The University of Mississippi Athletics
Track & Field Wins Two Titles, Makes History at Day One of SEC Indoor Championships
2/25/2021 | Track and Field
Ole Miss Repeated as SEC Champions in the Women’s Weight Throw and Men’s DMR
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ole Miss track & field opened the conference meet in stupefying fashion, winning two SEC titles and making history along the way at Day One of the 2021 SEC Indoor Championships on Thursday.
The Rebels repeated as champions in the women's weight throw and men's distance medley relay, and did so with historic performances. The win for the women was their fourth weight throw title in the last five years, the best stretch in conference history since Florida won five in a row from 2001-05. For the Rebel men, it was a business-like seventh DMR win in the last eight years. For their efforts on Day One, the No. 21 Ole Miss women lead No. 7 Florida in the team standings, 27-16, and the No. 10 Rebel men are tied with No. 8 Florida for third place at 10 points each.
All-American sophomore Jasmine Mitchell took command of the women's weight throw, sealing her first career SEC win on her fourth-attempt heave of 23.24m (76-03.00) to take over the NCAA lead from teammate Shey Taiwo. She had already set a new personal best on her second attempt, but it was that three-foot bomb on her fourth try that sealed victory. Mitchell is the 10th Rebel woman to ever win an SEC indoor title, and the fourth different woman to win an SEC weight throw title, joining Juliana Smith (2009), Janeah Stewart (2017, 2018) and Shey Taiwo (2020).
Speaking of Taiwo, the senior All-American and reigning SEC Champion dug deep on her sixth and final attempt, jumping up into second place for the silver medal on a sizable PR of 23.04m (75-07.25) – the second-best throw in the NCAA this season behind Mitchell's winning toss in the fourth round.
Mitchell and Taiwo prove a formidable duo entering the national meet with the top two throws in the NCAA this year, but they also made history on Thursday, becoming the first teammates ever in the NCAA to break the 23-meter plateau in the same season. Additionally, the two Rebels rank sixth and seventh worldwide in 2021, respectively. In 2020, Ole Miss became the first school in NCAA history to have three teammates beyond 22 meters in the same season (Taiwo, Mitchell and Deborah Bulai).
Sophomore Jalani Davis joined Mitchell and Taiwo in the scoring party, tying her PR of 20.82m (68-03.75) in fifth place to help push the Rebel total from the women's weight throw to 22 points.
The Rebels took care of business in dominant fashion to keep the streak alive in the men's distance medley relay at 9:29.35, breaking the SEC Meet record set by Ole Miss back in 2017 (9:32.36), as well as the 2016 school record of 9:30.48 set by Robert Domanic, Ryan Manahan, Craig Engels and Sean Tobin. All-American senior Waleed Suliman led off with a 1200-meter leg of 2:57.07, followed by a 400-meter leg of 48.53 from Marcus Dropik, a 1:49.07 effort in the 800-meter from Everett Smulders, and a bonkers 3:54.69 split from junior Mario Garcia Romo on the mile leg to close out victory.
"It was a great race, and it was great to keep the streak going," Garcia Romo said. "The atmosphere was great, even without spectators, seeing all our teammates and coaches cheering for us. We're ready for everything, and we're very confident going to NCAAs in two weeks. It was a great start for what's going to be a great championship for Ole Miss."
Garcia Romo capped off the win with an impromptu celebration, using his baton as a bat in homage of the No. 1 Ole Miss baseball team.
"Shout out to Ole Miss baseball for inspiring the DMR celebration. I guess winning streaks are an Ole Miss thing, Garcia Romo said."
Thursday's win capped a three-peat in the DMR for Ole Miss, the seventh win in the last eight years. The lone defeat for the Rebel men in 2018 was a microscopic loss of seven hundredths of a second to Arkansas.
The men weren't the only ones getting in on the school record fun, though, as the women's distance medley relay put together a race for the record books on Thursday. The quartet of Loral Winn (1200m, 3:23.81), Toni Glatz (400m, 55.03), Sintayehu Vissa (800m, 2:05.45) and Maddie King (mile, 4:40.00) shattered the 2017 record by 12 seconds at their fourth-place time of 11:04.27 – currently the eighth-best time in the NCAA that should punch them a ticket to the national meet.
Action begins at Day Two of the SEC Indoor Championships with the resumption of the men's heptathlon at 10 a.m. CT.
Women's Team Scores (Through Three Events)
1. #21 Ole Miss – 27
2. #7 Florida – 16
3. #1 Arkansas – 12
4. #12 Kentucky – 11
5. #13 Alabama – 10
5. #4 Georgia – 10
5. #6 LSU – 10
8. Auburn – 6
8. Mississippi State – 6
10. #17 Tennessee – 4
11. #2 Texas A&M – 3
12. Missouri – 1
12. Vanderbilt – 1
-- South Carolina – 0
Men's Team Scores (Through Two Events)
1. #15 Alabama – 17
2. #2 LSU – 13
3. #10 Ole Miss – 10
3. #8 Florida – 10
5. #3 Arkansas – 7
6. #12 Tennessee – 6
7. Missouri – 5
8. #16 Texas A&M – 4
9. Auburn – 3
10. #9 Georgia – 2
11. #17 Kentucky – 1
-- Mississippi State – 0
-- South Carolina – 0
Day One Medalists
Marcus Dropik – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw, Gold Medal
Everett Smulders – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Waleed Suliman – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw, Silver Medal
Other Day One Scorers
Toni Glatz – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Maddie King – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Loral Winn – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Weight Throw, 5th Place
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Women DMR
4. Loral Winn, Toni Glatz, Sintayehu Vissa, Maddie King – 11:04.27 – School Record, 8th NCAA
Splits:
Winn (1200m) – 3:23.81
Glatz (400m) – 55.03
Vissa (800m) – 2:05.45
King (Mile) – 4:40.00
Men's Distance Medley Relay
1. Waleed Suliman, Marcus Dropik, Everett Smulders, Mario Garcia Romo – 9:29.35 – SEC Meet Record, School Record, 4th NCAA
Splits:
Suliman (1200m) – 2:57.07
Dropik (400m) – 48.53
Smulders (800m) – 1:49.07
Garcia Romo (Mile) – 3:54.69
Women's Weight Throw
1. Jasmine Mitchell – 23.24m (76-03.00) – No. 1 NCAA, No. 6 World, No. 2 all-time at Ole Miss
2. Shey Taiwo – 23.04m (75-07.25) – No. 2 NCAA, No. 7 World, No. 3 all-time at Ole Miss
5. Jalani Davis – 20.82m (68-03.75) – Ties PR, No. 6 all-time at Ole Miss
Men's Weight Throw
9. Joseph Benedetto – 20.73m (68-00.25)
18. Joseph Lanham – 17.64m (57-10.50)
Women's Pentathlon
Sara Van Aken – 3,488 Points, 12th Place – SB
60-Meter Hurdles: 12th, 9.15 – 879 points – PR
High Jump: 9th, 1.68m (5-06.00) – 830 points
Shot Put: 9th, 10.49m (34-05.00) – 562 points – PR
Long Jump: 13th, 5.28m (17-04.00) – 637 points
800-Meter: 12th, 2:39.35 – 580 points – SB
Men's Heptathlon (Through Four Events)
Pierce Genereux – 2,504 Points, 15th Place
60-Meter Dash: 17th, 7.69 – 653 points – PR
Long Jump: 16th, 6.25m (20-06.25) – 641 points – PR
Shot Put: 11th, 11.46m (37-07.25) – 574 points – PR
High Jump: 12th, 1.81m (5-11.25) – 636 points – SB
Peyton Lowery – 2,492 Points, 16th Place
60-Meter Dash: 15th, 7.44 – 732 points – PR
Long Jump: 15th, 6.35m (20-10.00) – 664 points – PR
Shot Put: 16th, 10.01m (32-10.25) – 486 points – PR
High Jump: 13th, 1.78m (5-10.00) – 610 points
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
The Rebels repeated as champions in the women's weight throw and men's distance medley relay, and did so with historic performances. The win for the women was their fourth weight throw title in the last five years, the best stretch in conference history since Florida won five in a row from 2001-05. For the Rebel men, it was a business-like seventh DMR win in the last eight years. For their efforts on Day One, the No. 21 Ole Miss women lead No. 7 Florida in the team standings, 27-16, and the No. 10 Rebel men are tied with No. 8 Florida for third place at 10 points each.
All-American sophomore Jasmine Mitchell took command of the women's weight throw, sealing her first career SEC win on her fourth-attempt heave of 23.24m (76-03.00) to take over the NCAA lead from teammate Shey Taiwo. She had already set a new personal best on her second attempt, but it was that three-foot bomb on her fourth try that sealed victory. Mitchell is the 10th Rebel woman to ever win an SEC indoor title, and the fourth different woman to win an SEC weight throw title, joining Juliana Smith (2009), Janeah Stewart (2017, 2018) and Shey Taiwo (2020).
Speaking of Taiwo, the senior All-American and reigning SEC Champion dug deep on her sixth and final attempt, jumping up into second place for the silver medal on a sizable PR of 23.04m (75-07.25) – the second-best throw in the NCAA this season behind Mitchell's winning toss in the fourth round.
Mitchell and Taiwo prove a formidable duo entering the national meet with the top two throws in the NCAA this year, but they also made history on Thursday, becoming the first teammates ever in the NCAA to break the 23-meter plateau in the same season. Additionally, the two Rebels rank sixth and seventh worldwide in 2021, respectively. In 2020, Ole Miss became the first school in NCAA history to have three teammates beyond 22 meters in the same season (Taiwo, Mitchell and Deborah Bulai).
Sophomore Jalani Davis joined Mitchell and Taiwo in the scoring party, tying her PR of 20.82m (68-03.75) in fifth place to help push the Rebel total from the women's weight throw to 22 points.
The Rebels took care of business in dominant fashion to keep the streak alive in the men's distance medley relay at 9:29.35, breaking the SEC Meet record set by Ole Miss back in 2017 (9:32.36), as well as the 2016 school record of 9:30.48 set by Robert Domanic, Ryan Manahan, Craig Engels and Sean Tobin. All-American senior Waleed Suliman led off with a 1200-meter leg of 2:57.07, followed by a 400-meter leg of 48.53 from Marcus Dropik, a 1:49.07 effort in the 800-meter from Everett Smulders, and a bonkers 3:54.69 split from junior Mario Garcia Romo on the mile leg to close out victory.
"It was a great race, and it was great to keep the streak going," Garcia Romo said. "The atmosphere was great, even without spectators, seeing all our teammates and coaches cheering for us. We're ready for everything, and we're very confident going to NCAAs in two weeks. It was a great start for what's going to be a great championship for Ole Miss."
Garcia Romo capped off the win with an impromptu celebration, using his baton as a bat in homage of the No. 1 Ole Miss baseball team.
"Shout out to Ole Miss baseball for inspiring the DMR celebration. I guess winning streaks are an Ole Miss thing, Garcia Romo said."
#ComeToTheSip if you wanna run fast and then hit 💣 after you win pic.twitter.com/nNGVPOeoyK
— Ole Miss Track&Field (@OleMissTrack) February 25, 2021
Thursday's win capped a three-peat in the DMR for Ole Miss, the seventh win in the last eight years. The lone defeat for the Rebel men in 2018 was a microscopic loss of seven hundredths of a second to Arkansas.
The men weren't the only ones getting in on the school record fun, though, as the women's distance medley relay put together a race for the record books on Thursday. The quartet of Loral Winn (1200m, 3:23.81), Toni Glatz (400m, 55.03), Sintayehu Vissa (800m, 2:05.45) and Maddie King (mile, 4:40.00) shattered the 2017 record by 12 seconds at their fourth-place time of 11:04.27 – currently the eighth-best time in the NCAA that should punch them a ticket to the national meet.
Action begins at Day Two of the SEC Indoor Championships with the resumption of the men's heptathlon at 10 a.m. CT.
Women's Team Scores (Through Three Events)
1. #21 Ole Miss – 27
2. #7 Florida – 16
3. #1 Arkansas – 12
4. #12 Kentucky – 11
5. #13 Alabama – 10
5. #4 Georgia – 10
5. #6 LSU – 10
8. Auburn – 6
8. Mississippi State – 6
10. #17 Tennessee – 4
11. #2 Texas A&M – 3
12. Missouri – 1
12. Vanderbilt – 1
-- South Carolina – 0
Men's Team Scores (Through Two Events)
1. #15 Alabama – 17
2. #2 LSU – 13
3. #10 Ole Miss – 10
3. #8 Florida – 10
5. #3 Arkansas – 7
6. #12 Tennessee – 6
7. Missouri – 5
8. #16 Texas A&M – 4
9. Auburn – 3
10. #9 Georgia – 2
11. #17 Kentucky – 1
-- Mississippi State – 0
-- South Carolina – 0
Day One Medalists
Marcus Dropik – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw, Gold Medal
Everett Smulders – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Waleed Suliman – Men's DMR, Gold Medal
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw, Silver Medal
Other Day One Scorers
Toni Glatz – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Maddie King – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Loral Winn – Women's DMR, 4th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Weight Throw, 5th Place
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Women DMR
4. Loral Winn, Toni Glatz, Sintayehu Vissa, Maddie King – 11:04.27 – School Record, 8th NCAA
Splits:
Winn (1200m) – 3:23.81
Glatz (400m) – 55.03
Vissa (800m) – 2:05.45
King (Mile) – 4:40.00
Men's Distance Medley Relay
1. Waleed Suliman, Marcus Dropik, Everett Smulders, Mario Garcia Romo – 9:29.35 – SEC Meet Record, School Record, 4th NCAA
Splits:
Suliman (1200m) – 2:57.07
Dropik (400m) – 48.53
Smulders (800m) – 1:49.07
Garcia Romo (Mile) – 3:54.69
Women's Weight Throw
1. Jasmine Mitchell – 23.24m (76-03.00) – No. 1 NCAA, No. 6 World, No. 2 all-time at Ole Miss
2. Shey Taiwo – 23.04m (75-07.25) – No. 2 NCAA, No. 7 World, No. 3 all-time at Ole Miss
5. Jalani Davis – 20.82m (68-03.75) – Ties PR, No. 6 all-time at Ole Miss
Men's Weight Throw
9. Joseph Benedetto – 20.73m (68-00.25)
18. Joseph Lanham – 17.64m (57-10.50)
Women's Pentathlon
Sara Van Aken – 3,488 Points, 12th Place – SB
60-Meter Hurdles: 12th, 9.15 – 879 points – PR
High Jump: 9th, 1.68m (5-06.00) – 830 points
Shot Put: 9th, 10.49m (34-05.00) – 562 points – PR
Long Jump: 13th, 5.28m (17-04.00) – 637 points
800-Meter: 12th, 2:39.35 – 580 points – SB
Men's Heptathlon (Through Four Events)
Pierce Genereux – 2,504 Points, 15th Place
60-Meter Dash: 17th, 7.69 – 653 points – PR
Long Jump: 16th, 6.25m (20-06.25) – 641 points – PR
Shot Put: 11th, 11.46m (37-07.25) – 574 points – PR
High Jump: 12th, 1.81m (5-11.25) – 636 points – SB
Peyton Lowery – 2,492 Points, 16th Place
60-Meter Dash: 15th, 7.44 – 732 points – PR
Long Jump: 15th, 6.35m (20-10.00) – 664 points – PR
Shot Put: 16th, 10.01m (32-10.25) – 486 points – PR
High Jump: 13th, 1.78m (5-10.00) – 610 points
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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