The Ole Miss men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out successful performances in Nashville at the Music City Challenge and in Ames, Iowa, at the Iowa State Classic this month. The two energetic showings will boost spirits as the teams head to Texas A&M this weekend for the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
At Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge, senior Janeah Stewart won her third consecutive SEC Field Athlete of the Week award and finished as the top collegiate competitor in the weight throw at a one-foot PR of 24.12m, only behind a world record thrower in Gwen Berry. This finishing throw moved Stewart from No. 4 to No. 3 all-time in NCAA history by jumping her own mark from the week earlier.
Stewart’s outstanding performance made her the first collegian to surpass the 79-foot mark in the weight throw since 2008, and she now ranks fourth on the United States and World list for 2018, giving six of the top 11 throws in history. Stewart also closed the weekend as runner-up in shot put at 17.10m. With her impressive scoring in weight throw and shot put, she is now one of three national competitors to rank within the top 10 in both field events and looks to keep her impressive numbers up against the top of the SEC over the weekend.
On the men’s side of things, senior shot putter All-American Brian Williams broke his own Ole Miss record from last season by more than half a foot at 19.24m. Williams is now ranked No. 12 in the NCAA, and will be a real contender at the Indoor Championships.
Also in Nashville, senior Jolie Carbo led the Rebels in the 400-meter dash and crushed her career best, finishing fifth overall at 24.37. Carbo sits second all-time at Ole Miss in the event and is ranked No. 17 nationally. After breaking personal bests in each of her last two races, Carbo will look to do so again and crack the top three in the conference.
With runners and throwers impressing at both meets, the Rebel triple jumpers also had prosperous performances. Senior Lanae Newsome reached a new career best and finished fourth overall at 12.59m, which moved him up to No. 37 in the NCAA and put him in position for a strong place against the rest of the SEC field.
“I think both groups at Vanderbilt and at Iowa State had solid performances a few weeks ago,” head coach Connie Price-Smith said. “I just hope we can continue to build on that now that we are heading into the SEC meet.”
Stewart is expected to have a strong showing in her discipline and add a few more accolades to her winning career. While the senior thrower continues to smash the competition, Price-Smith sees a chance for other rising competitors to make names for themselves on the track and in field events.
The Ole Miss team has had this past week off of competition to prepare for the SEC Indoor Championships, hosted by Texas A&M, and has already arrived in College Station before the meet begins Saturday.
