The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, December 6
Birmingham, Ala.
8:30 AM
Ole Miss
at
Ice Breaker
Track & Field Opens Season in Birmingham and Boston
12/5/2024 | Track and Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ole Miss track & field returns to action this weekend, with the majority of the team opening in Birmingham for the Ice Breaker on Friday, while senior All-American Toby Gillen will run his first 5K of the season against a tough field in Boston at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday.
MEET NOTES
• Ole Miss enters year 10 under head coach Connie Price-Smith, who orchestrated the single greatest season in program history across both the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons last year. The Rebels nabbed six national titles and four top-20 national team finishes -- highlighted by two program-record fifth place finishes by the Rebel women both indoors and outdoors. In total in 2024, Price-Smith claimed nine NCAA Champions (six titles), one NCAA runner-up, 21 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 96 NCAA points, nine SEC Champions and 21 total SEC medals.
• Across both the indoor and outdoor track seasons under Price-Smith, the Rebels have had 17 NCAA top-25 team finishes, 20 NCAA individual champions (14 titles), 14 NCAA runners-up, 172 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 380 NCAA points, 76 SEC individual champions and a bevy of the best team finishes in program history at both the SEC and NCAA levels.
• Six of the nine all-time NCAA top-10 track finishes in Ole Miss history have come within the last four years: 2024 women's outdoor (5th), 2024 women's indoor (5th), 2023 women's indoor (10th), 2022 women's indoor (T-6th), 2022 men's indoor (T-10th), 2021 men's indoor (10th), 2013 men's outdoor (8th), 2001 men's indoor (10th) and 1991 men's indoor (9th).
• Ole Miss will look to replace several key Rebels from 2024, chief among them three-time NCAA Champion McKenzie Long and the best weight throw duo in collegiate history in Jalani Davis and Jasmine Mitchell.
• Long spurred the Rebels to their record finish outdoors, winning three national titles in a span of 90 minutes before embarking on a professional career that took her to the Olympic women's 200-meter dash final in Paris this past summer for Team USA. Long was one of five Ole Miss track & field athletes to compete in Paris alongside U.S. silver medal pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, Raven Saunders in the shot put (Team USA), Sintayehu Vissa in the 1500-meter (Italy) and Mario Garcia Romo also in the 1500-meter (Spain).
• Across indoor and outdoor, returning All-Americans from 2024 include two-time national champion junior Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan, senior Toby Gillen and sophomore Mensi Stiff, while returning All-SEC performers include Robinson-O'Hagan, Gillen, sophomore and World U20 champ Akaoma Odeluga, junior Arvesta Troupe and senior Jake Dalton. Others who qualified for nationals either indoors or outdoors include senior Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley (outdoor triple jump), senior Jake Dalton (outdoor hammer) and sophomore Skylar Soli (outdoor hammer).
• Junior Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan is set to open his highly-anticipated third season with the Rebels, and he begins the 2025 indoor campaign on the precipice of becoming one of the best overall men's throwers in collegiate history. Already as a Rebel he owns two national titles, eight All-America awards, 33 NCAA points, five SEC titles, 64 SEC points, two SEC Field Athlete of the Year awards and two USTFCCCA South Region Athlete of the Year awards.
• Robinson-O'Hagan ranks third in men's collegiate history indoors in combined weight throw and shot put distance at 44.67m, making him one of only three to ever break 77 feet in the weight (23.62m/77-6) and 69 feet in the shot (21.05m/69-0.75) behind North Dakota State's Payton Otterdahl (45.92m) and Ohio State's Dan Taylor (45.34m) -- the latter of whom was also coached by current Ole Miss throws coach John Smith.
• Last season, Robinson-O'Hagan became the youngest to complete the NCAA men's shot put sweep indoors and outdoors since 1989, claiming the indoor title on a bombastic career-best 21.05m/69-0.75 before taking the outdoor crown at 20.88m/68-6.
• Fellow All-American Toby Gillen will look to earn an early NCAA qualifying time in the 5K on Boston's fast track this Saturday. Gillen already owns the Ole Miss indoor 5K record at 13:28.81 on this very track back in February from the Valentine Invite -- the first sub-13:30 time in program history.
• Outdoors, Gillen was a First-Team All-American in the 5K, finishing in seventh place.
• Sophomore Akaoma Odeluga returns to the shot put ring for the first time since winning the World U20 gold medal this past August in Peru. Odeluga won at 17.34m/56-10.75, becoming the first Rebel woman to win a World U20 title and the fifth Ole Miss athlete overall.
• Her gold medal capped an extraordinary freshman campaign in 2024 that saw her become the second-best American-born U20 thrower all-time on her PR 18.13m/59-05.75 in the U.S. Olympic Trials final. Odeluga, along with teammate Mensi Stiff, became the first Rebel freshmen to ever qualify for NCAAs in the shot put.
• Odeluga and Stiff, along with Skylar Soli, formed a powerful freshman class in 2024 that earned four NCAA berths and scored 13 SEC points.
• Ole Miss also welcomed in an excellent freshman class for this season, which includes four newcomers who were ranked by Track & Field News as among the best high school signees in the nation. Distance runner Samuel Ferguson (Wichita, Kansas) was their 4th-ranked runner in the boys 2000-meter steeplechase (5:52.52), Lily Beattie (Warwick, New York) was the No. 9 girls pole vaulter (13-7), Jordan Urrutia (Madison, Alabama) was the No. 26 prospect in the 200-meter dash (20.85w) and Indya Dotson (Houston, Texas), was ranked No. 30 in the girls long jump (20-6.5).
• Other new freshmen for Ole Miss include: distance runner Max Armstrong (Birmingham, Alabama), multi Caughran Fowler (Madison, Mississippi), jumper Nyajah Gordon (Tampa, Florida), distance runner Alycia Hart (Saratoga Springs, New York), pole vaulter Katelyn Hulsey (Brandon, Mississippi), pole vaulter Teagan Johnson (Seneca, Illinois), sprinter Zion Lockette (Atlanta, Georgia), jumper Madison Martinez (Tucson, Arizona), pole vaulter Katie McFarland (Piqua, Ohio), sprinter Alec Reed (Germantown, Tennessee), sprinter Wesley Todd (Bowie, Maryland) and sprinter Tarique Wright (Silver Spring, Maryland).
MEET NOTES
• Ole Miss enters year 10 under head coach Connie Price-Smith, who orchestrated the single greatest season in program history across both the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons last year. The Rebels nabbed six national titles and four top-20 national team finishes -- highlighted by two program-record fifth place finishes by the Rebel women both indoors and outdoors. In total in 2024, Price-Smith claimed nine NCAA Champions (six titles), one NCAA runner-up, 21 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 96 NCAA points, nine SEC Champions and 21 total SEC medals.
• Across both the indoor and outdoor track seasons under Price-Smith, the Rebels have had 17 NCAA top-25 team finishes, 20 NCAA individual champions (14 titles), 14 NCAA runners-up, 172 First or Second-Team All-Americans, 380 NCAA points, 76 SEC individual champions and a bevy of the best team finishes in program history at both the SEC and NCAA levels.
• Six of the nine all-time NCAA top-10 track finishes in Ole Miss history have come within the last four years: 2024 women's outdoor (5th), 2024 women's indoor (5th), 2023 women's indoor (10th), 2022 women's indoor (T-6th), 2022 men's indoor (T-10th), 2021 men's indoor (10th), 2013 men's outdoor (8th), 2001 men's indoor (10th) and 1991 men's indoor (9th).
• Ole Miss will look to replace several key Rebels from 2024, chief among them three-time NCAA Champion McKenzie Long and the best weight throw duo in collegiate history in Jalani Davis and Jasmine Mitchell.
• Long spurred the Rebels to their record finish outdoors, winning three national titles in a span of 90 minutes before embarking on a professional career that took her to the Olympic women's 200-meter dash final in Paris this past summer for Team USA. Long was one of five Ole Miss track & field athletes to compete in Paris alongside U.S. silver medal pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, Raven Saunders in the shot put (Team USA), Sintayehu Vissa in the 1500-meter (Italy) and Mario Garcia Romo also in the 1500-meter (Spain).
• Across indoor and outdoor, returning All-Americans from 2024 include two-time national champion junior Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan, senior Toby Gillen and sophomore Mensi Stiff, while returning All-SEC performers include Robinson-O'Hagan, Gillen, sophomore and World U20 champ Akaoma Odeluga, junior Arvesta Troupe and senior Jake Dalton. Others who qualified for nationals either indoors or outdoors include senior Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley (outdoor triple jump), senior Jake Dalton (outdoor hammer) and sophomore Skylar Soli (outdoor hammer).
• Junior Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan is set to open his highly-anticipated third season with the Rebels, and he begins the 2025 indoor campaign on the precipice of becoming one of the best overall men's throwers in collegiate history. Already as a Rebel he owns two national titles, eight All-America awards, 33 NCAA points, five SEC titles, 64 SEC points, two SEC Field Athlete of the Year awards and two USTFCCCA South Region Athlete of the Year awards.
• Robinson-O'Hagan ranks third in men's collegiate history indoors in combined weight throw and shot put distance at 44.67m, making him one of only three to ever break 77 feet in the weight (23.62m/77-6) and 69 feet in the shot (21.05m/69-0.75) behind North Dakota State's Payton Otterdahl (45.92m) and Ohio State's Dan Taylor (45.34m) -- the latter of whom was also coached by current Ole Miss throws coach John Smith.
• Last season, Robinson-O'Hagan became the youngest to complete the NCAA men's shot put sweep indoors and outdoors since 1989, claiming the indoor title on a bombastic career-best 21.05m/69-0.75 before taking the outdoor crown at 20.88m/68-6.
• Fellow All-American Toby Gillen will look to earn an early NCAA qualifying time in the 5K on Boston's fast track this Saturday. Gillen already owns the Ole Miss indoor 5K record at 13:28.81 on this very track back in February from the Valentine Invite -- the first sub-13:30 time in program history.
• Outdoors, Gillen was a First-Team All-American in the 5K, finishing in seventh place.
• Sophomore Akaoma Odeluga returns to the shot put ring for the first time since winning the World U20 gold medal this past August in Peru. Odeluga won at 17.34m/56-10.75, becoming the first Rebel woman to win a World U20 title and the fifth Ole Miss athlete overall.
• Her gold medal capped an extraordinary freshman campaign in 2024 that saw her become the second-best American-born U20 thrower all-time on her PR 18.13m/59-05.75 in the U.S. Olympic Trials final. Odeluga, along with teammate Mensi Stiff, became the first Rebel freshmen to ever qualify for NCAAs in the shot put.
• Odeluga and Stiff, along with Skylar Soli, formed a powerful freshman class in 2024 that earned four NCAA berths and scored 13 SEC points.
• Ole Miss also welcomed in an excellent freshman class for this season, which includes four newcomers who were ranked by Track & Field News as among the best high school signees in the nation. Distance runner Samuel Ferguson (Wichita, Kansas) was their 4th-ranked runner in the boys 2000-meter steeplechase (5:52.52), Lily Beattie (Warwick, New York) was the No. 9 girls pole vaulter (13-7), Jordan Urrutia (Madison, Alabama) was the No. 26 prospect in the 200-meter dash (20.85w) and Indya Dotson (Houston, Texas), was ranked No. 30 in the girls long jump (20-6.5).
• Other new freshmen for Ole Miss include: distance runner Max Armstrong (Birmingham, Alabama), multi Caughran Fowler (Madison, Mississippi), jumper Nyajah Gordon (Tampa, Florida), distance runner Alycia Hart (Saratoga Springs, New York), pole vaulter Katelyn Hulsey (Brandon, Mississippi), pole vaulter Teagan Johnson (Seneca, Illinois), sprinter Zion Lockette (Atlanta, Georgia), jumper Madison Martinez (Tucson, Arizona), pole vaulter Katie McFarland (Piqua, Ohio), sprinter Alec Reed (Germantown, Tennessee), sprinter Wesley Todd (Bowie, Maryland) and sprinter Tarique Wright (Silver Spring, Maryland).
| Master Schedule (all times CT) | ||
| Ice Breaker | Friday, December 6 | Birmingham, Ala. | ||
| Time | Event | Athlete(s) |
| 8:30 AM | Women's 60-Meter Dash Prelims | Hannah Foxx (Heat 1, Lane 2) Zion Lockette (Heat 2, Lane 2) |
| Men's 60-Meter Dash Prelims (to follow women) | Tarique Wright (Heat 9, Lane 2) Caughran Fowler (Heat 11, Lane 5) Jordan Urrutia (Heat 11, Lane 4) |
|
| Women's 60-Meter Hurdles Prelims (to follow men's 60m) | Nyajah Gordon (Heat 5, Lane 2) | |
| 9:00 AM | Men's Shot Put | Mason Hickel (Flight 4) Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan (Flight 4) |
| Women's Shot Put | Akaoma Odeluga (Flight 4) Skylar Soli (Flight 4) |
|
| Men's Long Jump | Caughran Fowler (Flight 2) | |
| Women's Long Jump | Nyajah Gordon (Flight 1) Indya Dotson (Flight 5) |
|
| 10:00 AM | Women's 3K | Hannah Ielfield (Heat 1) Samantha Ouellette (Heat 1) |
| Men's 3K | Connor Henson (Heat 1) | |
| Men's Pole Vault | Frankie Amore Logan Kelley John Scott Kendricks Ford Maberry Drew O'Connor |
|
| Women's Pole Vault (to follow men) | Lily Beattie Mary Cate Doughty Aly Francolini Katelyn Hulsey Samara McConnell Katie McFarland |
|
| 12:00 PM | Women's 60-Meter Dash Final (if qualified) | -- |
| Men's 60-Meter Dash Final (if qualified) | -- | |
| Women's 60-Meter Hurdles Final (if qualified) | -- | |
| 1:00 PM | Women's Mile | Brooke Preputnick (Heat 1) |
| Men's Mile (to follow women) | Connor Henson (Heat 1) | |
| Men's Triple Jump | Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley (Flight 3) Mikoy Holmes (Flight 3) Gavin Nembhard (Flight 3) |
|
| Women's Triple Jump | Dieusi Armand (Flight 2) Indya Dotson (Flight 2) Kyla McLaurin (Flight 2) |
|
| Men's Weight Throw | Coston Campion (Flight 3) Jake Dalton (Flight 3) Mason Hickel (Flight 3) Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan (Flight 3) Bryson Smith (Flight 3) Keegan Wilfawn (Flight 3) |
|
| Women's Weight Throw (to follow men) | Akaoma Odeluga (Flight 3) Skylar Soli (Flight 3) |
|
| 2:00 PM | Men's 1000-Meter (to follow women) | Connor Henson (Heat 1) Cole Piotrowski (Heat 1) |
| Men's High Jump (to follow women) | Guy Bond (Flight 1) Arvesta Troupe (Flight 1) |
|
| 2:30 PM | Women's 300-Meter Dash | Zion Lockette (Heat 1, Lane 5) Hannah Foxx (Heat 1, Lane 6) |
| Men's 300-Meter Dash (to follow women) | Jordan Urrutia (Heat 1, Lane 6) Tarique Wright (Heat 7, Lane 5) |
|
| TBD | Men's 800-Meter | Max Armstrong (Heat 1, Lane 2) Jonathan Stock (Heat 1, Lane 3) Cole Piotrowski (Heat 1, Lane 4) |
| TBD | Men's 4x400-Meter Relay | Jordan Urrutia Wesley Todd Caughran Fowler Tarique Wright |
| Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | Sat., Dec. 7 | Boston, Mass. | ||
| Time | Event | Athlete(s) |
| 5:50 PM | Men's 5K | Toby Gillen (Heat 2) |
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Jumps
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Pole Vault
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Jumps
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Throws
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Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
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Pole Vault
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Distance
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
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Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Pole Vault
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Pole Vault
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Pole Vault
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Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
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Pole Vault
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Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Throws
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Throws
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Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Jumps
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Sprints
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Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and FieldThe Season: New Heights (2025)
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Monday, June 23
HIGHLIGHTS: Arvesta Troupe Makes History as NCAA High Jump Champ
Friday, June 13
PRESSER: Arvesta Troupe Talks Historic NCAA High Jump Win
Friday, June 13