BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Carrying momentum from its success on day one, the Mississippi State track and field team again excelled during Saturday’s competition at the UAB Blazer Invite.
Highlighted by speedy performances from Bulldog distance runners, MSU capped its first meet of the season at the Birmingham SportsPlex.
After clocking a second-place finish (2:52.08) in the 1000-meter run on Friday, freshman Rhianwedd Price donned another commendable race as she finished second in the 800-meter run (2:10.67). Just behind her were teammates Katie Huston (2:13.50) and Emma Neigel (2:17.22), who finished 10th and 11th, respectively.
In familiar fashion, sophomore Patrick Monaghan crossed the line in second with a time of 1:54.64 in the 800-meter run. Other MSU runners Phillip Johnson (8:55.00) and Carson Britton (9:02.43) finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the men’s 3000-meter run.
In the women’s one mile, sophomore Cornelia Griesche posted a time of 5:00.79 to finish third, followed by freshman Lisa Ziegler in fourth (5:04.61). Distance veterans Jodie McGuff (10:18.78) and Carmen Brothers (10:34.35) finished 12th and 16th, respectively, in the 3000-meter run.
A trio of Lady Bulldog hurdlers qualified for the 60-meter finals on Friday, and continued to dominate the competition on Saturday. After advancing from a field of nearly 40 athletes, Erica Bougard (8.45), Ste’yce McNeil (8.63) and Jamaican and MSU athlete Keisha Wallace (8.73) garnered third, fourth and seventh-place times in the event finals, respectively.
Also on the track, the men’s 4×400-meter relay team displayed a strong performance to finish seventh out of 26 teams. The quartet’s time of 3:16.74 surpassed Southeastern Conference foes Florida and Tennessee.
In field events, Rochelle Farquharson (Jamaica and MSU) leaped 20-02.50 in the long jump to secure a spot in fourth, while Erica Bougard high jumped 5-06.50 for a fourth-place finish, also. Returning to action after missing a season because of an injury, Abigail Dill jumped back onto the scene with a 13th-place leap of 5-04.50 in the high jump.
Freshman Haley Reynolds made her MSU debut tossing 42-10.75 in the shot put to finish 13th.
The Bulldogs will now return to Starkville to begin preparation for the Auburn Invitational slated for Jan. 18.
