took the long jump title to lead the Rebel track team. Granger took the sprint crown in Auburn with a time of 10.49 in the finals. Juin came in fourth with a time of 10.60. In the preliminaries, the duo finished 1-2 with Granger posting a time of 10.36 and Juin 10.38. Granger's best time of the year is 10.22 (ranks 12th nationally). Lee jumped a personal-best 25-06.00 to beat all other competitors in Auburn.
Ranked No. 43 in the nation, several Ole Miss women rank among the nation's best in their events, led by a pair of senior throwers. Betty Williams ranks 10th nationally in the discus with a school-record mark of 176-11 and ranks 25th in the shot put with a distance of 52-05.50. Smith ranks 11th in the country in the hammer throw with her school record of 202-11. That is the second-best throw by a female SEC athlete this season.
Sophomore Neal Tisher ranks 10th in the nation with a pole vault of 13-09.25.
At this past weekend's War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Smith and Williams were on top of their game. Smith placed third in the hammer throw with a distance of 200-07, and Williams finished third in the discus with a throw of 171-05. Also performing well was Kristin Bridges in the 400 meters. The junior who entered the meet ranked 20th in the nation, crossed the finish line in a personal-best 53.55 to place third.
The Rebels will travel to the prestigious Drake Relays next weekend in the final meet prior to the SEC Championships, which will be held May 12-15 in Athens, Ga.
Following the SEC Championships, the NCAA will select the East region's top 48 athletes in each event (except decathlon, heptathlon and 10,000 meters) to participate at the NCAA East Regional. The performances at the regional will determine who makes the field for the NCAA Championships (June 8-11; Des Moines, Iowa). The decathlon, heptathlon and 10,000 meter qualifiers will be sent directly to the NCAA Championships.
If the season ended today, Ole Miss would send 12 men, 11 women and both men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays to the NCAA East Regional.
