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Friday, January 31
Bloomington, Ind.
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Rebels Travel to Hoosier State for Indiana Relays

1/30/2020 | Track and Field

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ole Miss track and field travels to the Hoosier State this weekend for the 2020 Indiana Relays, hosted at IU's Gladstein Fieldhouse on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
 
TEAM NOTES
• The Rebel women rank No. 20 in the Week One USTFCCCA National Rating Index after jumping up 48 spots this week following an excellent start to the season. The ranking was the 24th in Ole Miss women's history indoors, the 16th under head coach Connie Price-Smith since taking over the combined program in 2015. The Rebel men aren't far off, sitting No. 32 at the moment after rising 15 spots.
 
• Currently, the Rebels own 23 marks or times that rank within the NCAA top-50 (14 men, 9 women) and 10 in the top-three of the SEC.
 
• Ole Miss is coming off a field-heavy week at Kentucky's Rod McCravy Invitational, which was highlighted by the Rebel women setting the NCAA's first, second and fifth-best weight throw marks this season.
 
• Head coach Connie Price-Smith is in her fifth season at the helm of the Ole Miss men's and women's programs and her 19th season overall. In her tenure with the Rebels, Price-Smith has mentored 74 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 32 SEC Champions, while also earning four NCAA event titles and coaching athletes to three different collegiate records. In her head coaching career at both Ole Miss and Southern Illinois dating back to 2002, Price-Smith has collected 12 NCAA event titles and mentored 143 All-Americans on the track.
 
• In its history indoors, Ole Miss has finished in the NCAA top-25 of the team standings 15 total times (11 times on the men's side, four times on the women's side). Under Price-Smith, the Rebels have recorded their highest women's team finish ever indoors (12th, 2017) and the fourth-best indoors for the men (16th, 2017).
 
WOMEN'S NOTES
• Ole Miss has taken the women's weight throw by storm, as it currently owns three of the top-five marks in the NCAA following an unbelievable competition at Kentucky last week. No other school owns multiple athletes within the top-10, and only one does within the top-16 (Minnesota, 2).
 
• Junior Shey Taiwo currently leads the NCAA at her career-best 22.46m (73-08.25), the second-best throw in Ole Miss history. Taiwo took over the NCAA lead from fellow teammate and freshman Jasmine Mitchell, who opened competition with a heave of 22.23m (72-11.75), which still stands at No. 2 on the national leaderboard. Junior Deborah Bulai, meanwhile, also set a PR at 21.84m (71-08.00), currently the fifth-best throw in the nation. The three Rebels now rank second, third and fourth all-time at Ole Miss, trailing only 10-time All-American Janeah Stewart, whose school record of 24.12m (79-01.75) still ranks sixth in NCAA history.
 
• Taiwo was named SEC Women's Co-Field Athlete of the Week, while Mitchell was named Women's Freshman of the Week.
 
• Sophomore Brandee Presley continued to light the track on fire, following up a superb freshman year with a demonstrative season open at UAB. Presley broke the Ole Miss record in the 60-meter dash twice, running 7.27 in the semifinal before winning at 7.18, currently the No. 5 time in the NCAA and No. 1 time in the SEC. All-American Teneeshia Jones' record of 7.28 had stood since 2001.
 
• Presley also owns the NCAA's No. 47 time in the 200-meter dash, a 24.10 run at Vanderbilt.
 
• Presley is one of four underclassmen in the NCAA to have already broken 7.20 this season. Presley ended her freshman campaign in 2019 with a spectacular streak of improvements in the 100-meter outdoors, ending with the school record at 11.19 (+2.0) to become the first Rebel to ever break 11.20. In her first year, Presley earned two Second-Team All-American honors and a U.S. U20 gold medal before earning a silver in the 100-meter and gold in the women's 4x100-meter relay for Team USA at the Pan American U20 Championships.
 
• Senior Kieshonna Brooks is off to a stellar start to her final indoor campaign, currently ranking in the NCAA top-35 in both the long jump (22nd, 6.12m/20-01.00) and 60-meter hurdles (35th, 8.32). Her hurdles time ranks No. 2 in school history, and her season-best in the long jump stands No. 6 in the SEC this season. Brooks enters her senior year ranked fifth in school history in the pentathlon at 3,803 points, and this week at Indiana will mark her first pentathlon of the year.
 
• Returning SEC All-Freshman shot putter Tedreauna Britt has started off on the right foot this indoor season, setting a new PR in the shot put in each of her first two meets -- topping out at 15.84m (51-11.75) at Vanderbilt. That mark ranks fourth all-time at Ole Miss, as well as No. 26 in the NCAA and No. 5 in the SEC. She is coming off a summer that featured a U.S. title in the discus as well as a national runner-up in the shot put prior to a silver medal in the shot put at the Pan-American U20 games.
 
• Senior Kaira Simmons also ranks in the NCAA top-50 for the Rebel women, sitting at No. 48 in the long jump at her season-best 5.96m (19-06.75).
 
MEN'S NOTES
• Junior Waleed Suliman opened his 2020 season in spectacular fashion, running the NCAA's top mile time, winning at Vanderbilt on Jan. 18 at 3:57.03. Last season, Suliman set the Ole Miss record at 3:56.78 at Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invite on Feb. 9, 2019. Only two other Rebels have ever broken the four-minute barrier in the mile, and they have all come within the last two years: All-Americans Sean Tobin (3:58.28, Feb. 3, 2018; 3:59.91, Feb. 15, 2014) and Derek Gutierrez (3:58.55, Feb. 9, 2019). For his efforts, Suliman was named the SEC Co-Men's Runner of the Week.
 
• Ole Miss also had a great open in the 800-meter at Vanderbilt, with John Rivera Jr. running what is currently NCAA's No. 4 time and SEC's top time at a career-best 1:48.13. He now ranks fifth all-time at Ole Miss, and that time stands as the fastest overall by a Rebel since All-American Craig Engels clocked 1:47.54 at the 2017 SEC Championships. One week earlier, Rivera broke the Ole Miss record in the non-standard 600-meter at 1:17.90, toppling Thomas Johnson's 1991 time of 1:18.75. Everett Smulders also ran an NCAA top-50 time in the 800-meter, currently ranking No. 45 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC at 1:51.62.
 
• Junior Allen Gordon had a spectacular meet at Kentucky, setting personal bests in all three jumping events. Gordon was third in the triple jump at a career-best 15.00m (49-02.50), but it was in the high jump and long jump where he shined. Gordon opened the day with a win in the high jump at an overall PR of 2.20m (7-02.50) before winning the long jump at an indoor PR of 7.83m (25-08.25). Both marks put him at third in Ole Miss history, and he also currently ranks in the top-10 nationally at both, standing fifth in the long jump and ninth in the high jump. He is coming off a career year in the long jump as well where he leapt 7.76m (25-05.50) to win bronze at the 2019 SEC Indoor Championships. In his career, Gordon is one of two Rebels to have ever cleared 7-2 in the high jump and 25-5 in the long jump indoors, joining Olympian and NCAA Champion Savante' Stringfellow.
 
• Senior Michael Coccia also represented the Rebel distance runners well at Vanderbilt, clocking the SEC's top time in the 3K, winning at 8:06.58. Coccia now ranks seventh all-time in Ole Miss history, and he currently sits 14th nationally.
 
• Senior Manny Foster led the Rebel men at UAB with a spectacular performance in the triple jump, winning on a huge three-foot PR of 15.71m (51-06.50) -- the ninth-best leap in school history. Foster also currently ranks No. 15 in the NCAA and No. 6 in the SEC at that distance, the longest at Ole Miss since Phillip Young's 16.27m (53-04.50) from the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
• Senior Cole Colozzo had a career day at Kentucky, recording an eight-inch PR to finish third in the pole vault at 5.30m (17-04.50). That ranks as the second-best clearance in school history indoors, trailing only Olympian Sam Kendricks' school record 5.70m (18-08.25) that earned him NCAA runner-up honors in 2014. He currently ranks 16th in the NCAA and second in the SEC this year.
 
• Junior Peyton Weissmann also ranks in the NCAA top-25 in the pole vault, sitting at No. 23 nationally and No. 3 in the SEC this year at 5.25m (17-02.75), which ties his indoor PR from last season.
 
• Senior sprinter James Burnett also had a superb day at Vanderbilt two weeks ago, running an Ole Miss career best in the 400-meter dash at 47.21 -- the 11th-best time in program history. He currently ranks fourth in the SEC and 20th in the NCAA at that time.
 
• Burnett was also the leadoff leg of a Rebel men's 4x400-meter relay at Vanderbilt that ran 3:13.11 alongside Elijah Dryer, Andrew Raspo and Alvin Westbrook, currently the ninth-best time in the SEC and No. 50 in the NCAA.
 
• Sophomore Joseph Benedetto dropped a massive new career best in the weight throw at UAB, launching a seven-foot PR to open the season at 20.62m (67-08.00). He ranks third all-time at Ole Miss, and he currently stands No. 24 in the NCAA and No. 4 in the SEC.
 
• Junior Danny Guiliani took command of second all-time at Ole Miss following his performance in the shot put at Kentucky last week, tossing what currently stands as the NCAA's No. 40 throw at 18.08m (59-04.00).
 
Rebel Men Competing:
60-Meter Dash: Elijah Dryer, Andrew Raspo
200-Meter Dash: Elijah Dryer, Andrew Raspo
400-Meter Dash: James Burnett, Alvin Westbrook
800-Meter: Baylor Franklin, Jacob Lough, John Rivera Jr.
Mile: Dalton Hengst, Nick Moulai, Parker Scott, Everett Smulders, Jamie Witmer
3K: Farah Abdulkarim, Michael Coccia, Tyler Moore, Ben Savino, Waleed Suliman
4x400-Meter Relay (A): James Burnett, Andrew Raspo, Elijah Dryer, Alvin Westbrook
4x400-Meter Relay (B): Baylor Franklin, John Rivera Jr., Jacob Lough, Everett Smulders
High Jump: Allen Gordon, Cory Meek
Pole Vault: Cole Colozzo, Austin Garrett, Peyton Weissmann
Long Jump: Allen Gordon, Cory Meek, Torrence Tuberville
Triple Jump: Manny Foster, Torrence Tuberville
Shot Put: Danny Guiliani, Daniel Viveros
Weight Throw: Joseph Benedetto, Joseph Lanham
Heptathlon: Pierce Genereux, Peyton Lowery
 
Rebel Women Competing:
60-Meter Dash: Brandee Presley, Kelly Rowe
200-Meter Dash: Kelly Rowe
400-Meter Dash: Jayda Eckford, Toni Glatz, Kirstin Jones, Orianna Shaw
800-Meter: Loral Winn
Mile: Maddie King
3K: Skylar Boogerd, Anna Elkin, Brooke Gilmore, Courtney Hopkins, Emma McClellan, Nicole Rice, Cate Tracht, Ylvi Traxler
4x400-Meter Relay (A): Jayda Eckford, Toni Glatz, Kirstin Jones, Orianna Shaw
High Jump: Hannah LoChiatto, Ghania Warren
Pole Vault: Nicole Kallenberger, Elizabeth Nix, Lyndsey Reed
Long Jump: Ralesheia Gee, Kaira Simmons, Ghania Warren
Shot Put: Tedreauna Britt, Jalani Davis, Jasmine Mitchell
Weight Throw: Tedreauna Britt, Deborah Bulai, Kendall Chavarria, Jalani Davis, Jasmine Mitchell, Shey Taiwo
Pentathlon: Kieshonna Brooks, Meg Goebel, Sara Van Aken
 
Current Rebel Women in NCAA Top-50
1. Shey Taiwo – Weight Throw – 22.46m (73-08.25)
2. Jasmine Mitchell – Weight Throw – 22.23m (72-11.75)
5. Deborah Bulai – Weight Throw – 21.84m (71-08.00)
5. Brandee Presley – 60-Meter Dash – 7.18
22. Kieshonna Brooks – Long Jump – 6.12m (20-01.00)
26. Tedreauna Britt – Shot Put – 15.84m (51-11.75)
35. Kieshonna Brooks – 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.32
47. Brandee Presley – 200-Meter Dash – 24.10
48. Kaira Simmons – Long Jump – 5.96m (19-06.75)
 
Current Rebel Men in NCAA Top-50
1. Waleed Suliman – Mile – 3:57.03
4. John Rivera Jr. – 800-Meter – 1:48.13
5. Allen Gordon – Long Jump – 7.83m (25-08.25)
9. Allen Gordon – High Jump – 2.20m (7-02.50)
14. Michael Coccia – 3K – 8:06.58
15. Manny Foster – Triple Jump – 15.71m (51-06.50)
16. Cole Colozzo – Pole Vault – 5.30m (17-04.50)
20. James Burnett – 400-Meter Dash – 47.21
23. Peyton Weissmann – Pole Vault – 5.25m (17-02.75)
24. Kenney Broadnax – 60-Meter Hurdles – 7.83
24. Joseph Benedetto – Weight Throw – 20.62m (67-08.00)
40. Danny Guiliani – Shot Put – 18.08m (51-11.75)
45. Everett Smulders – 800-Meter – 1:51.62
50. 4x400-Meter Relay (Burnett, Dryer, Raspo, Westbrook) – 3:13.11
 
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
 

Players Mentioned

Distance
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Throws
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Distance
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Multi
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Throws
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Pole Vault
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Distance
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Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
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/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
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/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Distance
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Sprints
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/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
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