The Ole Miss Track and Field team concluded their regular season at the Virginia Challenge on April 17-18 and the LSU Invitational on May 2. With the SEC Championships on May 14, the Rebels took advantage of the opportunities and improved their marks for the final time.
Here are the biggest moments from the Rebels’ last meets, as well as where those performances rank in the SEC
At the Virginia Challenge, the Rebels won seven events and completed a shot put sweep.
In the men’s shot put, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan once again extended his SEC lead with a 20.86-meter throw and increased the gap on his NCAA lead mark to nearly half a meter.
At the upcoming SEC meet, Robinson-O’Hagan is the favorite throws athlete. Not only is he undefeated this outdoor season, but he pairs his top shot put mark with the top hammer throw mark in the conference.
Akaoma Odeluga won the Virginia women’s shot put competition with a new personal record and SEC lead mark of 19.23 meters. That throw also moved her to the No. 2 spot in the NCAA and cemented Odeluga as the No. 2 thrower in SEC history.
Odeluga also holds the No. 4 ranked hammer mark, so expect her to contribute big points for the Rebels at the SEC Championships.
In the men’s triple jump, Sterling Scott earned a personal record with his 16.43-meter jump and comfortably moved into the No. 2 SEC spot.
The distance runners also performed well in Virginia.
Top 1500-meter runner Evan Thornton-Sherman ran a 3:39.42 personal best and sits at No. 6 in the SEC, just four seconds behind leader Jaouad Khchina.
Kidus Misgina added a quick 13:31.19 5K, good for the No. 5 time in the conference. Misgina’s Virginia time pairs well with his 10K school record and No. 4 SEC mark that he set at the Stanford Invite.
LSU Invite
At the last meet of the regular season, the LSU Invitational, the Rebel sprinters were the highlight of the meet.
Alicia Burnett blazed to an impressive 10.94-second performance in the 100-meter dash, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind LSU’s Shawnti Jackson.
Burnett’s performance was her first 100-meter race of the season and also ranks her No. 3 in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation.
She was assisted by a big 3.7 meters/second tailwind. Despite the assistance, Burnett has shown in various competitions all season that she is capable of the speed required to top the SEC.
In less windy conditions, Jordan Urrutia had an impressive 200-meter dash performance. Urrutia comfortably won in 20.31 seconds, which is the No. 2 time in Rebel history, the No. 4 time in the SEC and the No. 6 time in the NCAA.
Apart from Virginia and LSU, the Rebels sent one athlete, Cade Flatt, to run at Mississippi State’s Maroon and White Tune-up. In the men’s 800-meter race, Flatt ran 1:50.61 for No. 8 place at the meet.
Outlook for the SEC Championships
Next for the Rebels is the SEC Outdoor Championships. Good scores throughout the season are always necessary, but these final two meets were crucial for many of the Rebels. Competing at the conference meet is not guaranteed.
Per the commissioner’s regulations, each school is allowed only 30 athletes max per gender, so athletes often either have to be the best in their event or rank well across multiple events.
Overall, the Rebels’ depth allows both the men’s and women’s squads to chase their first SEC title and improve on last year’s meet, where the men finished No. 5, and the women ranked No. 14.
Auburn will host the SEC Outdoor Championships from May 14-16. The meet will stream on the SEC Network, and the live results link can be found on Auburn’s meet information page once the event starts.
