Ole Miss Track & Field Splits for Alabama and Virginia

			CRIMSON TIDE INVITE April 22-23 • Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Meet Info • Live Results • Watch (Day 1) • Watch (Day 2) • Schedule (PDF) • Day 1 Heat Sheets (PDF) • Day 2 Heat Sheets (PDF) Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Outdoor Records (PDF)

			VIRGINIA CHALLENGE April 22 • Charlottesville, Va.
Meet Info • Live Results • Schedule (PDF) • Heat Sheets (PDF) Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Outdoor Records (PDF)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. / CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Ole Miss track & field splits squad for the first time this outdoor season this weekend, with a handful of distance runners heading to the Virginia Challenge while another Rebel delegation heads to Alabama for the Crimson Tide Invite, with both meets set for April 22-23.

MEET NOTES

• Competition begins at Alabama at 2 p.m. CT on Friday with the women's hammer, while the action at Virginia will start Friday at 5:25 p.m. CT for the Rebels in the men's 1500-meter.

• The Ole Miss women returned to the national top-25 this week at No. 22 in the Week Four USTFCCCA National Rating Index. The Rebel women opened the outdoor season at No. 19 in the Week One edition released back on March 28. This is the 34th total appearance for the Ole Miss women in the national rankings since they began in 2008. Under head coach Connie Price-Smith, the Rebel women have appeared 25 times in the outdoor rating index since 2016, with their best being a No. 15 slot in Week Two of the 2017 season.

• Ole Miss enters the weekend with 36 total marks or times within the NCAA East Region top-50 (24 women, 12 men). Of those, 20 rest within the national top-50 as well (14 women, 6 men).

WOMEN'S NOTES

• Indoor NCAA Champion Shey Taiwo leads the Rebel women with her SEC and East Region leading mark in the hammer at 69.24m/227-02 from the Ole Miss Classic on March 25. Taiwo is the reigning NCAA runner-up in the hammer, and currently ranks sixth in the NCAA.

• Also currently within the NCAA East top-50 in the women's hammer are Jalani Davis (No. 17 NCAA, No. 6 East: 65.84m/216-00), Jasmine Mitchell (No. 24 NCAA, No. 10 East: 63.80m/209-04) and Deborah Bulai (No. 33 East: 59.09m/193-10).

• Davis' hammer mark was a two-foot PR that came at Florida's Tom Jones Memorial last week. She currently also ranks within the NCAA top-50 in the shot put at 17.00m/55-09.25 (No. 19) and discus at 52.28m/171-06 (No. 50). Davis is the reigning SEC Indoor shot put champion, and in 2021 was the lone thrower in the nation, male or female, to triple at the national meet.

• Senior and fellow thrower Tedreauna Britt also ranks highly in multiple events in the discus at 54.11m/177-06 (No. 25 NCAA, No. 9 East, No. 2 SEC) and shot put at 16.09m/52-09.50 (No. 42 NCAA, No. 18 East, No. 7 SEC). Britt is the reigning SEC champion in the discus.

• NCAA Indoor mile runner-up and multiple time Rebel All-American junior Sintayehu Vissa was spectacular at the Tom Jones Memorial last week, as she dismantled the Ole Miss record in the 800-meter amid the Florida heat in her first try this outdoor season. Vissa won at an astounding 2:01.06, which was a three-second PR and shattered Brooke Feldmeier's 2015 Ole Miss record of 2:03.13. That time by Vissa ranks seventh-best in the world outdoors in 2022 and the best by an Italian runner. Additionally, on the collegiate level it currently ranks third in both the NCAA and the East Region and second in the SEC.

• Furthermore, it makes Vissa the 13th-best Italian runner of all time outdoors, and her time was the third-fastest ever run by an Italian on American soil, trailing only two efforts from Olympic gold medalist Gabriella Dorio at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the semifinal at 1:59.53 (Aug. 4) and final at 1:59.05 (Aug. 6). Dorio finished fourth in the 800-meter in 1984 and won the gold medal in the 1500-meter.

• Vissa also owns a fast time in the 1500-meter this season, currently ranking 38th nationally and 16th in the East Region at 4:17.57. Vissa also owns the Ole Miss record in the 1500-meter at 4:16.70, run last season. In just over one year of work as a Rebel, Vissa owns school records outdoors in the 800 and 1500-meter races, and indoors in the mile (4:32.70), 3K (9:04.95) and distance medley relay (10:56.39).

• Other Rebel women with ranking 1500-meter times include Kristel van den Berg at 4:18.45 (No. 46 NCAA, No. 21 East), Loral Winn at 4:19.64 (No. 30 East), Lydia van Dijk at 4:20.38 (No. 40 East) and Skylar Boogerd at 4:21.40 (No. 47 East. All but Boogerd's were run at Florida last week, with van den Berg's registering as a career-best that ranks third-fastest in school history.

• Senior Kristel van den Berg clocked a 10-second collegiate best in her first steeplechase of the year at the Joe Walker Invite, notching the NCAA's 16th-best time at the moment at 10:07.73. That time puts her fourth in the SEC and seventh in the East Region for 2022, as well as third all-time at Ole Miss. Overall, it is a three-second improvement from her 10:10.46 run last summer at the Dutch national meet. That time also ranks as the ninth-best ever by a Dutch native and second-best in the Netherlands this season.

• Fellow senior Morgan Claire Rose also ran a big PR in the 3000-meter steeplechase two weeks ago at 10:18.64, the fourth-best time in Ole Miss history that currently puts her 22nd in the East Region and 41st in the NCAA.

• All-American junior Lyndsey Reed continued to push the bar higher after toppling her own school record in the pole vault at Florida last week. Reed, who owns both the indoor and outdoor Ole Miss pole vault records, tied her overall career-best with a winning clearance of 4.41m/14-05.50 at the Tom Jones Memorial -- besting her previous record of 4.36m/14-03.50 set at the Ole Miss Classic on March 26. Reed currently ranks second in the SEC at that height, as well as seventh in the NCAA and sixth in the East Region.

• Reed was a Second-Team All-American indoors after a ninth-place finish to cap off an indoor campaign that saw her smash the school record at 4.41m/14-05.50.

• Other Rebel women's pole vaulters ranking within the East top-50 include Samara McConnell and Alex Brooks, who have both cleared 4.08m/13-04.50 to rank eighth in the SEC and 29th in the East Region.

• The Ole Miss women's 4x100-meter relay of Olivia Womack, Ariyonna Augustine, Jayda Eckford and Kelly Rowe notched the ninth-fastest time in school history at Florida last week at 44.36. That time currently puts them within regional qualifying contention at No. 16 in the East Region, as well as No. 8 in the SEC and No. 32 in the NCAA.

• Rowe (100-meter, 11.52; No. 40 East) Womack (200-meter, 23.50; No. 41 East) and Augustine (200-meter, 23.52; No. 42 East) also all own individual performances within the East Region top-50 at the moment.

• Other Rebel women with a current qualifying mark in the East Region is Sara Van Aken in the high jump at 1.75m/5-08.75, which ranks No. 30 in the East.

MEN'S NOTES

• All-American senior John Rivera Jr. leads a powerful group of Rebel men's 800-meter runners after his career outing at Florida last week. Rivera dropped two seconds off his outdoor PR to finish third in a historically fast heat at an overall PR of 1:46.82. That time by Rivera is the third-best in Ole Miss history outdoors, and it is the fastest since Craig Engels' 1:46.03 from the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. That time ranks No. 16 worldwide outdoors in 2022, as well as the fastest by a Puerto Rican affiliated athlete. Collegiately, Rivera leads both the East Region and the SEC at the time, which also ranks third in the NCAA.

• Fellow All-American senior Baylor Franklin had a career-best performance in that same fast 800-meter heat at Florida, running an overall career-best of 1:47.41. That time puts Franklin No. 8 among American runners outdoors in 2022, as well as No. 13 in the NCAA, No. 5 in the East and No. 5 in the SEC. Last season, Franklin dropped what was then an overall best 1:47.55 at Mississippi State's Maroon & White Invite before qualifying for nationals and earning Second-Team All-America.

• Senior and reigning NCAA Indoor mile champion Mario Garcia Romo opened his 2022 outdoor season in powerful fashion at the Joe Walker Invitational, clocking fast times in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter races.

• Garcia Romo dropped nearly a full second off his career-best in the 800-meter despite not running the race in nearly a full calendar year, holding off high school phemom (and Ole Miss signee) Cade Flatt off at the finish line at a PR of 1:46.90. That time makes Garcia Romo fifth all-time on the Ole Miss outdoor list, and this season it ranks third in both the SEC and East Region, as well as No. 6 in the NCAA.

• In the 1500-meter, Garcia Romo was the runner-up at a season-open of 3:40.27 despite intense winds and cold temperatures. That currently puts him fourth in the SEC, 14th in the East and 33rd in the NCAA. Garcia Romo finished fifth in the nation in 2021 for First-Team All-American honors, and over the summer nearly clocked an Olympic Standard at his overall career-best 3:35.79.

• Other Rebels ranking in the 800-meter include Marcus Dropik at 1:49.83 (No. 45 East).

• Junior Daniel Viveros' season-opening PR of 18.69m/61-4 in the shot put still has him in the NCAA top-50 at No. 31, as well as No. 7 in the SEC and No. 15 in the East Region. That toss is the second-best ever by a Rebel outdoors.

• All-American senior Elijah Dryer became the fastest Rebel 200-meter runner in nearly a decade after a blistering performance at Florida last week. Dryer dropped two tenths off his PR to finish sixth at a wind-legal 20.66 (+0.8), which puts him into a tie for fifth all-time at Ole Miss with Olympian Savante' Stringfellow. Additionally, Dryer is also now the fastest Rebel in the 200-meter outdoors since Olympian Isiah Young set the outdoor school record at a windy but NCAA allowable 20.12 (+3.2) at the 2013 NCAA Championships. This season, Dryer ranks No. 34 in the NCAA, No. 21 in the East and No. 12 in the SEC.

• Ole Miss also boasts a deep pack of 110-meter hurdlers, with three currently within the NCAA East Region top-50. Reigning national qualifier Kenney Broadnax improved his season-best into a headwind for the second straight week at 13.96 (-2.0) at the Joe Walker Invitational -- which currently puts him 11th in the SEC and 29th in the East Region. Other Rebels ranking in the hurdles include Keirston Paige at 14.02 (No. 31 East) and Spencer Brown at 14.16 (No. 50 East).

• Other Rebel men within the East Region top-50 include Montel Johnson in the hammer at a PR of 61.24m/200-11 (No. 10 SEC, No. 41 East), and Ukurugenzi Kojo in the high jump at a PR of 2.05m/6-08.75 (No. 10 SEC, No. 49 East).

TEAM NOTES

• In its post-indoor update, the USTFCCCA ranked Ole Miss fifth in both men's and women's competition in its Program of the Year standings. Last season, the Rebels tied a program-record with a third-place finish in men's competition, and set a new women's best at No. 7. The Program of the Year award assigns a point value to the national finish of each team following the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons, with the lowest point total being named the winner. In women's competition, Ole Miss finished program-bests indoors (T-6th) and in cross country (10th), while the men finished tied for 10th indoors and were 15th in cross country.

• NCAA Champion and All-American senior Shey Taiwo was recently added back to The Bowerman Award Watch List on March 23. Taiwo won the national title in the weight throw indoors following a historic campaign in which she rewrote the record books and fell just one centimeter shy of the collegiate record and five shy of the world record at 25.55m/83-10. Taiwo opens her 2022 outdoor season this weekend and enters as the reigning NCAA runner-up in the hammer as the No. 9 performer in NCAA history at 71.27m/233-10.

• The Rebels are coming off the best combined performance at an NCAA meet in program history at the NCAA Indoor Championships two weeks ago, where the Ole Miss women set an overall program record with a tie for sixth place at 29 points -- the most points ever scored by any Rebel team at nationals. The Ole Miss men, meanwhile, finished in the top-10 in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, finishing tied for 10th at a men's program record 20 points.

• Three of the six all-time NCAA top-10 finishes in Ole Miss history have come within the last calendar year: 2022 women's indoor (T-6th), 2022 men's indoor (T-10th), 2021 men's indoor (10th), 2013 men's outdoor (8th), 2001 men's indoor (10th) and 1991 men's indoor (9th).

• Ole Miss is one of just four teams nationally to place both men and women within the top-10 at the indoor national meet (alongside Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M), and one of just two with Arkansas that have placed men and women within the top-15 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and at the NCAA Indoor Championships this season.

• Ole Miss won two national titles at the NCAA Indoor Championships, with Shey Taiwo nearly breaking both the NCAA and world record in the weight throw, while Mario Garcia Romo claimed the first NCAA mile title by a Rebel and the first by any individual Rebel indoors on the track since Antwon Hicks won the 2005 60-meter hurdles title.

• Ole Miss also had two NCAA runners-up in Jasmine Mitchell (weight throw) and Sintayehu Vissa (mile), who were part of a group of 16 Rebels to earn First or Second-Team All-American status for the indoor season.

• The Rebels are coming off a superb 2021 outdoor campaign that saw Ole Miss send a program record 16 entries to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Returning from that squad are: NCAA hammer runner-up Shey Taiwo, First-Team All-American Mario Garcia Romo (1500-meter, fifth), Second-Team All-Americans Jayda Eckford (4x100-meter relay, 14th), Toni Glatz (4x100-meter relay, 14th), Olivia Womack (4x100-meter relay, 14th), and Jalani Davis (discus, 14th; hammer, 16th; shot put, 19th). Also returning is Honorable Mention All-American Lyndsey Reed in the pole vault.

• Last season, Davis was the only thrower -- male or female -- to triple at the national meet and one of only two total. Indoors this year, Davis was also the only thrower of either gender to double in the weight throw and shot put.

• Ole Miss also returns two SEC Outdoor medalists from 2021: defending discus champion Tedreauna Britt, and shot put runner-up Jalani Davis. Indoors this year, Davis won the SEC shot put title.

• Indoors, Ole Miss tied a program record ranked No. 7 in women's competition for three straight weeks, while the Rebel men rose as high as No. 12 in the pre-championship index.

• A total of 26 new Rebels joined the roster for 2022: pole vaulter Frankie Amore, sprinter Ariyonna Augustine, jumper Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley, distance runenr Shane Bracken, distance runner Aiden Britt, jumper Spencer Brown, pole vaulter/multi athlete Jose Corbo, distance runner Tiarnan Crorken, distance runner Dereck Elkins, thrower Mason Hickel, distance runner Hannah Ielfield, thrower Montel Johnson, pole vaulter Ford Maberry, sprinter Bria Mack, distance runner Chris Maxon, sprinter Keirston Paige, distance runner Miles Phillips, distance runner Cole Piotrowski, distance runner Chase Rose, distance runner Gabe Scales, jumper LaRiah Shannon, jumper Annie Strong, distance runner Lydia van Dijk, sprinter Isaiah Weasby, distance runner James Young and hurdler Ahmad Young Jr.

• Ole Miss is in year seven under head coach Connie Price-Smith, who has led the Rebels to new heights in her time in Oxford. On the track, the Rebels have collected nine NCAA top-25 team finishes (three in the top-10), nine NCAA individual champions, seven NCAA runners-up, 122 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 210 NCAA points, 61 SEC Champions and program-record SEC finishes in men's indoor (third, 2x), women's indoor (fifth, 2x) and women's outdoor (fifth, 2018). Nationally under her guidance, the track Rebels have recorded program records in women's indoor (T-6th, 2022) and the second-best ever in men's indoor (10th, 2x). In 21 years as a head coach at both Ole Miss and Southern Illinois dating back to 2002, Price-Smith has collected 14 NCAA event titles and mentored 196 All-Americans on the track.

• In Ole Miss history across both seasons, 23 Rebels have won NCAA titles and 194 have earned First-Team All-American honors, while as a team Ole Miss has tallied 32 top-25 team finishes and scored 690.5 total national points.

• All-time, Ole Miss has won 50 SEC Outdoor individual titles, with 38 coming from the men and 12 from the women -- including returning senior and reigning SEC discus champion, Tedreauna Britt. Of those, 13 have come under Price-Smith (nine men, four women).

Rebel Men Competing (Alabama):
100-Meter Dash: Peyton Lowery (Heat 6, Lane 2)
High Jump: Ukurugenzi Kojo
Pole Vault: Frankie Amore, Ford Maberry, Miles Walden
Long Jump: Peyton Lowery (Flight 1), Cory Meek (Flight 1)
Shot Put: Peyton Lowery (Flight 1), Daniel Viveros (Flight 3)
Discus: Daniel Viveros (Flight 2)
Hammer: Costen Campion (Flight 1), Joseph Lanham (Flight 1), Montel Johnson (Flight 2)

Rebel Men Competing (Virginia):
1500-Meter: Cade Bethmann (Heat 4)
1500-Meter (Invite): Shane Bracken (Heat 2)
5K (Invite): Dereck Elkins (Heat 1), Cole Bullock (Heat 2)

Rebel Women Competing (Alabama):
200-Meter Dash: Sara Van Aken (Heat 5, Lane 1), Meg Goebel (Heat 5, Lane 9)
100-Meter Hurdles: Meg Goebel (Heat 2, Lane 7), Annie Strong (Heat 4, Lane 6)
High Jump: Annie Strong, Sara Van Aken
Pole Vault: Alex Brooks, Remy Guertel, Samara McConnell, Elizabeth Nix
Long Jump: Skye Gross (Flight 2)
Triple Jump: Kyla McLaurin
Shot Put: Tedreauna Britt (Flight 3), Jalani Davis (Flight 3), Jasmine Mitchell (Flight 3)
Discus: Deborah Bulai (Flight 2), Tedreauna Britt (Flight 2), Jalani Davis (Flight 2), Jasmine Mitchell (Flight 2)
Hammer: Deborah Bulai (Flight 2)
Hammer (Invite): Jalani Davis, Jasmine Mitchell
Javelin: Meg Goebel (Flight 1), Lauren Hoselton (Flight 1), Annie Strong (Flight 1), Sara Van Aken (Flight 1)

Rebel Women Competing (Virginia):
5K (Invite): Skylar Boogerd, Anna Elkin

Crimson Tide Invite / Virginia Challenge, Master Schedule (all times CT)
Day One \| Friday, April 22
Time	Meet	Event	Athlete(s)
2:00 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Hammer	Deborah Bulai (Flight 2)
	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's Hammer (to follow women)	Costen Campion (Flight 1) Joseph Lanham (Flight 1) Montel Johnson (Flight 2)
5:25 PM	Virginia Challenge	Men's 1500-Meter	Cade Bethmann (Heat 4)
6:30 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Hammer (Invite)	Jalani Davis Jasmine Mitchell
6:40 PM	Virginia Challenge	Men's 1500-Meter (Invite)	Shane Bracken (Heat 2)
7:25 PM	Virginia Challenge	Men's 5K (Invite)	Dereck Elkins (Heat 1) Cole Bullock (Heat 2)
8:05 PM	Virginia Challenge	Women's 5K (Invite)	Skylar Boogerd Anna Elkin
8:30 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Triple Jump	Kyla McLaurin
Day Two \| Saturday, April 23
Time	Meet	Event	Athlete(s)
9:00 AM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Discus	Deborah Bulai (Flight 2) Tedreauna Britt (Flight 2) Jalani Davis (Flight 2) Jasmine Mitchell (Flight 2)
	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's Discus (to follow women)	Daniel Viveros (Flight 2)
12:00 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Long Jump	Skye Gross (Flight 2)
1:25 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's 100-Meter Hurdles	Meg Goebel (Heat 2, Lane 7) Annie Strong (Heat 4, Lane 6)
2:00 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's Long Jump	Peyton Lowery (Flight 1) Cory Meek (Flight 1)
2:30 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Javelin	Meg Goebel (Flight 1) Lauren Hoselton (Flight 1) Annie Strong (Flight 1) Sara Van Aken (Flight 1)
2:50 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's High Jump	Annie Strong Sara Van Aken
	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's High Jump (to follow women)	Ukurugenzi Kojo
3:00 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Pole Vault	Alex Brooks Remy Guertel Samara McConnell Elizabeth Nix
3:05 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's Pole Vault	Frankie Amore Ford Maberry Miles Walden
	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's 100-Meter Dash	Peyton Lowery (Heat 6, Lane 2)
3:50 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's Shot Put	Tedreauna Britt (Flight 3) Jalani Davis (Flight 3) Jasmine Mitchell (Flight 3)
3:55 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Men's Shot Put	Peyton Lowery (Flight 1) Daniel Viveros (Flight 3)
4:45 PM	Crimson Tide Invite	Women's 200-Meter Dash	Sara Van Aken (Heat 5, Lane 1) Meg Goebel (Heat 5, Lane 9)

For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Frankie Amore

Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley

Ariyonna Augustine

Cade Bethmann

Skylar Boogerd

Shane Bracken

Aiden Britt

Tedreauna Britt

Kenney Broadnax

Alex Brooks

Spencer Brown

Deborah Bulai

Cole Bullock

Costen Campion

Jose Corbo

Tiarnan Crorken

Jalani Davis

Marcus Dropik

Elijah Dryer

Jayda Eckford

Anna Elkin

Dereck Elkins

Baylor Franklin

Mario Garcia Romo

Toni Glatz

Meg Goebel

Skye Gross

Remy Guertel

Mason Hickel

Lauren Hoselton

Hannah Ielfield

Montel Johnson

Ukurugenzi Kojo

Joseph Lanham

Peyton Lowery

Ford Maberry

Bria Mack

Chris Maxon

Samara McConnell

Kyla McLaurin

Cory Meek

Jasmine Mitchell

Elizabeth Nix

Keirston Paige

Miles Phillips

Cole Piotrowski

Lyndsey Reed

John Rivera Jr.

Chase Rose

Morgan Claire Rose

Kelly Rowe

Gabe Scales

LaRiah Shannon

Annie Strong

Shey Taiwo

Sara Van Aken

Kristel van den Berg

Lydia van Dijk

Sintayehu Vissa

Daniel Viveros

Miles Walden

Isaiah Weasby

Loral Winn

Olivia Womack

James Young

Ahmad Young Jr.

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