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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 11
Birmingham, Ala.
All Day
Ole Miss
vs
NCAA Indoor Championships
Garcia Romo Wins Mile, Ole Miss Women Make History at Final Day of NCAA Indoor Championships
3/13/2022 | Track and Field
Rebel Women’s Sixth-Place Finish is Best in Combined Program History
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ole Miss track & field concluded a national meet for the ages, with Mario Garcia Romo claiming the first men's mile title in school history while the Rebel women recorded a program record sixth-place finish – the best in the combined history of the program – at the conclusion of the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday.
Ole Miss capped an extraordinary meet as one of just four teams in the nation (alongside Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M) to have its men and women finish within the national top-10, with the Rebel women finishing an overall program record in a tie for sixth place at 29 points, while the Rebel men finished tied for 10th at 20 points – their first consecutive top-10 finishes in program history. That sixth-place tie by the Rebel women more than doubles their previous best of 12th in 2017, and those 29 points stand as the most scored by any Ole Miss squad at any NCAA meet – indoor or outdoor.
This is the highest national finish of any Ole Miss team, indoor or outdoor, in the history of the overall program, and the pair of top-10 finishes by the Rebels today joins only four other such instances across both seasons: 2021 men's indoor (10th), 2013 men's outdoor (8th), 2001 men's indoor (10th) and 1991 men's indoor (9th).
"I'm just really excited," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "They came in and competed to the best of their ability, and I'm just really excited to have the top-six finish on the women's side and the top-10 on the men. We always can look and see where we can do a little bit better, but I'm proud of every one of them that came over and competed today and yesterday."
Furthermore, Ole Miss stands alongside Arkansas as the only schools in the nation this season to place its men's and women's teams within the national top-15 at the cross country and indoor NCAA meets. At the cross country championships last fall, the Rebel women finished a program record 10th place, while the Ole Miss men took 15th overall.
"To come in here and to be up on that board and finish sixth and 10th, it's really like going in and being in the Final Four," Price-Smith said. "It's really a tough meet, a tough environment. It's nerve-wracking for the kids, but when you can come in and see your name up on that board and you can finish as high as we have, I don't even know how to put it into words how difficult a challenge it is. I'm just glad they rose to it."
The highlight of the day, however, went to the Ole Miss men and Mario Garcia Romo, who will bring back to Oxford the first-ever NCAA mile title won by a Rebel.
Garcia Romo had nearly every possible accolade to his name so far in his career entering this weekend, but an elusive national title had thus far escaped his grasp after finishing last season as the bronze medalist in the 3K as well as the anchor leg on the national runners-up in the distance medley relay. The junior native of Salamanca, Spain delivered with a masterful race-plan on Saturday, executing a perfect tacticians race to win right at the line in dramatic fashion.
Garcia Romo was the intermediate leader at every single split marker as he calmly slowed the pack down to a snail's pace – a stark contrast in a season that featured an absurd 90 sub-four milers in the NCAA. Garcia Romo was one of those at his blistering school record of 3:53.36, but raw talent in the field was instead swapped for a battle of wits. At the bell the pack made its move, but Garcia Romo still held command of the field, picking up the pace but not too much over the final 200 meters. He left just enough room for him to hold off Michigan State's Morgan Beadlescomb with a lean at the line by five hundredths of a second, with Garcia Romo's 4:07.54 edging out Beadlescomb's 4:07.59 for the NCAA title.
"It was all confidence," Garcia Romo told ESPN's John Anderson after the win. "I knew that I could win any type of race. I was ready to run 3:51 if I needed to, I was ready to run 4:08 finishing as strongly from the front. It was just all about confidence. A week ago, (associate head coach) Coach Vanhoy came to me after a workout and was like 'nobody is going to beat you this week,' and I believed him. I think that's when I knew I was going to be a national champion."
The win is the 10th total NCAA title indoors in combined program history and the second this weekend alongside Shey Taiwo's win in the weight on Friday night, and it makes Garcia Romo the 13th total NCAA Indoor Champion. His win is the first ever indoors by a Rebel in a distance beyond 800-meters, and is the first individual win on the track indoors since Antwon Hicks' went back-to-back in the 60-meter hurdles in 2004 and 2005.
Ole Miss was just two seconds away from becoming the first school in NCAA history to sweep the men's and women's mile in the same year, as All-American junior Sintayehu Vissa completed an extraordinary season and an even more astounding national meet with an NCAA runner-up finish in mile final on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after running 4:33.13 in the mile prelim and 4:32.90 as the anchor on the sixth-place Ole Miss women's distance medley relay on Friday night, Vissa gave everything she had left in the tank but came up less than two seconds shy of Colorado's Micaela Degenero at 4:35.40 to Degenero's winning time of 4:33.92.
That finish by Vissa not only helped give the Rebel women five additional points from her pre-meet formchart placement of sixth, but she is now the 11th overall NCAA runner-up indoors in program history and just the second woman to do so – joining Jasmine Mitchell, who won the silver in the weight throw on Friday night.
Crucial in the Rebel men's efforts to finish within the top-10 was a double-billing by Ole Miss in the men's 800-meter final worth 10 total points. Senior John Rivera Jr. recorded the highest national finish by a Rebel in the indoor men's 800-meter since George Kersh won the 1991 NCAA title, finishing third overall at 1:48.03 for his second career First-Team All-American nod.
Also scoring and earning First-Team status was newcomer Tiarnan Crorken in his first career NCAA final, finishing fifth at 1:48.60.
In total, Ole Miss received 10 total First-Team All-American nods for nine total athletes, as well as six Second-Team awards.
This weekend's heroics marks an impressive final chapter for the 2022 indoor season for Ole Miss, which now turns its attention immediately toward the outdoor season. The Rebels will be back in action out in the sun next weekend at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic on March 18-19.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Women: T-6th (29 points) – Program Record
Men: T-10th (20 points) – Program Record
NCAA Champions
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's Mile
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw
NCAA Runners-Up
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Mile
First-Team All-Americans
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's Mile, 1st Place
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw, 1st Place
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw, 2nd Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Mile, 2nd Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter, 3rd Place
Tiarnan Crorken – Men's 800-Meter, 3rd Place
Jayda Eckford – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Anna Elkin – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Loral Winn – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Second-Team All-Americans
Lyndsey Reed – Women's Pole Vault, 9th Place
James Young – Men's Mile, 9th Place
Shane Bracken – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Cruz Culpepper – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Marcus Dropik – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Elijah Dryer – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Honorable Mention All-Americans
Jalani Davis – Shot Put
Jalani Davis – Weight Throw
REBELS IN DAY TWO COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Final
3. John Rivera Jr. – 1:48.03 – First-Team All-American
5. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:48.60 – First-Team All-American
Women's Mile Final
2. Sintayehu Vissa – 4:35.40 – NCAA Runner-Up
Men's Mile Final
1. Mario Garcia Romo – 4:07.54 – NCAA Champion
9. James Young – 4:09.57 – Second-Team All-American
Women's Shot Put Final
FOUL Jalani Davis
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Semifinals
3. John Rivera Jr. – 1:47.48 (AQ)
4. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:47.64 (AQ) – PR, No. 5 Ole Miss History
Women's Mile Semifinals
1. Sintayehu Vissa – 4:33.13 (AQ) – Facility Record
Men's Mile Semifinals
5. James Young – 3:58.64 (q)
8. Mario Garcia Romo – 4:01.39 (AQ)
Women's Distance Medley Relay Final
6. Anna Elkin, Jayda Eckford, Loral Winn, Sintayehu Vissa – 11:04.86 – First-Team All-Americans, No. 5 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Anna Elkin (1200m) – 3:30.11
Jayda Eckford (400m) – 56.29
Loral Winn (800m) – 2:05.57
Sintayehu Vissa (Mile) – 4:32.90
Men's Distance Medley Relay Final
11. Cruz Culpepper, Elijah Dryer, Marcus Dropik, Shane Bracken – 9:35.94 – No. 13 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Cruz Culpepper (1200m) – 2:56.98
Elijah Dryer (400m) – 49.55
Marcus Dropik (800m) – 1:49.96
Shane Bracken (Mile) – 3:59.47
Women's Pole Vault Final
9. Lyndsey Reed – 4.26m/13-11.75 – Second-Team All-American
Women's Weight Throw Final
1. Shey Taiwo – 25.55m/83-10 – NCAA Champion, No. 2 NCAA History (No. 2 throw), No. 3 World History (No. 3 throw), No. 2 NCAA Meet History, 2022 World Lead, Facility Record, SEC Record, Ole Miss Record
2. Jasmine Mitchell – 24.94m/81-10 – NCAA Runner-Up, No. 3 NCAA History (No. 7 throw), No. 5 World History (No. 12 throw), No. 2 Ole Miss History
FOUL Jalani Davis
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Ole Miss capped an extraordinary meet as one of just four teams in the nation (alongside Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M) to have its men and women finish within the national top-10, with the Rebel women finishing an overall program record in a tie for sixth place at 29 points, while the Rebel men finished tied for 10th at 20 points – their first consecutive top-10 finishes in program history. That sixth-place tie by the Rebel women more than doubles their previous best of 12th in 2017, and those 29 points stand as the most scored by any Ole Miss squad at any NCAA meet – indoor or outdoor.
This is the highest national finish of any Ole Miss team, indoor or outdoor, in the history of the overall program, and the pair of top-10 finishes by the Rebels today joins only four other such instances across both seasons: 2021 men's indoor (10th), 2013 men's outdoor (8th), 2001 men's indoor (10th) and 1991 men's indoor (9th).
"I'm just really excited," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "They came in and competed to the best of their ability, and I'm just really excited to have the top-six finish on the women's side and the top-10 on the men. We always can look and see where we can do a little bit better, but I'm proud of every one of them that came over and competed today and yesterday."
Furthermore, Ole Miss stands alongside Arkansas as the only schools in the nation this season to place its men's and women's teams within the national top-15 at the cross country and indoor NCAA meets. At the cross country championships last fall, the Rebel women finished a program record 10th place, while the Ole Miss men took 15th overall.
"To come in here and to be up on that board and finish sixth and 10th, it's really like going in and being in the Final Four," Price-Smith said. "It's really a tough meet, a tough environment. It's nerve-wracking for the kids, but when you can come in and see your name up on that board and you can finish as high as we have, I don't even know how to put it into words how difficult a challenge it is. I'm just glad they rose to it."
The highlight of the day, however, went to the Ole Miss men and Mario Garcia Romo, who will bring back to Oxford the first-ever NCAA mile title won by a Rebel.
Garcia Romo had nearly every possible accolade to his name so far in his career entering this weekend, but an elusive national title had thus far escaped his grasp after finishing last season as the bronze medalist in the 3K as well as the anchor leg on the national runners-up in the distance medley relay. The junior native of Salamanca, Spain delivered with a masterful race-plan on Saturday, executing a perfect tacticians race to win right at the line in dramatic fashion.
Garcia Romo was the intermediate leader at every single split marker as he calmly slowed the pack down to a snail's pace – a stark contrast in a season that featured an absurd 90 sub-four milers in the NCAA. Garcia Romo was one of those at his blistering school record of 3:53.36, but raw talent in the field was instead swapped for a battle of wits. At the bell the pack made its move, but Garcia Romo still held command of the field, picking up the pace but not too much over the final 200 meters. He left just enough room for him to hold off Michigan State's Morgan Beadlescomb with a lean at the line by five hundredths of a second, with Garcia Romo's 4:07.54 edging out Beadlescomb's 4:07.59 for the NCAA title.
"It was all confidence," Garcia Romo told ESPN's John Anderson after the win. "I knew that I could win any type of race. I was ready to run 3:51 if I needed to, I was ready to run 4:08 finishing as strongly from the front. It was just all about confidence. A week ago, (associate head coach) Coach Vanhoy came to me after a workout and was like 'nobody is going to beat you this week,' and I believed him. I think that's when I knew I was going to be a national champion."
The win is the 10th total NCAA title indoors in combined program history and the second this weekend alongside Shey Taiwo's win in the weight on Friday night, and it makes Garcia Romo the 13th total NCAA Indoor Champion. His win is the first ever indoors by a Rebel in a distance beyond 800-meters, and is the first individual win on the track indoors since Antwon Hicks' went back-to-back in the 60-meter hurdles in 2004 and 2005.
Ole Miss was just two seconds away from becoming the first school in NCAA history to sweep the men's and women's mile in the same year, as All-American junior Sintayehu Vissa completed an extraordinary season and an even more astounding national meet with an NCAA runner-up finish in mile final on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after running 4:33.13 in the mile prelim and 4:32.90 as the anchor on the sixth-place Ole Miss women's distance medley relay on Friday night, Vissa gave everything she had left in the tank but came up less than two seconds shy of Colorado's Micaela Degenero at 4:35.40 to Degenero's winning time of 4:33.92.
That finish by Vissa not only helped give the Rebel women five additional points from her pre-meet formchart placement of sixth, but she is now the 11th overall NCAA runner-up indoors in program history and just the second woman to do so – joining Jasmine Mitchell, who won the silver in the weight throw on Friday night.
Crucial in the Rebel men's efforts to finish within the top-10 was a double-billing by Ole Miss in the men's 800-meter final worth 10 total points. Senior John Rivera Jr. recorded the highest national finish by a Rebel in the indoor men's 800-meter since George Kersh won the 1991 NCAA title, finishing third overall at 1:48.03 for his second career First-Team All-American nod.
Also scoring and earning First-Team status was newcomer Tiarnan Crorken in his first career NCAA final, finishing fifth at 1:48.60.
In total, Ole Miss received 10 total First-Team All-American nods for nine total athletes, as well as six Second-Team awards.
This weekend's heroics marks an impressive final chapter for the 2022 indoor season for Ole Miss, which now turns its attention immediately toward the outdoor season. The Rebels will be back in action out in the sun next weekend at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic on March 18-19.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Women: T-6th (29 points) – Program Record
Men: T-10th (20 points) – Program Record
NCAA Champions
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's Mile
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw
NCAA Runners-Up
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Mile
First-Team All-Americans
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's Mile, 1st Place
Shey Taiwo – Women's Weight Throw, 1st Place
Jasmine Mitchell – Women's Weight Throw, 2nd Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Mile, 2nd Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter, 3rd Place
Tiarnan Crorken – Men's 800-Meter, 3rd Place
Jayda Eckford – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Anna Elkin – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Sintayehu Vissa – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Loral Winn – Women's Distance Medley Relay, 6th Place
Second-Team All-Americans
Lyndsey Reed – Women's Pole Vault, 9th Place
James Young – Men's Mile, 9th Place
Shane Bracken – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Cruz Culpepper – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Marcus Dropik – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Elijah Dryer – Men's Distance Medley Relay, 11th Place
Honorable Mention All-Americans
Jalani Davis – Shot Put
Jalani Davis – Weight Throw
REBELS IN DAY TWO COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Final
3. John Rivera Jr. – 1:48.03 – First-Team All-American
5. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:48.60 – First-Team All-American
Women's Mile Final
2. Sintayehu Vissa – 4:35.40 – NCAA Runner-Up
Men's Mile Final
1. Mario Garcia Romo – 4:07.54 – NCAA Champion
9. James Young – 4:09.57 – Second-Team All-American
Women's Shot Put Final
FOUL Jalani Davis
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Semifinals
3. John Rivera Jr. – 1:47.48 (AQ)
4. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:47.64 (AQ) – PR, No. 5 Ole Miss History
Women's Mile Semifinals
1. Sintayehu Vissa – 4:33.13 (AQ) – Facility Record
Men's Mile Semifinals
5. James Young – 3:58.64 (q)
8. Mario Garcia Romo – 4:01.39 (AQ)
Women's Distance Medley Relay Final
6. Anna Elkin, Jayda Eckford, Loral Winn, Sintayehu Vissa – 11:04.86 – First-Team All-Americans, No. 5 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Anna Elkin (1200m) – 3:30.11
Jayda Eckford (400m) – 56.29
Loral Winn (800m) – 2:05.57
Sintayehu Vissa (Mile) – 4:32.90
Men's Distance Medley Relay Final
11. Cruz Culpepper, Elijah Dryer, Marcus Dropik, Shane Bracken – 9:35.94 – No. 13 Ole Miss History
Splits:
Cruz Culpepper (1200m) – 2:56.98
Elijah Dryer (400m) – 49.55
Marcus Dropik (800m) – 1:49.96
Shane Bracken (Mile) – 3:59.47
Women's Pole Vault Final
9. Lyndsey Reed – 4.26m/13-11.75 – Second-Team All-American
Women's Weight Throw Final
1. Shey Taiwo – 25.55m/83-10 – NCAA Champion, No. 2 NCAA History (No. 2 throw), No. 3 World History (No. 3 throw), No. 2 NCAA Meet History, 2022 World Lead, Facility Record, SEC Record, Ole Miss Record
2. Jasmine Mitchell – 24.94m/81-10 – NCAA Runner-Up, No. 3 NCAA History (No. 7 throw), No. 5 World History (No. 12 throw), No. 2 Ole Miss History
FOUL Jalani Davis
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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