A total of six athletes represented the Ole Miss Rebels across seven events at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 13-14. On the biggest stage in indoor college track and field, several Rebels had big performances and two earned medals.
Overall, the men placed tied for No. 15 and the women got No. 14.
The Rebels also took part in the SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas on Feb. 26-28. The women’s team earned one gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal to finish No. 8 in the team competition with 38.5 points.
The men’s team earned two gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal and finished No. 2 in the team competition — their best SEC indoor finish in program history.
Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan
Robinson-O’Hagan, who was recently named the SEC Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year for the third straight season, represented the Rebels in the shot put and weight throw.
He opened the weekend on Friday, March 13 with the men’s weight throw final. Seeded No. 4 in the nation, Robinson-O’Hagan improved his position and ended the competition with a mark of 23.50 meters, which earned him a bronze medal and brought his total All-American honors to 13.
Robinson-O’Hagan competed in the shot put on Saturday. He entered the meet with the best mark in the nation by over one meter.
In this competition, he proved he was the best shot putter in the nation by winning his fourth NCAA shot put title. This marked his third consecutive indoor title in shot put, making him one of just four athletes in NCAA history to win three NCAA shot put titles in a row.
With an outdoor season still ahead, Robinson-O’Hagan reflected on his journey.
“If I was my freshman self, I’d be excited about what I’ve done,” Robinson-O’Hagan said in the premeet press conference. “But right now, I’m living in my moment.”
Robinson-O’Hagan entered the SEC meet as the favorite in both the men’s shot put and weight throw. He won two gold medals and earned an SEC-high 20 points for the Rebels.
In the shot put, Robinson-O’Hagan won on his first attempt when he heaved the shot put 20.45 meters. The second place finisher ended with a mark of 20.14 meters, but Robinson-O’Hagan was not satisfied simply with a win. By the end of the competition, he had improved to 20.67 meters.
In his post-win interview, Robinson-O’Hagan cited strong practice numbers as his motivation to strive for a better mark despite already winning the shot put.
“We have bigger numbers in practice, we were prepared for getting into the 70 (foot) range,” Robinson-O’Hagan said. “All we do is work hard, I don’t ever have to correct my teammates.”
Akaoma Odeluga
Akaoma Odeluga, the SEC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, also represented the Rebels in two events: the women’s shot put and the weight throw.
Odeluga opened up competition in the weight throw and threw for a personal best of 23.66 meters. She finished No. 4.
She continued with the shot put competition on Saturday. The championship flight had a total of six rounds. In round six, Odeluga had a big throw that put her into the No. 2 position. She hung on and won the silver medal in the event, wrapping up an excellent weekend for Rebel throws.
In the SEC Championship, Odeluga earned a pair of silver medals in the women’s shot put and weight throw, tying the women’s SEC lead of 16 points, and was named a co-recipient of the women’s Cliff Harper Trophy.
Odeluga has consistently improved her shot put mark all season by nearly a meter each time. She continued to demonstrate this consistency and maintained her early podium spot through each of the six rounds.
Alicia Burnett
At the SEC Indoor Championships, Alicia Burnett became the first Rebel in history to win the 60-meter dash, and she did so in a strong fashion. Burnett earned herself a new personal best of 7.14 seconds and had the fastest seed for the final.
In the final, Burnett took her performance to another level. She seized the lead by the 50-meter mark. From there, Burnett stormed to a new Rebel 60-meter record of 7.08 seconds and smashed the personal best she set in the semifinal.
Burnett’s mark tied the SEC meet record. She also tied the best time in the nation and earned a spot in the NCAA championship.
Burnett told The Stride Report that she stayed calm and did not overcomplicate the race, something that she believes will help her on the national stage.
“The lineup wasn’t that bad, (but) I don’t remember the race at all,” Burnett said. “(My plan) is staying prayed up, staying healthy for the next week or two and just trusting the timing and process.”
All eyes were on Burnett at the NCAA Tournament after her SEC Championship performance, which helped her earn SEC Women’s Indoor Co-Runner of the Year honors.
In the NCAA semifinal, Burnett cruised through to the next round in a comfortable 7.16 seconds, earning a time qualifier.
In the final, Burnett closed hard, but ran out of track and finished No. 4 in 7.18 seconds. She became the second highest finisher in Ole Miss history in the women’s 60 meters.
Rebels add four Second Team All-Americans
Four other Rebels also had big performances at the NCAA Championships. Sterling Scott finished No. 11 in the men’s triple jump, Skylar Soli finished No. 11 in the women’s weight throw, Bryson Smith finished No. 13 in the men’s weight throw and Arvesta Troupe finished No. 14 in the men’s high jump.
What’s next?
The Rebels wrapped up their fantastic indoor season and will look to carry their success over to the outdoor season, which begins on March 20-21 with a home meet in Oxford. The meet will stream on ESPN.
