Ole Miss Women’s Track & Field Wraps Regional with Four More National Berths

Ole Miss women’s track & field had an excellent day, collecting four additional national qualifying berths to close out the Rebels’ stay at the 2023 NCAA East Region Preliminary Round Championships on Saturday.

Those four new tickets push Ole Miss’ combined men’s and women’s total for the outdoor national meet to 11 entries from 11 athletes, tied for the fourth-most entries in school history. Under eighth year head coach Connie Price-Smith, the Rebels have had at least nine NCAA entries each season. Prior to her arrival in 2016, Ole Miss had tallied nine or more national entries outdoors six times in program history.

Senior sprinter McKenzie Long took care of business in superb fashion on Saturday, punching all three of her tickets to NCAAs. Long will enter the national meet as a serious title contender in the 100 and 200-meter dashes while also playing a crucial role on the Rebel 4×100-meter relay.

The relay is what got the rally going for Ole Miss on Saturday, as the foursome of Long, freshman Gabrielle Matthews and seniors Jayda Eckford and Ariyonna Augustine passed the stick in 43.93 to finish third in Heat Three for an automatic qualifying bid to Austin. This is the eighth straight year Ole Miss has qualified in the 4×100-meter relay and the 14th time overall in school history.

This is the first 4×100 national berth for both Long and Matthews, the second for Augustine as a member of the Ole Miss squad, and it also marks an incredible fourth consecutive NCAA ticket on the relay for Eckford.

Long was back on the track fewer than two hours later for the 100-meter quarterfinal, where she cruised to the top qualifying time out of the East, winning and punching her second ticket of the night at 11.00 (+2.7). Long has now hit or broken the vaunted 11.00 barrier in the 100-meter dash four times this season since her show-stopping 10.80 (+3.5) back at the Texas Relays on March 31.

Remarkably, less than an hour later Long was back on the track to continue her dominant night and snag her final national ticket in the 200-meter dash quarterfinal. Long glided to a win and automatic NCAA berth at 22.46 (+2.8), completing an impressive trifecta.

Long is now just the sixth Rebel woman to ever attempt a triple at the outdoor national meet, and the first to qualify in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4×100-meter in the same year. She is just the third Rebel to ever qualify in the 100-meter dash, and she is one of two to attempt the 100/200 double alongside multiple time All-American Teneeshia Jones, who did so three times from 1999-2001.

Worldwide this season, Long stands among the elite sprinters heading into the big stage of the collegiate season at the NCAA meet two weeks from now. Long is one of two collegians and one of just five women’s sprinters worldwide this year – alongside professionals Sha’Carri Richardson, Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Tamari Davis, and Texas senior Julien Alfred – to be wind-legal (2.0 or less) at 11.00 and 22.31 across the 100-meter and 200-meter races.

Senior and reigning SEC steeplechase champion Kristel van den Berg booked passage to Texas following a gutsy performance in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase on Saturday. She had the advantage of knowing the time to beat by being in the third and final heat, and despite falling off the lead pack, stayed the course and claimed the final time qualifier slot at 10:03.25. At 1:17.40, van den Berg clocked the second-fastest final lap in the heat to put her over the edge and into qualifying position.

van den Berg is just the third Rebel to ever qualify in the steeplechase, joining Shelby Brown (2017, ’18) and Lisa Vogelgesang (2019).

Ole Miss nearly had a fifth ticket earlier in the day, but fell one spot shy in a heartbreaking conclusion to the women’s high jump competition. Senior Sara Van Aken – fresh off a career-best heptathlon at the SEC Championships two weeks ago – cleared a PR height of 1.77m/5-09.75 to put her right on the bubble in 11th place, but missed at the next height of 1.82m/5-11.50.

From there, the waiting game began to see if any of the five still alive in the competition ranked below Van Aken could clear the bar to leapfrog her for the ticket to Austin. Van Aken fell to 12th on the first round of attempts, but on the third and final round was knocked out after a clearance by Jacksonville’s Kristi Snyman bumped Van Aken down to 13th just barely out of reach for nationals.

Ole Miss now has two weeks to prepare for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships, held this year at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium from June 7-10.

Ole Miss National Qualifiers (11 entries, 11 athletes)

Ariyonna Augustine – Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay

Tiarnan Crorken – Men’s 800-Meter

Jayda Eckford – Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay

Baylor Franklin – Men’s 800-Meter

McKenzie Long – Women’s 100-Meter Dash

McKenzie Long – Women’s 200-Meter Dash

McKenzie Long – Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay

Gabrielle Matthews – Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay

Jasmine Mitchell – Women’s Shot Put

Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – Men’s Shot Put

Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – Men’s Hammer

Shey Taiwo – Women’s Hammer

Kristel van den Berg – Women’s 3000-Meter Steeplechase

Ahmad Young Jr. – Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles

REBELS IN DAY FOUR COMPETITION

Women’s 100-Meter Dash – Quarterfinal

1. McKenzie Long – 11.00 (+2.7) AQ – NCAA Qualifier

Women’s 200-Meter Dash – Quarterfinal

1. McKenzie Long – 22.46 (+2.8) AQ – NCAA Qualifier

20. Jayda Eckford – 23.59 (+0.7)

Women’s 5K – Semifinal

24. Loral Winn – 16:21.15

Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles – Quarterfinal

21. Jaiden Paris – 13.39 (+4.4)

Women’s 3000-Meter Steeplechase – Quarterfinal

12. Kristel van den Berg – 10:03.25q – NCAA Qualifier

Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay – Quarterfinal

6. Long, Matthews, Eckford, Augustine – 43.93 AQ – NCAA Qualifier

Women’s High Jump

13. Sara Van Aken – 1.77m/5-09.75 – PR, No. 6 Ole Miss History

Women’s Discus

37. Tedreauna Britt – 46.71m/153-03

REBELS IN DAY THREE COMPETITION

Men’s 800-Meter – Quarterfinal

6. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:50.01 AQ – NCAA Qualifier

16. Baylor Franklin – 1:51.48 AQ – NCAA Qualifier

Men’s 1500-Meter – Quarterfinal

11. Shane Bracken – 3:50.51

21. Dalton Hengst – 3:55.00

Men’s 5K – Semifinal

24. Anthony Camerieri – 14:08.46

40. Dereck Elkins – 14:32.12

Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles – Quarterfinal

7. Ahmad Young Jr. – 13.62q (+5.8) – NCAA Qualifier

Men’s High Jump

T34. Arvesta Troupe – 1.99m/6-06.25

Men’s Triple Jump

18. Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley – 15.38m/50-05.50 (+2.4)

REBELS IN DAY TWO COMPETITION

Women’s 100-Meter Dash – First Round

4. McKenzie Long – 11.07 (+1.2) AQ

48. Ariyonna Augustine – 11.77 (+1.2)

Women’s 200-Meter Dash – First Round

1. McKenzie Long – 22.13 (+2.9) AQ – All-Conditions School Record, No. 5 World All-Conditions, No. 4 U.S. All-Conditions, No. 10 Collegiate History All-Conditions

17. Jayda Eckford – 23.02q (+3.2) – SB

Women’s 1500-Meter – First Round

30. Loral Winn – 4:24.64

Women’s 10K – Semifinal

29. Skylar Boogerd – 34:36.93

Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles – First Round

22. Jaiden Paris – 13.29 (+2.0) AQ

Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles – First Round

28. Gabrielle Matthews – 59.10

Women’s Pole Vault

T23. Samara McConnell – 3.97m/13-00.25

Women’s Shot Put

7. Jasmine Mitchell – 16.97m/55-08.25 – NCAA Qualifier, Outdoor PR, No. 4 Ole Miss History

19. Jalani Davis – 16.15m/53-0

Women’s Hammer

5. Shey Taiwo – 65.33m/214-04 – NCAA Qualifier

18. Jalani Davis – 60.89m/199-09

25. Jasmine Mitchell – 58.12m/190-08

REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION

Men’s 800-Meter – First Round

6. Tiarnan Crorken – 1:48.61 AQ

8. Baylor Franklin – 1:48.96 AQ

Men’s 1500-Meter – First Round

1. Dalton Hengst – 3:44.59 AQ

10. Shane Bracken – 3:45.45 AQ

Men’s 10K – Semifinal

21. Chris Maxon – 29:51.15

37. Ben Savino – 30:42.51

Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles – First Round

19. Ahmad Young Jr. – 13.69 (+2.7) AQ

Men’s Pole Vault

T17. Noah Mumme – 5.20m/17-00.75

T29. Logan Kelley – 5.05m/16-06.75

Men’s Shot Put

3. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – 20.07m/65-10.25 – NCAA Qualifier, School Record, No. 14 U.S., No. 11 NCAA

16. Daniel Viveros – 18.57m/60-11.25

Men’s Hammer

6. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan – 69.27m/227-03 – NCAA Qualifier