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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Taiwo’s Historic Throw Leads Track & Field at Day One of Indiana Relays
1/28/2022 | Track and Field
Shey Taiwo Became the No. 2 Weight Thrower in NCAA History, No. 4 in World History
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ole Miss track & field All-American senior Shey Taiwo cemented herself not just as one of the best collegiate throwers of all time, but as one of the best in the history of the planet after a phenomenal performance at Day One of the Indiana Relays at Gladstein Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Taiwo – a senior native of South Holland, Illinois – outdid herself on Friday night. Just one week after becoming the No. 7 thrower in NCAA history and falling just one centimeter short of the Ole Miss record, Taiwo blew past that mark by an extraordinary three feet, with her second attempt landing a mind-boggling 25.02m/82-01.00 away.
The tale of the tape on that historic heave of 82 feet, one inch is extensive. It moves Taiwo from No. 7 all the way to No. 2 on the all-time NCAA list, ranking only behind Southern Illinois' Brittany Riley, whose 2007 collegiate record and NCAA meet record of 25.56m/83-10.25 stood as the world record for 10 years. Taiwo's throw stands as the best in the NCAA since 2008 and the fourth-best ever by a collegian, ranking only behind three tosses from Riley: the aforementioned collegiate record, her NCAA title-winning throw from 2008 of 25.34m/83-01.75, and another from the same field series as her NCAA title in 2007 at 25.05m/82-02.25. Taiwo's throw also stands as the best-ever by a collegian this early into the season, as all three of Riley's better throws come from the national meet held in March.
On the world stage, Taiwo joins the ranks of the best to ever throw the 20-pound implement – a top-10 list dominated by throwers coached by Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith and throws coach John Smith. Taiwo is now the fourth-best performer in world and U.S. history on the 11th-best throw ever, trailing only former Ole Miss volunteer coach Gwen Berry's 2017 world record of 25.60m/84-00.00, Riley's collegiate record and Ole Miss NCAA Champion Janeah Stewart's 25.08m/82-03.50 from 2019.
Teammate and fellow All-American junior Jasmine Mitchell was the runner-up at 22.85m/74-11.75. Just last week, Mitchell became the No. 11 performer in NCAA history at her toss of 23.62m/77-06.00 from the Vanderbilt Invitational.
On the track, the Ole Miss distance medley relay squads passed the baton for the first time this season. The Rebel women's quartet of Loral Winn (1200-meter: 3:24.45), Jayda Eckford (400-meter: 56.06), Sintayehu Vissa (800-meter: 2:03.39) and Anna Elkin (Mile: 4:46.90) clocked the second-fastest time in school history at 11:10.79, which was good for third place. For Vissa, that 800-meter split is a full second faster than her overall career-best of 2:04.53 set at the NCAA East Regional last spring.
The Rebel men posted a solid time as well, clocking the 11th-best in school history at 9:36.22. The quartet consisted of James Young (1200-meter: 2:56.84), Elijah Dryer (400-meter: 47.54), John Rivera Jr. (800-meter: 1:49.33) and Everett Smulders (Mile: 4:02.52).
Dryer returned to the track not long after and claimed victory in the men's 200-meter dash. Dryer ran 21.43 in his first 200 of the season for the win, edging out North Carolina's Isaiah Palmer (21.45) at the line.
Senior Ariyonna Augustine made it a clean Rebel sweep in the 200-meter dashes, winning the women's edition while leading a pack of Rebels in the process. Augustine won at 24.41 in her first 200 of the season, and was followed by Olivia Womack in third place (24.58), Jayda Eckford in fourth (24.65) and Toni Glatz in sixth (25.55).
Womack and Augustine also punched their tickets to tomorrow's women's 60-meter dash final. Womack ran a PR of 7.52, the third-fastest prelim time on Friday, with Augustine right behind her in fourth at 7.53.
The Ole Miss men's hurdlers put on a show in the 60-meter hurdles prelims on Friday, with four Rebels advancing to Saturday's final in impressive fashion. Ole Miss claimed the top-four spots in the prelim, led by another career outing from Keirston Paige at a PR time of 7.87 – the sixth-best in Ole Miss history. Behind him were Kenney Broadnax in second (7.96, SB), Ahmad Young Jr. in third (7.99) and Spencer Brown in fourth (8.05, PR, No. 8 Ole Miss history).
Young Jr. nearly punched another finals ticket shortly after in the men's 60-meter dash prelims, but came up one hundredth of a second shy, tying his PR at 7.01 in ninth place. However, sophomore Ryan Star will represent Ole Miss in Saturday's final after finishing fourth in the prelim at 6.84.
Competition resumes at Gladstein Fieldhouse at 8 a.m. CT with the beginning of the women's pentathlon and the resumption of the men's heptathlon. Also on Saturday afternoon, All-American senior Mario Garcia Romo will run as the lone collegian in a field of the best milers on the planet in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the 114th Millrose Games, held at The Armory in New York City. The race will air live on NBC at 3:20 p.m. CT.
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Women's 60-Meter Dash Prelims
3. Olivia Womack – 7.52q – PR
4. Ariyonna Augustine – 7.53q
Men's 60-Meter Dash Prelims
4. Ryan Star – 6.84q
9. Ahmad Young Jr. – 7.01 – Ties PR
15. Keirston Paige – 7.42
Women's 200-Meter Dash
1. Ariyonna Augustine – 24.41 – SB
3. Olivia Womack – 24.58 – SB
4. Jayda Eckford – 24.65 – SB
6. Toni Glatz – 25.55 – SB
Men's 200-Meter Dash
1. Elijah Dryer – 21.43 – SB
Men's 600-Meter
2. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:18.99
3. Baylor Franklin – 1:19.38
4. Marcus Dropik – 1:19.52
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims
1. Keirston Paige – 7.87q – PR, No. 6 Ole Miss History, No. 21 NCAA, No. 4 SEC
2. Kenney Broadnax – 7.96q – SB, No. 10 SEC
3. Ahmad Young Jr. – 7.99q
4. Spencer Brown – 8.05q – PR, No. 8 Ole Miss History
Women's Distance Medley Relay
3. Loral Winn, Jayda Eckford, Sintayehu Vissa, Anna Elkin – 11:10.79 – No. 2 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Winn (1200m) – 3:24.45
Eckford (400m) – 56.06
Vissa (800m) – 2:03.39
Elkin (Mile) – 4:46.90
Men's Distance Medley Relay
2. James Young, Elijah Dryer, John Rivera Jr., Everett Smulders – 9:36.22 – No. 11 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Young (1200m) – 2:56.84
Dryer (400m) – 47.54
Rivera Jr. (800m) – 1:49.33
Smulders (Mile) – 4:02.52
Women's High Jump
T6. LaRiah Shannon – 1.56m/5-01.25
Men's Pole Vault
10. Frankie Amore – 4.70m/15-05.00
11. Ford Maberry – 4.55m/14-11.00
NH Miles Walden
Women's Long Jump
4. Skye Gross – 5.72m/18-09.25 – Indoor PR
6. Kyla McLaurin – 5.45m/17-10.75 – PR
Men's Long Jump
4. Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley – 7.03m/23-00.75
5. Allen Gordon – 6.99m/22-11.25 – SB
6. Spencer Brown – 6.75m/22-01.75 – SB
8. Ryan Star – 6.47m/21-02.75
Women's Weight Throw
1. Shey Taiwo – 25.02m/82-01.00 – 3-foot PR, No. 2 NCAA History (4th-best throw), No. 4 World/U.S. History (11th-best throw), SEC Record, Ole Miss Record, 2022 No. 1 World/U.S./NCAA
2. Jasmine Mitchell – 22.85m/74-11.75
9. Deborah Bulai – 18.86m/61-10.50 – SB
10. Tedreauna Britt – 18.80m/61-08.25
14. Jalani Davis – 18.07m/59-03.50
Men's Weight Throw
3. Montel Johnson – 19.52m/64-00.50
6. Joseph Benedetto – 18.22m/59-09.50
12. Joseph Lanham – 16.26m/53-04.25
13. Costen Campion – 15.99m/52-05.50
Men's Heptathlon (Through Four Events)
Peyton Lowery – 2,514 Points, 9th Place
60-Meter Dash: 7th, 7.44 – 732 points – Ties PR
Long Jump: 10th, 6.25m/20-06.25 – 641 points – SB
Shot Put: 11th, 9.75m/32-00.00 – 471 points – SB
High Jump: 6th, 1.85m/6-00.75 – 670 points – PR
Pierce Genereux – 2,351 Points, 10th Place
60-Meter Dash: 12th, 7.61 – 678 points – PR
Long Jump: 12th, 5.74m/18-10.00 – 531 points – SB
Shot Put: 5th, 11.86m/38-11.00 – 598 points – PR
High Jump: 10th, 1.70m/5-07.00 – 544 points – SB
Luke Etherton – 2,231 Points, 11th Place
60-Meter Dash: 11th, 7.54 – 700 points – SB
Long Jump: 11th, 5.82m/19-01.25 – 548 points – SB
Shot Put: 9th, 10.80m/35-05.25 – 534 points – SB
High Jump: 11th, 1.58m/5-02.25 – 449 points – PR
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Taiwo – a senior native of South Holland, Illinois – outdid herself on Friday night. Just one week after becoming the No. 7 thrower in NCAA history and falling just one centimeter short of the Ole Miss record, Taiwo blew past that mark by an extraordinary three feet, with her second attempt landing a mind-boggling 25.02m/82-01.00 away.
The tale of the tape on that historic heave of 82 feet, one inch is extensive. It moves Taiwo from No. 7 all the way to No. 2 on the all-time NCAA list, ranking only behind Southern Illinois' Brittany Riley, whose 2007 collegiate record and NCAA meet record of 25.56m/83-10.25 stood as the world record for 10 years. Taiwo's throw stands as the best in the NCAA since 2008 and the fourth-best ever by a collegian, ranking only behind three tosses from Riley: the aforementioned collegiate record, her NCAA title-winning throw from 2008 of 25.34m/83-01.75, and another from the same field series as her NCAA title in 2007 at 25.05m/82-02.25. Taiwo's throw also stands as the best-ever by a collegian this early into the season, as all three of Riley's better throws come from the national meet held in March.
On the world stage, Taiwo joins the ranks of the best to ever throw the 20-pound implement – a top-10 list dominated by throwers coached by Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith and throws coach John Smith. Taiwo is now the fourth-best performer in world and U.S. history on the 11th-best throw ever, trailing only former Ole Miss volunteer coach Gwen Berry's 2017 world record of 25.60m/84-00.00, Riley's collegiate record and Ole Miss NCAA Champion Janeah Stewart's 25.08m/82-03.50 from 2019.
Teammate and fellow All-American junior Jasmine Mitchell was the runner-up at 22.85m/74-11.75. Just last week, Mitchell became the No. 11 performer in NCAA history at her toss of 23.62m/77-06.00 from the Vanderbilt Invitational.
On the track, the Ole Miss distance medley relay squads passed the baton for the first time this season. The Rebel women's quartet of Loral Winn (1200-meter: 3:24.45), Jayda Eckford (400-meter: 56.06), Sintayehu Vissa (800-meter: 2:03.39) and Anna Elkin (Mile: 4:46.90) clocked the second-fastest time in school history at 11:10.79, which was good for third place. For Vissa, that 800-meter split is a full second faster than her overall career-best of 2:04.53 set at the NCAA East Regional last spring.
The Rebel men posted a solid time as well, clocking the 11th-best in school history at 9:36.22. The quartet consisted of James Young (1200-meter: 2:56.84), Elijah Dryer (400-meter: 47.54), John Rivera Jr. (800-meter: 1:49.33) and Everett Smulders (Mile: 4:02.52).
Dryer returned to the track not long after and claimed victory in the men's 200-meter dash. Dryer ran 21.43 in his first 200 of the season for the win, edging out North Carolina's Isaiah Palmer (21.45) at the line.
Senior Ariyonna Augustine made it a clean Rebel sweep in the 200-meter dashes, winning the women's edition while leading a pack of Rebels in the process. Augustine won at 24.41 in her first 200 of the season, and was followed by Olivia Womack in third place (24.58), Jayda Eckford in fourth (24.65) and Toni Glatz in sixth (25.55).
Womack and Augustine also punched their tickets to tomorrow's women's 60-meter dash final. Womack ran a PR of 7.52, the third-fastest prelim time on Friday, with Augustine right behind her in fourth at 7.53.
The Ole Miss men's hurdlers put on a show in the 60-meter hurdles prelims on Friday, with four Rebels advancing to Saturday's final in impressive fashion. Ole Miss claimed the top-four spots in the prelim, led by another career outing from Keirston Paige at a PR time of 7.87 – the sixth-best in Ole Miss history. Behind him were Kenney Broadnax in second (7.96, SB), Ahmad Young Jr. in third (7.99) and Spencer Brown in fourth (8.05, PR, No. 8 Ole Miss history).
Young Jr. nearly punched another finals ticket shortly after in the men's 60-meter dash prelims, but came up one hundredth of a second shy, tying his PR at 7.01 in ninth place. However, sophomore Ryan Star will represent Ole Miss in Saturday's final after finishing fourth in the prelim at 6.84.
Competition resumes at Gladstein Fieldhouse at 8 a.m. CT with the beginning of the women's pentathlon and the resumption of the men's heptathlon. Also on Saturday afternoon, All-American senior Mario Garcia Romo will run as the lone collegian in a field of the best milers on the planet in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the 114th Millrose Games, held at The Armory in New York City. The race will air live on NBC at 3:20 p.m. CT.
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Women's 60-Meter Dash Prelims
3. Olivia Womack – 7.52q – PR
4. Ariyonna Augustine – 7.53q
Men's 60-Meter Dash Prelims
4. Ryan Star – 6.84q
9. Ahmad Young Jr. – 7.01 – Ties PR
15. Keirston Paige – 7.42
Women's 200-Meter Dash
1. Ariyonna Augustine – 24.41 – SB
3. Olivia Womack – 24.58 – SB
4. Jayda Eckford – 24.65 – SB
6. Toni Glatz – 25.55 – SB
Men's 200-Meter Dash
1. Elijah Dryer – 21.43 – SB
Men's 600-Meter
2. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:18.99
3. Baylor Franklin – 1:19.38
4. Marcus Dropik – 1:19.52
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims
1. Keirston Paige – 7.87q – PR, No. 6 Ole Miss History, No. 21 NCAA, No. 4 SEC
2. Kenney Broadnax – 7.96q – SB, No. 10 SEC
3. Ahmad Young Jr. – 7.99q
4. Spencer Brown – 8.05q – PR, No. 8 Ole Miss History
Women's Distance Medley Relay
3. Loral Winn, Jayda Eckford, Sintayehu Vissa, Anna Elkin – 11:10.79 – No. 2 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Winn (1200m) – 3:24.45
Eckford (400m) – 56.06
Vissa (800m) – 2:03.39
Elkin (Mile) – 4:46.90
Men's Distance Medley Relay
2. James Young, Elijah Dryer, John Rivera Jr., Everett Smulders – 9:36.22 – No. 11 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Young (1200m) – 2:56.84
Dryer (400m) – 47.54
Rivera Jr. (800m) – 1:49.33
Smulders (Mile) – 4:02.52
Women's High Jump
T6. LaRiah Shannon – 1.56m/5-01.25
Men's Pole Vault
10. Frankie Amore – 4.70m/15-05.00
11. Ford Maberry – 4.55m/14-11.00
NH Miles Walden
Women's Long Jump
4. Skye Gross – 5.72m/18-09.25 – Indoor PR
6. Kyla McLaurin – 5.45m/17-10.75 – PR
Men's Long Jump
4. Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley – 7.03m/23-00.75
5. Allen Gordon – 6.99m/22-11.25 – SB
6. Spencer Brown – 6.75m/22-01.75 – SB
8. Ryan Star – 6.47m/21-02.75
Women's Weight Throw
1. Shey Taiwo – 25.02m/82-01.00 – 3-foot PR, No. 2 NCAA History (4th-best throw), No. 4 World/U.S. History (11th-best throw), SEC Record, Ole Miss Record, 2022 No. 1 World/U.S./NCAA
2. Jasmine Mitchell – 22.85m/74-11.75
9. Deborah Bulai – 18.86m/61-10.50 – SB
10. Tedreauna Britt – 18.80m/61-08.25
14. Jalani Davis – 18.07m/59-03.50
Men's Weight Throw
3. Montel Johnson – 19.52m/64-00.50
6. Joseph Benedetto – 18.22m/59-09.50
12. Joseph Lanham – 16.26m/53-04.25
13. Costen Campion – 15.99m/52-05.50
Men's Heptathlon (Through Four Events)
Peyton Lowery – 2,514 Points, 9th Place
60-Meter Dash: 7th, 7.44 – 732 points – Ties PR
Long Jump: 10th, 6.25m/20-06.25 – 641 points – SB
Shot Put: 11th, 9.75m/32-00.00 – 471 points – SB
High Jump: 6th, 1.85m/6-00.75 – 670 points – PR
Pierce Genereux – 2,351 Points, 10th Place
60-Meter Dash: 12th, 7.61 – 678 points – PR
Long Jump: 12th, 5.74m/18-10.00 – 531 points – SB
Shot Put: 5th, 11.86m/38-11.00 – 598 points – PR
High Jump: 10th, 1.70m/5-07.00 – 544 points – SB
Luke Etherton – 2,231 Points, 11th Place
60-Meter Dash: 11th, 7.54 – 700 points – SB
Long Jump: 11th, 5.82m/19-01.25 – 548 points – SB
Shot Put: 9th, 10.80m/35-05.25 – 534 points – SB
High Jump: 11th, 1.58m/5-02.25 – 449 points – PR
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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