Day One Of Split Weekend Rewrites Record Book

Friday, January 17

Nashville, TN

Mississippi State

Vanderbilt Invitational

Day One Of Split Weekend Rewrites Record Book

January 17, 2025 | Track & Field

Meet Notes Vanderbilt Invitational Live Results Samford Open Live Results Photo Gallery

By: Jhordyn Stallworth, Fellow/Communications

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State track and field had major performances on the first day of the season-opening weekend. Split between the Samford Invitational in Birmingham and the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, the squad earned three MSU all-time top five performances and 14 personal bests on Friday.

The Bulldogs started the day off strong in Birmingham, with new personal bests set in the women's weight throw and pole vault. The 60m was the first event contested on the track, with two athletes earning personal bests. All four Bulldog women entered in the 60m advanced to the semi-finals, where three went to qualify for the final. Jaitlyn Ware took home first in the final, clocking in at 7.57 for a new personal best. In his first appearance as a Bulldog, Nicholas Fakorede clocked in at 6.64 to earn the NO. 4 spot in program history for the 60m.

The success in the first running event carried over to the 60m hurdles, where all four competing Bulldog women advanced to the final. Kennedy Jackson clocked in at 8.50 to earn a personal best and win the event. After running a personal best of 7.48, Peyton Bair is now tied for the No. 3 spot in program history for the 60m hurdles.

The jumps squad had a solid showing at the season opener, earning multiple personal bests and event wins. In her first showing as a Bulldog, Manie Mevo jumped 12.39m in the triple jump, earning her first win for MSU. Kennedy Stringfellow and Marquise Washington both qualified for the men's long jump final, where Stringfellow set a new indoor personal best of 7.66mm, taking home the win and the Samford Invite meet record. Bair added another record book finish to his resume in the pole vault, jumping 4.96m for the No.3 MSU all-time spot.

The success wasn't limited to just Birmingham, however, with the squad traveling to Nashville earning multiple personal bests on Friday evening. Roury McCloyen started the day off in the men's weight throw, tossing 18.54m for fourth place in the open event. McCloyen now holds the No. 3 spot on the MSU all-time list for the weight throw. The men and women distance runners competed in the DMR later that evening, with the top women's squad finishing fourth and the men finishing second. Six Bulldog women competed in the 1000m, with Hunter Anderson and Hayley Ogle setting personal bests of 2:50.38 and 2:51,39, respectively. Ramat Jimoh was the highest finisher in the event for the squad, clocking in at 2:49.22 for her first collegiate 1000m race. The day closed with Abdullahi making his MSU debut in the 1000m, running 2:20.06 and taking home first.

The Bulldogs will continue competition Saturday morning, with the women's weight at the Samford Open starting at 10:00 a.m., and the men's shot put invite at the Vanderbilt Invitational starting at 1:15 p.m.

For more information on the Mississippi State track and field program, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.