Kelby ZendejasOle Miss men’s and women’s track and field shattered two school records and scored historic numbers at the Razorback Invite events over the weekend.
Mario Garcia Romo started the record-breaking tallies in the men’s 3K race, clocking in with a time of 7:48.40. The reigning SEC cross country champion finished fourth, hit a 17-second personal record and shattered the previous school record of 7:54.58.
Garcia Romo took to Twitter after his win. “A year ago I did a 30’ bike ride in the morning and 45’ of aqua-jogging in the afternoon,” he said. “Worked pretty hard to get here, but we still have a long way to go. Shout-out @ryanvanhoy and @OleMissTrack, can’t wait to see what’s waiting for us in the next months!”
Closely behind Garcia Romo was All-American Waleed Suliman, clocking in at 7:54.57 with freshman Cole Bullock clocking a time of 8:00.13 for a No. 7 finish.
During the men’s mile event, senior Everett Smulders became the fourth Rebel to break the four-minute mile as he clocked a three-second personal record of 3:58.93. His time sits as the fourth-best in school history, and Smulders is currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA.
On the women’s team, sophomore Loral Winn broke the university’s women’s mile record after senior Anna Elkin did so during the Commodore Indoor event with a time of 4:46.23. Winn clocked a six-second personal record of 4:45.60.
In the men’s 800-meter event, distance runner Baylor Franklin earned the No. 1 spot with his personal record of 1:48.59. The time sits at No. 6 all-time at the school and is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA. In the women’s event, transfer Sintayehi Vissa finished No. 4 overall, clocking in with a six-second personal record of 2:06.45. Her time sits at the fourth-best in Ole Miss history and No. 11 in the NCAA.
Sophomore Lyndsey Reed placed third in the women’s pole vaulting event, with a personal record height at 4.15m. The personal record sets her at No. 4 all-time.
With an exceptional performance under its wing, the men’s and women’s track and field teams will travel to South Carolina on Feb. 5-6 for the South Carolina Invite.
