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Track team unbeaten at home 
The Mississippi State men's and women's track and field squad finished the 2000 outdoor home schedule undefeated for the second consecutive year by winning Saturday's fifth annual Jace Lacoste Invitational. Coach Al Schmidt's squad claimed 10 first-place finishes en route to a pair of team victories at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track. A complete team effort for MSU, nine of the 10 wins came from nine different athletes, with the 10th win a relay race. The 10th victory came in the women's 4x400-meter relay as the MSU squad of LaToya Stephens, Ann-Marie Anderson, Janice Zawaski and Andrea Ingleton set a school record in the event with a clocking of 3:39.54, that bettered the previous school best of 3:41.13 set in 1993. That mark also set a Jace Lacoste Invitational record, one of the 11 meet records that were set during Saturday's events. Junior Elisha Williams led the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points in four events, while junior thrower Trish Curtis finished just behind with 13. Williams claimed top honors and a meet record in the long jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 20-6 1/4. Curtis bettered her own school record in discus throw, set in last weekend's Mississippi State Invitational with a second-place toss of 138-8. Jumpers also led the way for the Bulldogs, as State claimed victories in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. Juniors Ian Robertson and Vance Clarke both claimed NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the the triple jump. Robertson won the event with a jump of 51-10 to rank third-best in school history, while Clarke now stands fourth among MSU's all-time leaders with a runner-up effort of 51-6 1/2. Winning the two other jumping events for MSU were senior Rod Newton in the high jump and freshman Iheanyi Obia in the long jump. Also claiming top honors for the Bulldogs were junior Matt Caton (hammer, 153-2) and freshman Kevin Pittman (pole vault, 15-1). On the women's side, freshmen Joey Hansen (3,000 meters, 10:52.36) and Ronni Watjus (5,000, 18:37.50) claimed top honors, as well as Ingleton, who claimed a personal best in the 400-meter dash in a time of 53.81 to rank second-best in school history. The Lady Bulldogs finished first with 138 points, defeating SEC foe Alabama with 129 and Tulane with 77, while the Bulldogs won the dual meet with 102 points, to the Green Wave's 71. Schmidt's squad continues its 2000 season today at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Penn. |
