Bulldog Men Tie For Sixth At Indoor Nationals

Saturday, March 15

Virginia Beach, Va.

Mississippi State

6th

NCAA Indoor Championships

Bulldog Men Tie For Sixth At Indoor Nationals

March 16, 2025 | Track & Field

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By: Jhordyn Stallworth, Fellow/Communications

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia – Mississippi State men's track and field team closed out the NCAA Indoor Championships tied for sixth place, the highest finish and point total in program history.

The men scored 23 points between four events, with every competing athlete earning a podium finish. This finish is the highest in program history, with the most recent top ten finish being in 2009, where the men scored 18 points to finish tied for ninth. With less than ten points separating the team from first and third, this was by far the best performance State has put on in program history.

Peyton Bair, standout combined events athlete, now adds National Champion to his list of accolades. Bair put up a 6,013 point effort at the NCAA meet to finish first overall in the heptathlon. The day started slowly for the Idaho native, as he ran 8.01 in the 60m hurdles, slower than his personal best. He went to jump 4.87m in the pole vault, finishing seventh in the event. Going into the final race, the 1000m, there was a 2 point difference between Bair and second place. Bair held off the competition in the final event, running 2:46.21 in the 1000m to earn the national champion title. His performance is also the new facility record for the Virginia Beach Sports Complex.

The day continued with Nicholas Fakorede, making his NCAA final debut in the 60m. Fakorede entered the final with the seventh fastest time in the field, racing in lane one. Running 6.59 in a stacked field, Fakorede walks away from his first national championship with a trophy and an eighth place finish.

Next on the track was Abdullahi Hassan, competing in the 800m final. Hassan entered the race with the seventh fastest time overall. On the last lap, Hassan surged to overtake the current race leader and trailed closely behind an Oregon athlete to finish second overall. At 1:46.65, Hassan earned the NCAA runner-up title in the indoor 800m.

The final event for the Bulldogs was the 4x400m relay. Racing in the first section against BYU, Purdue and Baylor, State had their work cut out for them, as they held the slowest time between the teams. The race started with Christion Barker, splitting 46.73, trailing closely behind BYU. Cyrus Jacobs Jr. was next to receive the baton, splitting 46.00, followed by Alfonso Hale Jr. who split 47.29. Sherman Hawkins was the final leg of the relay, splitting 45.39 and overtaking BYU to finish first in the section. A long deliberation process followed the race, as protests from other schools racing in the other sections emerged. Eventually, the results were released, and the men earned fifth in the event.

The Bulldogs return to Starkville prepared for the outdoor campaign to begin with the Alumni Bulldog Relays, the first home meet of the
season, next weekend.

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