Ole Miss Track Travels West To New Mexico

The Ole Miss men’s and women’s track teams are back in action this weekend with a trip to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational that will feature many of the nation’s top athletes.
The two-day meet on Friday and Saturday will be the Rebels’ last tuneup before the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships. A total of 29 institutions will be represented at the high-altitude facility, as well as a number of world-class level professionals.
The 25th-ranked Ole Miss men will compete at the Albuquerque Convention Center, which will also host the upcoming NCAA Championships, alongside fellow USTFCCCA ranked teams in No. 3 Oregon, No. 8 Arizona, No. 12 UTEP, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 20 Stanford, No. 21 Akron and No. 24 USC.
The Rebel women will square off against such ranked teams as No. 2 Oregon, No. 9 Stanford, No. 13 UCLA, No. 20 Akron, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 23 Arizona.
“The altitude is definitely going to be an adjustment for us,” Rebel head coach Brian O’Neal said. “We always talk about hydration, but particularly when you go into high-altitude places we need to make sure we stay hydrated. It is the site of the NCAA Championships. We’re staying in the same hotel we plan to stay in for NCAAs, so we’ll get to know what we want to eat and if there’s anything we want to adjust from this meet as we move forward to the national championships.”
Friday’s schedule begins with field events at 5 p.m. CT and running events at 7 p.m. CT. The action begins at11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday and will last until about 4 p.m. CT.
One of the meet’s main attractions will be Friday night’s showdown between the current top two men’s pole vaulters in the country in Akron’s Shawn Barber (18-6.75) and Ole Miss’ Sam Kendricks (18-4.75). Barber recently overtook the nation’s top mark from Kendricks, who is the reigning NCAA outdoor champion. Barber was third at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Other highly ranked Rebels scheduled to compete include Jalen Miller, Mike Granger and Kailo Moore in the 60 meters, Robert Semien in the 60-meter hurdles, Malcolm Davis in the long jump and Robert Domanic and Daniel Bulmer in the mile. On the women’s side, Kierra White is expected to lead the way in the women’s invitational long jump.
Also, men’s distance runners Trevor Gilley and Sean Tobin will run on Saturday at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.
Below is a listing of the top times and marks by Ole Miss athletes this year.
Ole Miss Athlete, Event, Mark (NCAA Rank)
Sam Kendricks, pole vault, 18-4.75 (2)
Phillip Young, triple jump, 52-2.5 (9)
Jalen Miller, 60m, 6.62 (11)
DMR (Domanic, Griffin, Tobin, Bulmer), 9:40.17 (12)
Robert Semien, 60m hurdles, 7.81 (17)
Mike Granger, 60m, 6.69 (20)
Malcolm Davis, long jump, 24-3.75 (40)
Fabia McDonald, pentathlon, 3,989 (14)
Fabia McDonald, long jump, 20-3.5 (17)
Kierra White, long jump, 20-0.25 (30)
Jhorden Hunter, 60m, 7.42 (37)
— Ole Miss Sports Information