OXFORD, Miss. – The 17th-ranked Ole Miss men’s track and field team and the Rebel women’s team will shoot for season-best times and marks on Friday at the University of New Mexico’s Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
This is Ole Miss’ final meet before the Feb. 22-24 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Friday’s meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center will feature nationally ranked men’s teams in No. 5 Arizona State, No. 10 Arizona, No. 18 Stanford, No. 21 Kansas State and No. 24 Northern Arizona, as well as ranked women’s squads in No. 12 California, No. 13 Arizona, No. 16 Stanford, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 22 San Diego State.
The meet is scheduled to start with the women’s long jump at 2 p.m. CT and run through the men’s and women’s 4×400 meter relays at 10:40 p.m. CT.
The No. 17 Rebel men have been led all indoor season by senior Ricky Robertson and sophomore Sam Kendricks.
Robertson’s school-record high jump of 7-6 at the Arkansas State Invitational (Jan. 25) is tied for the best in the NCAA this year, while he ranks fourth nationally in the triple jump with a leap of 52-8.25 at the Auburn Invitational (Jan. 19). The Hernando, Miss., native also incredibly ranks among the top 40 in the nation in a third event, the long jump (24-1.5).
Kendricks, a native of Oxford, Miss., owns the nation’s second-best pole vault this year at 18-1.75. He set the school record with that clearance at the UAB Blazer Invitational (Jan. 10). In three competitions this year, he has broken his own school record twice and set a meet record all three times.
Senior Morris Kersh had a big triple jump at last week’s Meyo Invitational, going for a personal-best 51-8.5 to move up to ninth in the NCAA this year. He claimed first place at the Notre Dame meet and now ranks No. 6 in school history in the event.
Junior Montez Griffin ranks 43rd nationally in the 400 meters with an indoor personal-best time of 47.47 from the Meyo Invitational.
The Rebel women boast a top-40 ranked athlete in the sprints, jumps and throws.
Freshman Asia Cooper has been on fire in her debut season, most recently winning the 60-meter dash at the Meyo Invitational with a personal-best time of 7.43. The Jackson, Miss., native ranks fifth in school history and 35th in the NCAA this year with that mark.
Junior Allegra Wells, who was a four-year volleyball standout for the Rebels, is 35th nationally in the long jump with a mark of 19-9.5.
Senior Jazmin Miller ranks 33rd in the country in the weight throw with a season-best distance of 62-8.75.