Ole Miss men’s and women’s track and field shattered two school records and scored historic numbers at the Razorback Invite events over the weekend.
Mario Garcia Romo started the record-breaking tallies in the men’s 3K race, clocking in with a time of 7:48.40. The reigning SEC cross country champion finished fourth, hit a 17-second personal record and shattered the previous school record of 7:54.58.
Garcia Romo took to Twitter after his win. “A year ago I did a 30’ bike ride in the morning and 45’ of aqua-jogging in the afternoon,” he said. “Worked pretty hard to get here, but we still have a long way to go. Shout-out @ryanvanhoy and @OleMissTrack, can’t wait to see what’s waiting for us in the next months!”
Closely behind Garcia Romo was All-American Waleed Suliman, clocking in at 7:54.57 with freshman Cole Bullock clocking a time of 8:00.13 for a No. 7 finish.
During the men’s mile event, senior Everett Smulders became the fourth Rebel to break the four-minute mile as he clocked a three-second personal record of 3:58.93. His time sits as the fourth-best in school history, and Smulders is currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA.
On the women’s team, sophomore Loral Winn broke the university’s women’s mile record after senior Anna Elkin did so during the Commodore Indoor event with a time of 4:46.23. Winn clocked a six-second personal record of 4:45.60.
In the men’s 800-meter event, distance runner Baylor Franklin earned the No. 1 spot with his personal record of 1:48.59. The time sits at No. 6 all-time at the school and is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA. In the women’s event, transfer Sintayehi Vissa finished No. 4 overall, clocking in with a six-second personal record of 2:06.45. Her time sits at the fourth-best in Ole Miss history and No. 11 in the NCAA.
Sophomore Lyndsey Reed placed third in the women’s pole vaulting event, with a personal record height at 4.15m. The personal record sets her at No. 4 all-time.
With an exceptional performance under its wing, the men’s and women’s track and field teams will travel to South Carolina on Feb. 5-6 for the South Carolina Invite.
