Mississippi College Track Teams Shine at Pittsburg State Invitational
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Mississippi College’s track and field teams delivered a strong performance Saturday at the Pittsburg State Invitational. The Choctaws secured multiple event wins, school records, provisional qualifying marks and personal bests across a variety of events, according to school officials.
On the men’s side, Tristan Jusino-Lansing set a school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.02 seconds, finishing fourth overall. The run was a personal best and earned him a provisional qualifying mark, placing him first in the Gulf South Conference and 18th nationally in NCAA Division II. Jusino-Lansing also posted a personal best in the 400 meters, clocking 51.20 seconds later in the meet.
Mississippi College excelled in middle-distance and distance events. Gabe Hodson ran an indoor personal best of 1:52.48 in the 800 meters, finishing third and ranking third in the GSC. Samuel Hodson followed with a personal best of 1:53.57, placing sixth overall and fifth in the conference. The team also saw three personal records in the mile, with Sidney Stegall (4:16.51), Matthew Meadows (4:19.88), and Benjamin Hodson (4:21.86) all posting career bests. In the 5,000 meters, Cooper Parmer ran a personal best of 14:48.44, finishing third and ranking fifth in the GSC. Matthew Singletary also set a personal best of 14:48.90 for fourth place.
The men’s 4×400 relay team closed the day with a season-best time of 3:18.74, finishing sixth overall. On the women’s side, Haylei Mason advanced to the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and placed sixth with a time of 9.01 seconds, making her the top-ranked freshman in the GSC. Lilly Jensen posted a personal best of 2:23.47 in the 800 meters. Bre Bell won the 5,000 meters with a personal-best 17:18.79, topping the field and moving into the GSC lead. Kinley Harris finished second in 17:53.35, also a personal best.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Benoit, Bailey, Wallace and Wallace won with a time of 11:56.42, a provisional qualifying mark and the fifth-fastest in school history. In field events, freshman Schyler Chambers had a breakout meet, finishing sixth in both the long jump (6.91 meters) and triple jump (14.80 meters). Ethan Belcher cleared 4.36 meters in the pole vault, tying for sixth, while Jake McMillan jumped 6.66 meters in the long jump.
In throwing events, Bryan Puckett recorded a season-best shot put of 16.03 meters, finishing seventh and second in the GSC. Steven Conrad threw 17.57 meters in the weight throw, placing sixth and moving into second in the conference. Jake Keesee added a personal best of 17.07 meters in the weight throw. For the women, Kennedy Thompson threw 16.21 meters in the weight throw, maintaining her top GSC ranking, and also ranked sixth in the shot put. Ann Cobb and Emily Taylor posted personal bests in the long jump at 5.05 meters and 4.93 meters, respectively.
Mississippi College will next compete Saturday, Feb. 7, at the UAB Blazer Invitational at Birmingham CrossPlex, aiming to build on the momentum from Pittsburg, officials said.
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