The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Men Win DMR, Two Other Medals at Day One of SEC Indoor Championships
2/22/2019 | Track and Field
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Ole Miss Has Won Five of the Last Six Men’s DMR Titles
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ole Miss track & field set the tone early at Day One of the SEC Indoor Championships, nabbing three medals – including a gold in the men's distance medley relay – at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday.
The No. 19 Rebel men currently sit tied with No. 6 Georgia in fifth place at 22 meet points, while the Ole Miss women are tied with No. 6 Kentucky and Missouri for seventh at 13 points. Alabama is in the lead in both the men's and women's standings after the first day of action, with the No. 13 Crimson Tide men leading No. 5 LSU, 38-36, and the No. 14 women leading three-time defending champions, No. 1 Arkansas, by a score of 35-30.
Ole Miss retook its spot atop the throne in the men's DMR after finishing second in 2018, making this year the fifth in the previous six seasons that the Rebels have come away with the SEC title. The Rebels jumped out to a quick start and led wire-to-wire, finishing at a time of 9:43.91 for a five-second victory over the defending champions, Arkansas (9:48.67). The relay consisted of freshman Mario Garcia Romo in his first career DMR on the leadoff 1200-meter leg (2:59.11), junior James Burnett on the 400-meter leg (47.33), sophomore Waleed Suliman on the 800-meter leg (1:49.25) and senior Derek Gutierrez on anchor running the 1600-meter leg (4:08.24).
Today's performance marks the fifth DMR title in Ole Miss history. Last week at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the quartet of Suliman, Burnett, John Rivera Jr. and Gutierrez ran 9:34.43, which converts down to the NCAA's third-fastest time this year at 9:26.73 – all but guaranteeing Ole Miss a spot at the national meet in two weeks.
The distance runners also had success in the mile earlier in the afternoon. Sophomore Cade Bethmann took home first in the mile prelims (4:06.69), while Waleed Suliman, who currently owns the NCAA's second fastest mile this season, came in second at 4:06.72. Both will move on to the final heat, which is set for 3:10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
On the women's side, sophomore Clio Ozanne-Jaques earned her first career SEC medal by finishing third in the 5K with a PR of 16:33.99. The sophomore now ranks seventh in Ole Miss history. Ozanne-Jaques, a native Australian, also made First-Team All-SEC last October at the SEC Cross Country Championships.
The women's DMR team, consisting of senior Maddie McHugh, sophomore Orianna Shaw, freshman Ylvi Traxler and senior Shelby Brown, also scored points for Ole Miss. The squad came in fourth with a time of 11:33.49, which ranks fifth in school history.
Sophomore Allen Gordon earned the first SEC medal of his collegiate career, finishing third in the long jump after coming into the day ranking eighth in the SEC. He was able to pass over five athletes by setting a huge PR at 7.76m (25-05.50), which ranks fifth in school history and was in the lead at the time over All-American upperclassmen like eventual champion Rayvon Grey of LSU (7.86m/25-09.50) and runner-up Grant Holloway of Florida (7.84m/25-08.75). Gordon also finished tied for ninth in the high jump after clearing 2.16m (7-01.00).
After today, Gordon joined Rebel Olympian and NCAA Champion Savante' Stringfellow as the only Rebel men indoors to rank within the top-five in both the high jump and long jump. Gordon's career-best of 2.19m (7-02.25) in the high jump from earlier this season ranks third all-time.
Juniors Farah Abdulkarim and Michael Coccia scored for Ole Miss in the 5K. Abdulkarim came in fourth after running a 14:15.73, while Coccia finished in 14:25.05, good for eighth. Mark Robertson also competed and finished 11th at 14:33.63.
Ole Miss record holder Maddie King continued her strong momentum from the Music City Challenge on Feb. 9, finishing second in the mile prelims, clocking in at 4:48.36. The finals will occur Saturday at 3:00 PM CT.
Sophomore John Rivera Jr. had a great day in the men's 800-meter prelims, finishing just shy of his PR. He ran a time of 1:49.63, which was good for eighth overall in the prelims and punched his ticket for Saturday's final. Fellow sophomore Griffin Riley (1:50.20) and freshman Baylor Franklin (1:51.37) also set PRs in the 800.
Kieshonna Brooks represented the Rebel women in the pentathlon, setting a new PR for the second time this year at 3,803 points – which placed her seventh overall to score for Ole Miss. Brooks tied her PR in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.47 to finish fourth, while also setting a career-best in the high jump at 1.61m (5-03.25). Brooks is the first Rebel to score in the women's pentathlon since Fabia McDonald in 2015, who finished sixth at the still-standing school record of 4,168.
While they did not advance to tomorrow's finals in their events, the Rebel freshmen women's sprinters collectively had the best day of their young collegiate career and etched themselves into the school history books.
Brandee Pressley finished the 200-meter dash in 23.64, which launched her up to No. 2 all time at Ole Miss after ranking 14th at 24.28 entering today. Earlier in the meet, she ran a PR of 7.39 in the 60-meter dash, moving her from 11th to sixth in school history.
Kelly Rowe also found her way into the record books, running a PR of 23.85 in the 200 (No. 6 in school history), and matching her PR in the 60 at 7.47, which is tied for 13th all-time. Jayda Eckford ran a 200-meter PR of 23.94, which also places her ninth in Ole Miss history in the event as well.
Competition resumes Saturday afternoon, with field events beginning at 1 p.m. CT and running events at 3 p.m. CT.
Men's Team Scores (Through Six Events)
1. #13 Alabama – 38
2. #5 LSU – 36
3. Arkansas – 26
4. #3 Florida – 24
T5. #19 Ole Miss – 22
T5. #6 Georgia – 22
7. Tennessee – 21
8. #2 Texas A&M - 17
9. #18 South Carolina – 11
10. Kentucky- 8
11. Missouri – 4
12. Mississippi State – 3
13. Auburn – 2
Women's Team Scores (Through Five Events)
1. #14 Alabama – 35
2. #1 Arkansas – 30
T3. #7 Florida – 19
T3. Texas A&M – 19
5. #23 Georgia – 16
6. Auburn – 14
T7. Ole Miss – 13
T7. #6 Kentucky – 13
T7. Missouri – 13
10. #4 LSU – 9
11. #24 Tennessee – 5
T12. #17 South Carolina – 4
T12. Mississippi State – 4
14. Vanderbilt – 1
Day One Medalists:
James Burnett – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Derek Gutierrez – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Waleed Suliman – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Allen Gordon – Men's Long Jump, Bronze Medal
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – Women's 5K, Bronze Medal
Other Day One Scorers:
Farah Abdulkarim – Men's 5K, 4th Place
Kieshonna Brooks – Women's Pentathlon, 7th Place
Michael Coccia – Men's 5K, 8th Place
Day One Finals Qualifiers:
Cade Bethmann – Men's Mile
Maddie King – Women's Mile
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter
Waleed Suliman – Men's Mile
Other Rebels in Day One Competition
Men's 60-Meter Dash Prelims:
16. Andrew Raspo – 6.82
19. Elijah Dryer – 6.85
28. Jaqaun Webb – 7.00
Men's 200-Meter Dash Prelims:
21. Elijah Dryer – 21.40 (PR, T-7th all-time)
23. Jaqaun Webb – 21.59 (PR, T-15th all-time)
Men's 400-Meter Dash Prelims:
21. James Burnett – 47.42
36. Alvin Westbrook – 49.39
Women's Mile Prelims
16. Chelsea Drum – 5:00.36
Men's Mile Prelims:
15. Dalton Hengst – 4:14.09
16. Everett Smulders – 4:14.21
Women's 5K Final:
10. Victoria Simmons – 17:01.55
20. Courtney Hopkins – 17:23.55
21. Anna Elkin – 17:27.56
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims:
13. Kenney Broadnax – 8.05 (PR, 5th in Ole Miss history)
Men's Pole Vault Final:
9. Peyton Weissmann – 5.09m (16-08.25)
14. Cole Colozzo – 4.89m (16-00.50)
Women's Long Jump Final:
9. Kieshonna Brooks – 5.86m (19-02.75)
17. Kaira Simmons – 5.51m (18-01.00)
Men's Long Jump Final:
17. Manny Foster – 6.99m (22-11.25)
Women's Shot Put Final:
11. Tedreauna Britt – 15.28m (50-01.75) – PR, 5th all-time
13. Shey Taiwo – 15.05m (49-04.50) – PR, 6th all-time
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
The No. 19 Rebel men currently sit tied with No. 6 Georgia in fifth place at 22 meet points, while the Ole Miss women are tied with No. 6 Kentucky and Missouri for seventh at 13 points. Alabama is in the lead in both the men's and women's standings after the first day of action, with the No. 13 Crimson Tide men leading No. 5 LSU, 38-36, and the No. 14 women leading three-time defending champions, No. 1 Arkansas, by a score of 35-30.
Ole Miss retook its spot atop the throne in the men's DMR after finishing second in 2018, making this year the fifth in the previous six seasons that the Rebels have come away with the SEC title. The Rebels jumped out to a quick start and led wire-to-wire, finishing at a time of 9:43.91 for a five-second victory over the defending champions, Arkansas (9:48.67). The relay consisted of freshman Mario Garcia Romo in his first career DMR on the leadoff 1200-meter leg (2:59.11), junior James Burnett on the 400-meter leg (47.33), sophomore Waleed Suliman on the 800-meter leg (1:49.25) and senior Derek Gutierrez on anchor running the 1600-meter leg (4:08.24).
Today's performance marks the fifth DMR title in Ole Miss history. Last week at the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the quartet of Suliman, Burnett, John Rivera Jr. and Gutierrez ran 9:34.43, which converts down to the NCAA's third-fastest time this year at 9:26.73 – all but guaranteeing Ole Miss a spot at the national meet in two weeks.
The distance runners also had success in the mile earlier in the afternoon. Sophomore Cade Bethmann took home first in the mile prelims (4:06.69), while Waleed Suliman, who currently owns the NCAA's second fastest mile this season, came in second at 4:06.72. Both will move on to the final heat, which is set for 3:10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
On the women's side, sophomore Clio Ozanne-Jaques earned her first career SEC medal by finishing third in the 5K with a PR of 16:33.99. The sophomore now ranks seventh in Ole Miss history. Ozanne-Jaques, a native Australian, also made First-Team All-SEC last October at the SEC Cross Country Championships.
The women's DMR team, consisting of senior Maddie McHugh, sophomore Orianna Shaw, freshman Ylvi Traxler and senior Shelby Brown, also scored points for Ole Miss. The squad came in fourth with a time of 11:33.49, which ranks fifth in school history.
Sophomore Allen Gordon earned the first SEC medal of his collegiate career, finishing third in the long jump after coming into the day ranking eighth in the SEC. He was able to pass over five athletes by setting a huge PR at 7.76m (25-05.50), which ranks fifth in school history and was in the lead at the time over All-American upperclassmen like eventual champion Rayvon Grey of LSU (7.86m/25-09.50) and runner-up Grant Holloway of Florida (7.84m/25-08.75). Gordon also finished tied for ninth in the high jump after clearing 2.16m (7-01.00).
After today, Gordon joined Rebel Olympian and NCAA Champion Savante' Stringfellow as the only Rebel men indoors to rank within the top-five in both the high jump and long jump. Gordon's career-best of 2.19m (7-02.25) in the high jump from earlier this season ranks third all-time.
Juniors Farah Abdulkarim and Michael Coccia scored for Ole Miss in the 5K. Abdulkarim came in fourth after running a 14:15.73, while Coccia finished in 14:25.05, good for eighth. Mark Robertson also competed and finished 11th at 14:33.63.
Ole Miss record holder Maddie King continued her strong momentum from the Music City Challenge on Feb. 9, finishing second in the mile prelims, clocking in at 4:48.36. The finals will occur Saturday at 3:00 PM CT.
Sophomore John Rivera Jr. had a great day in the men's 800-meter prelims, finishing just shy of his PR. He ran a time of 1:49.63, which was good for eighth overall in the prelims and punched his ticket for Saturday's final. Fellow sophomore Griffin Riley (1:50.20) and freshman Baylor Franklin (1:51.37) also set PRs in the 800.
Kieshonna Brooks represented the Rebel women in the pentathlon, setting a new PR for the second time this year at 3,803 points – which placed her seventh overall to score for Ole Miss. Brooks tied her PR in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.47 to finish fourth, while also setting a career-best in the high jump at 1.61m (5-03.25). Brooks is the first Rebel to score in the women's pentathlon since Fabia McDonald in 2015, who finished sixth at the still-standing school record of 4,168.
While they did not advance to tomorrow's finals in their events, the Rebel freshmen women's sprinters collectively had the best day of their young collegiate career and etched themselves into the school history books.
Brandee Pressley finished the 200-meter dash in 23.64, which launched her up to No. 2 all time at Ole Miss after ranking 14th at 24.28 entering today. Earlier in the meet, she ran a PR of 7.39 in the 60-meter dash, moving her from 11th to sixth in school history.
Kelly Rowe also found her way into the record books, running a PR of 23.85 in the 200 (No. 6 in school history), and matching her PR in the 60 at 7.47, which is tied for 13th all-time. Jayda Eckford ran a 200-meter PR of 23.94, which also places her ninth in Ole Miss history in the event as well.
Competition resumes Saturday afternoon, with field events beginning at 1 p.m. CT and running events at 3 p.m. CT.
Men's Team Scores (Through Six Events)
1. #13 Alabama – 38
2. #5 LSU – 36
3. Arkansas – 26
4. #3 Florida – 24
T5. #19 Ole Miss – 22
T5. #6 Georgia – 22
7. Tennessee – 21
8. #2 Texas A&M - 17
9. #18 South Carolina – 11
10. Kentucky- 8
11. Missouri – 4
12. Mississippi State – 3
13. Auburn – 2
Women's Team Scores (Through Five Events)
1. #14 Alabama – 35
2. #1 Arkansas – 30
T3. #7 Florida – 19
T3. Texas A&M – 19
5. #23 Georgia – 16
6. Auburn – 14
T7. Ole Miss – 13
T7. #6 Kentucky – 13
T7. Missouri – 13
10. #4 LSU – 9
11. #24 Tennessee – 5
T12. #17 South Carolina – 4
T12. Mississippi State – 4
14. Vanderbilt – 1
Day One Medalists:
James Burnett – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Derek Gutierrez – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Waleed Suliman – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Allen Gordon – Men's Long Jump, Bronze Medal
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – Women's 5K, Bronze Medal
Other Day One Scorers:
Farah Abdulkarim – Men's 5K, 4th Place
Kieshonna Brooks – Women's Pentathlon, 7th Place
Michael Coccia – Men's 5K, 8th Place
Day One Finals Qualifiers:
Cade Bethmann – Men's Mile
Maddie King – Women's Mile
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter
Waleed Suliman – Men's Mile
Other Rebels in Day One Competition
Men's 60-Meter Dash Prelims:
16. Andrew Raspo – 6.82
19. Elijah Dryer – 6.85
28. Jaqaun Webb – 7.00
Men's 200-Meter Dash Prelims:
21. Elijah Dryer – 21.40 (PR, T-7th all-time)
23. Jaqaun Webb – 21.59 (PR, T-15th all-time)
Men's 400-Meter Dash Prelims:
21. James Burnett – 47.42
36. Alvin Westbrook – 49.39
Women's Mile Prelims
16. Chelsea Drum – 5:00.36
Men's Mile Prelims:
15. Dalton Hengst – 4:14.09
16. Everett Smulders – 4:14.21
Women's 5K Final:
10. Victoria Simmons – 17:01.55
20. Courtney Hopkins – 17:23.55
21. Anna Elkin – 17:27.56
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims:
13. Kenney Broadnax – 8.05 (PR, 5th in Ole Miss history)
Men's Pole Vault Final:
9. Peyton Weissmann – 5.09m (16-08.25)
14. Cole Colozzo – 4.89m (16-00.50)
Women's Long Jump Final:
9. Kieshonna Brooks – 5.86m (19-02.75)
17. Kaira Simmons – 5.51m (18-01.00)
Men's Long Jump Final:
17. Manny Foster – 6.99m (22-11.25)
Women's Shot Put Final:
11. Tedreauna Britt – 15.28m (50-01.75) – PR, 5th all-time
13. Shey Taiwo – 15.05m (49-04.50) – PR, 6th all-time
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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