Ole Miss Track & Field Splits for Weekend Meets at LSU and Stanford
BATON ROUGE, La. — The University of Mississippi track and field team will divide its roster this weekend, with some athletes competing at the LSU Battle on the Bayou and others participating in the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., according to team officials.
At Stanford, the Rebels will compete in the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter runs, along with the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000-meter. Last year, the Stanford meet was key for regional qualifying, producing four of Ole Miss’s seven regional times in distance events and a school record in the men’s 10K by Kidus Misgina, who is set to compete again this year.
Misgina will be joined by fellow Rebels Beth Arentz, Sophie Baumann, Aiden Britt, Sergio Del Barrio, Hannah Doyle, Ella Johnson, Owen Kelley, Adie Luna, Marco Perez, Evan Thornton-Sherman, and NCAA All-American senior Loral Winn in the women’s 5K. Winn will make her season debut in the invitational section of the race.
Meanwhile, at LSU, Ole Miss will be one of 17 schools participating in a meet that features 12 top-25 teams across men’s and women’s competition, including No. 1 LSU, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 5 Ole Miss, and No. 6 Texas A&M. The Rebel men entered the outdoor season ranked fifth nationally, matching their highest outdoor ranking ever set in 2023.
Ole Miss coach Connie Price-Smith, in her 11th year, has overseen the team’s rise to national prominence, including 23 NCAA champions and 197 All-Americans. The team’s success has been driven by standout athletes like senior Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, who recently set collegiate lead marks in shot put and hammer throw, including a historic 77.62-meter hammer toss that ranks second in SEC history and 16th in U.S. history.
Robinson-O’Hagan, a four-time NCAA champion, leads a talented group of national qualifiers and has set multiple school and collegiate records this season. He is also part of the Rebel men’s relay teams that set a school record in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 38.98 seconds, which ranks third nationally.
Ole Miss athletes are also ranked in the top 25 nationally in several events, including junior Akaoma Odeluga, who is second in the shot put and ninth in the hammer. The Rebels’ women’s team is also highly ranked, thanks to standout performances from Odeluga and others. The team will look to build on its success this weekend at both meets.
Competition at LSU begins Friday with field events and heats scheduled throughout the day, while the Stanford Invitational includes distance races and field events as athletes aim to improve regional qualifying marks.
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