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Suliman Wins Mile as Rebels Conclude SEC Indoor Championships
2/23/2019 | Track and Field
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Ole Miss is the First SEC School to Win Five Straight Men’s Mile Titles
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Less than 24 hours after running on the SEC Champion distance medley relay team, sophomore Waleed Suliman won Ole Miss track & field another gold medal after winning the men's mile to conclude the Rebels' stay at the SEC Indoor Championships on Saturday.
Suliman took the lead at the 1200-meter mark and entered the final lap with the lead, but Arkansas' Cameron Griffith clipped off the fastest last 200 of the group, running 27.40 to make it a photo-finish. Suliman managed to hold Griffith off, though, with both lunging at the finish line. When the times were posted, Suliman emerged victorious, edging Griffith by 0.03 seconds at 4:02.47 to Griffith's 4:02.50.
"That last lap was terrifying, (Griffith) was literally right there," Suliman said. "For a second I thought I did not get it."
Suliman continues a new Rebel tradition of bringing home the men's mile title to Oxford. Ole Miss has won the men's mile five years running now, making it the first school in SEC history to win five straight titles (after also becoming the first to win four in a row last season). In that stretch, Suliman now joins Rebel mile champions Sean Tobin (2017, 2018), Robert Domanic (2016) and Daniel Bulmer (2015).
The two SEC gold medals add to Suliman's already extremely impressive Ole Miss resume. The sophomore began his ascent into the national spotlight during the cross country season in the fall, earning All-American status while also helping the Rebels win their first ever SEC Championship. His momentum has continued through the indoor track season, as he set the Ole Miss record in the mile (3:56.78) on Feb. 9 at the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston.
Fellow sophomore Cade Bethmann also scored for Ole Miss in the mile, finishing in fourth place at a PR time of 4:04.39. This time moved him up to 12th in Ole Miss history. Bethmann had come into the day after running a first-place 4:06.69 in the mile prelims on Friday afternoon.
Mario Garcia Romo (5th place, 8:05.77) and Derek Gutierrez (8th place, 8:09.40) – both members of last night's winning DMR team as well – scored points for the Rebels in the 3K. Garcia Romo's time is a PR that moves him up to sixth in Ole Miss history. Dalton Hengst (12th, 8:17.12), Farah Abdulkarim (13th, 8:17.13), and Michael Coccia (14th, 8:17.89) also competed and finished in the top-15.
John Rivera Jr. also scored for the Rebel men. The sophomore represented the Rebels in the finals of the 800-meter and finished in seventh place, clocking in at 1:52.40.
Sophomore Clio-Ozanne Jaques, on the heels of her third-place finish in the 5K on Friday night, finished sixth at a career-best time of 9:36.85 – currently sixth-best ever at Ole Miss. Maddie King (11th, 9:47.19) and Shelby Brown (19th, 9:53.93) also competed for the Rebels. King also competed in the mile final, finishing ninth at 4:55.31.
Sophomore Shey Taiwo scored for the Rebel women in the weight throw, finishing in fifth place with a throw of 19.86m (65-02.00). Annika Larsson and Tedreauna Britt also competed, finishing in 13th and 14th respectively. Larsson threw 18.16m (59-07.00), which is just shy of her personal best, while Britt threw 17.97m (58-11.50) for a PR that ranks seventh in school history.
On the men's side, freshman Joseph Benedetto competed in the weight throw and finished 14th with throw of 18.45m (60-06.50).
To conclude the meet, the Rebel men and women both finished 10th in the 4x400m Relay. The men's quartet of James Burnett, Alvin Westbrook, Jaqaun Webb and Andrew Raspo finished in 3:16.38, while the women's team of Jayda Eckford, Orianna Shaw, Brandee Presley and Maddie McHugh ran a 10-second season-best of 3:42.47.
In the team standings, the No. 19 Rebel men finished eighth with 44 points, while the women took 11th with 20 points. No. 3 Florida came away with the men's team title, defeating Arkansas by a score of 103-88. No. 1 Arkansas won the women's title in dominant fashion, besting Texas A&M, 151-70.
"I'm proud at how we competed, but we need to put in some more work to take the next step," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "We had several good performances this weekend, especially from some of our younger athletes in their first SEC meet. We also got a big boost from women's basketball coming to cheer us on today!"
Ole Miss track & field now looks ahead to the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama. Qualifying lists for the national meet will be released in the coming days.
Men's Team Scores
1. #3 Florida – 103
2. Arkansas – 88
3. #5 LSU – 78
4. #13 Alabama – 73
5. #2 Texas A&M - 72
6. Tennessee – 50
7. #6 Georgia – 45
8. #19 Ole Miss – 44
9. Kentucky- 31
10. #18 South Carolina – 29
11. Mississippi State – 24
12. Missouri – 17
13. Auburn – 8
Women's Team Scores
1. #1 Arkansas – 151
2. Texas A&M – 70
3. #14 Alabama – 67
4. #7 Florida – 61
5. #4 LSU – 58
6. #6 Kentucky – 51
7. #23 Georgia – 49
8. #24 Tennessee – 40
9. Auburn – 37
10. Missouri – 25
11. Ole Miss – 20
12. #17 South Carolina – 14
13. Mississippi State – 10
14. Vanderbilt – 9
Day Two Medalists:
Waleed Suliman – Men's Mile, Gold Medal
Other Day Two Scorers:
Cade Bethmann – Men's Mile, 4th Place
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's 3K, 5th Place
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight, 5th Place
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – Women's 3K, 6th Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800m, 7th Place
Derek Gutierrez – Men's 3K, 8th Place
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
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Suliman took the lead at the 1200-meter mark and entered the final lap with the lead, but Arkansas' Cameron Griffith clipped off the fastest last 200 of the group, running 27.40 to make it a photo-finish. Suliman managed to hold Griffith off, though, with both lunging at the finish line. When the times were posted, Suliman emerged victorious, edging Griffith by 0.03 seconds at 4:02.47 to Griffith's 4:02.50.
"That last lap was terrifying, (Griffith) was literally right there," Suliman said. "For a second I thought I did not get it."
Suliman continues a new Rebel tradition of bringing home the men's mile title to Oxford. Ole Miss has won the men's mile five years running now, making it the first school in SEC history to win five straight titles (after also becoming the first to win four in a row last season). In that stretch, Suliman now joins Rebel mile champions Sean Tobin (2017, 2018), Robert Domanic (2016) and Daniel Bulmer (2015).
The two SEC gold medals add to Suliman's already extremely impressive Ole Miss resume. The sophomore began his ascent into the national spotlight during the cross country season in the fall, earning All-American status while also helping the Rebels win their first ever SEC Championship. His momentum has continued through the indoor track season, as he set the Ole Miss record in the mile (3:56.78) on Feb. 9 at the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston.
Fellow sophomore Cade Bethmann also scored for Ole Miss in the mile, finishing in fourth place at a PR time of 4:04.39. This time moved him up to 12th in Ole Miss history. Bethmann had come into the day after running a first-place 4:06.69 in the mile prelims on Friday afternoon.
Mario Garcia Romo (5th place, 8:05.77) and Derek Gutierrez (8th place, 8:09.40) – both members of last night's winning DMR team as well – scored points for the Rebels in the 3K. Garcia Romo's time is a PR that moves him up to sixth in Ole Miss history. Dalton Hengst (12th, 8:17.12), Farah Abdulkarim (13th, 8:17.13), and Michael Coccia (14th, 8:17.89) also competed and finished in the top-15.
John Rivera Jr. also scored for the Rebel men. The sophomore represented the Rebels in the finals of the 800-meter and finished in seventh place, clocking in at 1:52.40.
Sophomore Clio-Ozanne Jaques, on the heels of her third-place finish in the 5K on Friday night, finished sixth at a career-best time of 9:36.85 – currently sixth-best ever at Ole Miss. Maddie King (11th, 9:47.19) and Shelby Brown (19th, 9:53.93) also competed for the Rebels. King also competed in the mile final, finishing ninth at 4:55.31.
Sophomore Shey Taiwo scored for the Rebel women in the weight throw, finishing in fifth place with a throw of 19.86m (65-02.00). Annika Larsson and Tedreauna Britt also competed, finishing in 13th and 14th respectively. Larsson threw 18.16m (59-07.00), which is just shy of her personal best, while Britt threw 17.97m (58-11.50) for a PR that ranks seventh in school history.
On the men's side, freshman Joseph Benedetto competed in the weight throw and finished 14th with throw of 18.45m (60-06.50).
To conclude the meet, the Rebel men and women both finished 10th in the 4x400m Relay. The men's quartet of James Burnett, Alvin Westbrook, Jaqaun Webb and Andrew Raspo finished in 3:16.38, while the women's team of Jayda Eckford, Orianna Shaw, Brandee Presley and Maddie McHugh ran a 10-second season-best of 3:42.47.
In the team standings, the No. 19 Rebel men finished eighth with 44 points, while the women took 11th with 20 points. No. 3 Florida came away with the men's team title, defeating Arkansas by a score of 103-88. No. 1 Arkansas won the women's title in dominant fashion, besting Texas A&M, 151-70.
"I'm proud at how we competed, but we need to put in some more work to take the next step," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "We had several good performances this weekend, especially from some of our younger athletes in their first SEC meet. We also got a big boost from women's basketball coming to cheer us on today!"
Ole Miss track & field now looks ahead to the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama. Qualifying lists for the national meet will be released in the coming days.
Men's Team Scores
1. #3 Florida – 103
2. Arkansas – 88
3. #5 LSU – 78
4. #13 Alabama – 73
5. #2 Texas A&M - 72
6. Tennessee – 50
7. #6 Georgia – 45
8. #19 Ole Miss – 44
9. Kentucky- 31
10. #18 South Carolina – 29
11. Mississippi State – 24
12. Missouri – 17
13. Auburn – 8
Women's Team Scores
1. #1 Arkansas – 151
2. Texas A&M – 70
3. #14 Alabama – 67
4. #7 Florida – 61
5. #4 LSU – 58
6. #6 Kentucky – 51
7. #23 Georgia – 49
8. #24 Tennessee – 40
9. Auburn – 37
10. Missouri – 25
11. Ole Miss – 20
12. #17 South Carolina – 14
13. Mississippi State – 10
14. Vanderbilt – 9
Day Two Medalists:
Waleed Suliman – Men's Mile, Gold Medal
Other Day Two Scorers:
Cade Bethmann – Men's Mile, 4th Place
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's 3K, 5th Place
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight, 5th Place
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – Women's 3K, 6th Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800m, 7th Place
Derek Gutierrez – Men's 3K, 8th Place
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
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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