Six Ole Miss Athletes Qualify for U.S.A. Olympics Team

Brittney Reese, photo by Joshua McCoy as seen on Facebook.com / Ole Miss Track & Field

Ole Miss had six athletes affiliated with the track and field team qualify for the Olympics in Rio in August.

Raven Saunders, Brittney Reese, Ricky Robertson, Sam Hendricks, Antwan Hicks and Gwen Berry all qualified over the past week to represent the United States.

Raven Saunders is a sophomore at Ole Miss and had a stellar year for the track and field team during the 2015-2016 year. The Charleston, South Carolina native won the outdoor shot put title and set these indoor and outdoor shot put collegiate records during her freshman year. She’s the first Rebel to make the Olympic team as a shot putter.

Brittney Reese is extremely familiar with the Olympics. Reese qualified for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. The long jumper placed fifth in the 2008 Olympics, but four years later rebounded and captured gold during the 2012 contests. She was a two-time NCAA champion during her career at Ole Miss.

Ricky Robertson hasn’t been gone from Oxford long, and the Rebel has already made his mark on the track and field landscape. Robertson is the first Rebel to qualify for the Olympics as a high jumper. Robertson competed at Ole Miss until 2014. He was a three-time NCAA runner-up during his time at Ole Miss and was a seven-time SEC champion.

Sam Kendricks is an Oxford native and has made waves throughout the track and field landscape recently. Kendricks was a two-time national champion in pole vaulting. Kendricks is also a five-time USA champion pole-vaulter. Kendricks is the first Rebel to qualify for the Olympics in the pole vault.

Antwon Hicks competed at Ole Miss more than ten years ago, but the Nigeria native has had success since he’s left Oxford. Hicks was a two-time NCAA champion and six-time All-America during his college days. This is his first trip to the Olympics, and he’ll be competing in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.

Gwen Berry is currently a volunteer assistant coach for the Ole Miss track and field team. Berry is a graduate of Southern Illinois where she was a three-time All-American. She is the first Ole Miss representative to qualify in the hammer-throw.

Collin Brister is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at collin.brister@hottytoddy.com.

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