Ole Miss Seeking History at NCAA Indoor Championships

Today’s sports roundup also features Ole Miss’ Smith, Vanhoy Named Region Assistant Coaches of the Year,Ole Miss Volleyball Announces Summer Camp Sessions,No. 23 Rebels Top UT Martin to Cap Undefeated Weekend

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Ole Miss Seeking History at NCAA Indoor Championships

A school-record 10 entries will represent Ole Miss at this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in College Station, Texas.
Eleven athletes will compete for national titles for the eighth-ranked Rebel women and 28th-ranked men at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
They include:
Raven Saunders – W shot put – 19.10m/62-8 – No. 1 seed
Janeah Stewart – W weight throw – 23.18m/76-0.75 – No. 1 seed
Ryan Manahan, Nick DeRay, Craig Engels, Sean Tobin – M DMR – 9:26.55 – No. 1 seed
MJ Erb – M 5000m – 13:43.55 – No. 7 seed
Raven Saunders – W weight throw – 21.67m/71-1.25 – No 8 seed
Janeah Stewart – W shot put – 17.31m/56-9.5 – No. 8 seed
Brian Williams – M shot put – 19.06m/62-6.5 – No. 15 seed
Craig Engels – M 800m – 1:47.54 – No. 15 seed
Ryan Manahan – M 800m – 1:47.76 – No. 16 seed
Lindsey Murray – W pole vault – 4.22m/13-10 – No. 16 seed
Robert Domanic and Trevor Gilley will also attend the meet as possible members of the distance medley relay squad.
Friday’s events include the women’s shot put, men’s 800-meter prelims, men’s shot put, men’s 5000 meters and men’s distance medley relay. ESPN3 coverage begins at 5:25 p.m. CT.
Saturday’s events include the women’s pole vault, women’s weight throw and men’s 800-meter final. ESPN3 coverage begins at 3:55 p.m. CT.
A two-hour highlight show will air on ESPN2 on Sunday from 6-8 p.m. CT. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Larry Rawson, John Anderson and Larra Overton.
Head Coach Connie Price-Smith Says:
“It’s nice to have such a large group going to the championships. On the men’s side we have eight athletes, and on the women’s side we have three. If they go in there and do what they’re capable of doing, who knows what the outcome might be.
“At SECs, Raven and Janeah both had really great meets. They’re throwing really well with a lot of confidence. Going into NCAAs, I’d like to see them be confident and go in and compete well in both of their events. I think they’ll fare well.
“The men’s distance side has had a great year going from cross to indoors. I think they’re all really excited about going out there and being able to show what they can do and represent Ole Miss. I think their excitement about it will help them perform really well. Just about everybody going has been to NCAAs before. After having run the DMR and getting third last year, they’re ready to go in and do their best to better that performance.
“Texas A&M has a great facility, a little different than the others we’ve been in this year. It’s a fairly high banked track. It’s decent for spectator view, so it’ll be nice to sit in the stands and watch everything. We won’t be on the infield right next to the athletes, so that will be a different. I think it’s going to be a great meet.”
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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Ole Miss’ Smith, Vanhoy Named Region Assistant Coaches of the Year

Ole Miss swept the awards for men’s and women’s indoor assistant coaches of the year for the South Region as recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday.
Ryan Vanhoy was voted South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year, and John Smith was tabbed South Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year. It is the third such honor of Vanhoy’s career (2015 men’s outdoor, 2016 men’s indoor). Smith is now a six-time region assistant coach of the year in addition to being the 2015 National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year while at Southern Illinois.
Each of the nine regions honored both genders’ top track athletes and field athletes, and the top men’s and women’s head coaches and assistant coaches.
Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches following a nomination period. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.
Vanhoy, in his fourth season as an assistant coach with the Rebels, helped the Ole Miss men tie for their best SEC indoor finish in program history with a third-place result in Nashville. Of the team’s 76 points at the SEC meet (second-most in program history), 66 came from Vanhoy-coached events (800m, mile, 3000m, 5000m, DMR). The distance medley relay squad of Craig Engels, Nick DeRay, Sean Tobin and Robert Domanic broke their own SEC meet record (9:32.36) and won the league title for fourth straight year. The Rebels also went 1-2-3 in the SEC mile and won the 5000 meters for the second straight year. In the NCAA rankings, the DMR squad is No. 1 in the nation (9:26.55, converted), while MJ Erb is No. 7 in the 5000 (13:43.55).
Smith, in his second year on head coach Connie Price-Smith’s Rebel staff, has done wonders with the women’s throwers, who helped Ole Miss to its best SEC indoor finish in program history with a fifth-place result in Nashville. Of the school-record 61.5 team points, 33 were by Smith-coached athletes. Ole Miss has its highest national ranking (No. 8) since 2008. Junior Raven Saunders broke the SEC meet record in the shot put (19.07m/62-6.75) and tops the 2017 world rankings with a mark of 19.10m/62-8 from January. JUCO transfer Janeah Stewart also broke an SEC meet record with her NCAA-leading weight throw of 23.18m/76-0.75, an 11-foot improvement since she arrived at Ole Miss. Saunders also ranks No. 8 in the NCAA in the weight throw, and Stewart is No. 8 nationally in the shot put.
Next up for Ole Miss are the NCAA Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday. The Rebels have a school-record 10 entries (five men’s, five women’s) who will contest for national titles in College Station, Texas.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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Ole Miss Volleyball Announces Summer Camp Sessions

As spring approaches, Ole Miss volleyball has announced a slate of four summer camps that will take place in May and July at the soon-to-be newly renovated Gillom Sports Center.
Ole Miss will host four camps this summer beginning with the Elite Camp May 20-21. This camp is open to participants within grades 8-12 who are looking to take their game to the next level.
For those players who want to improve in key areas, volleyball offers two Ole Miss Skills Camps, July 7-8 and July 14-15, for grades 8-12. During the first session, players will spend time in position-specific training, team training and competition sessions. The latter session is designed for players with a strong understanding of the game with an emphasis on refining individual techniques and tactics.
Designed with the younger player in mind the Lil Rebel Day Camp July 10-13 is open to boys and girls, grades 2-8. Campers will learn the basic fundamentals, using drills and games, while feeling the excitement of being successful volleyball players.
Interested participants can find more information on the volleyball camps and register online at www.abcsportscamps.com/rebelvolleyball.
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB. Also follow Coach McRoberts on Twitter, @CoachMcRoberts.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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No. 23 Rebels Top UT Martin to Cap Undefeated Weekend

No. 23 Ole Miss softball completed its undefeated weekend at the Red & Blue Classic, defeating UT Martin, 10-7, Sunday afternoon at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The Rebels (17-2) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over the Skyhawks (15-3), before a late surge by the UT Martin offense tied it up late in the sixth. However, Ole Miss responded with a 3-run sixth to seal the victory and complete the 4-0 weekend.
Alyssa Clayton earned the start in the circle and worked 4.1 innings with three earned runs allowed off four hits and four walks. Morgan Bruce pitched two thirds of an inning late and surrendered a solo home run, before Kaitlin Lee entered to close it out and ultimately earned the win improving to 5-2.
At the plate, Elantra Cox again dominated opposing pitching, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Kylan Becker was 2-for-3 with two runs, while Alyssa Gonzalez and Courtney Syrett also finished 2-for-4.
Sending eight hitters to the plate in the first, the Rebels plated four early runs. Cox and Becker both reached on singles to begin the rally, before Ashton Lampton’s groundout to short moved both runners over. After Miranda Strother walked, Brittany Finney ripped a 2-RBI single to left field putting Ole Miss in front 2-0. On the play, she moved all the way to third after a throw in from the outfield deflected off at the bag, scoring another runner to make it 3-0.
After the defensive mistake, Syrett reached on an infield single scoring Finney, increasing the advantage to 4-0 after one.
In her second at-bat in as many innings, Cox made it 2-for-2 after a single to left, before Becker was hit by a pitch. From there, Gonzalez found a gap in right-center field pushing the lead to 6-0, scoring both Becker and Cox.
But, the Skyhawks responded, plating three in the third off two mistakes defensively. After a leadoff walk and single to right field, UT Martin put down a bunt and Dakota Matiko’s throw went wide scoring a run to make it a 6-1 game. Lauren Myers then punched a 2-RBI double down the line in left, before Clayton stranded two runners in scoring position to escape with a 6-3 lead.
The Rebels got a run back in their half of the fourth when Syrett doubled to left-center field with one out, before Matiko drew a walk and Cox drove in Schneider, who pinch ran, off a single up the middle. The Skyhawks put a runner on in the fourth after an infield single, but a 5-4-3 double play around the horn ended any threat, keeping the score at 7-3.
From there, UT Martin began its comeback, as they got one run off a wild pitch, and another off a single chasing Clayton in the circle. They finished the inning with the pair of runs, cutting the Ole Miss lead to 7-5 after five.
A leadoff home run in the sixth made it 7-6, before the Skyhawks evened it up off a successful double steal.
But, the Rebels fought back, sending seven batters to the dish to mount the rally. Becker reached to lead off on a single just in front of the catcher, but was cut down at second on a fielders’ choice. After Gonzalez reached on a single to the shortstop, Strother drove in Paige McKinney, who pinch ran, regaining the lead, 8-7. With Strother at second and Gonzalez at third after the throw in, Sarah Van Schaik stepped in to pinch hit, and drove in two for a 2-RBI pinch-hit single, capping the 3-run sixth and completing the scoring for the contest.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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