Nashville, Tenn. – Ole Miss track & field competed on day one of the Music City Challenge, with several individual event winners, 15 personal bests and many all-time performances at Vanderbilt on Friday night.

Peyton Weismann, who entered the weekend with the eighth-best mark in the SEC this season, continued his ascent up the Ole Miss record books. The sophomore pole vaulter cleared a PR 5.25m (17-02.75) to finish tied for first and the top college performer. His mark was also the third-best performance in school history.

Cole Colozzo, a junior from Stuart, Florida, also had a solid night in the pole vault, finishing fifth after clearing 4.95m (16-03.00).

The lone individual distance event that was run Friday, the 5000m, saw three Rebel men and three Rebel women compete. All six recorded PRs and placed their way into the record books.

Farah Abdulkarim took home first place after finishing in 14:02, which was the seventh-fastest time in school history. He was trailed by Michael Coccia (fourth, 14:11.11) and Mark Robertson (fifth, 14:11.25), who now rank ninth and 10^th respectively in program history.

On the women’s side of the 5000m, Courtney Hopkins (16:50.52), Anna Elkin (16:52.37), and Victoria Simmons (16:56.57) all set PRs and now rank ninth, 10^th and 11^th in Ole Miss history.

Shey Taiwo, who came into the day ranked third in the SEC and 11^th in the NCAA in the weight throw, also had a great day and finished as the top-collegian for the fourth-straight week. The sophomore set a PR at 21.51m (70-07.00), which ranks third in Ole Miss history.

Tedreauna Britt and Leah Klein also moved up the all-time weight throw list for Ole Miss. Britt bested her PR by over one foot (17.26m, 58-07.00), which is the eighth-best mark in school history. Klein moved up to 13^th after throwing 16.41m (53-10.00).

Sophomore sprinter Elijah Dryer entered the day coming off a win last week in the 60-meter dash at the Don DeNoon Classic. He followed up that performance with another victory on Friday, this time in the 200-meter dash. He ran a PR 21.49, which places him 10^th in Ole Miss history.

The female sprinters also had an incredible night in the 200-meter dash. The Rebels placed three in the top six, with Kelly Rowe leading the way in fourth with a PR of 24.16, which moved her into 10^th in school history. Jayda Eckford came in fifth at 24.27, which was just a few-hundredths of a second away from her personal best. Brandee Presley ran a PR 24.48, which placed sixth in the meet and 14^th in Ole Miss history.

Sophomore thrower Chris Long had the best meet of his collegiate career, coming in 10^th place with a PR 18.42m (60-05.25) in the weight throw. This moved him into 11^th place in school history. Freshman Joseph Bendetto also had a solid performance, coming in 14^th place, after throwing 17.69m (58-00.50).

Kieshonna Brooks placed third overall and finished as the No. 2 collegian in the long jump after clearing 6.08m (19-11.50). She came into the meet ranked 18^th in the NCAA and fifth in the NCAA after setting a PR at the Vanderbilt Invite earlier this season. Ghania Warren also competed in the long jump, placing 12^th with a PR of 5.79m (19-00.00).

Allen Gordon and Manny Foster both continued their strong momentum from last week, finishing as the second and third and third collegians at the meet. Gordon finished as the second-collegian and third overall after leaping 7.58m (24-10.25). Foster finished one place behind after jumping 7.49m (24-7.00).

In addition to the meet in Nashville, six Ole Miss men’s distance runners (Cade Bethmann, Mario Garcia Romo, Derek Gutierrez, Dalton Hengst, Everett Smulders, and Waleed Suliman) will be competing in the mile at the David Hemery Valentine Invite, which is hosted by Boston University. The mile is expected to start around 3:15 p.m. CT.

 

Patrick Harvey

Ole Miss Athletics