Sophomore Raven Saunders put herself in the record books yesterday at the NCAA Championship meet. The defending NCAA shot put champion threw the 8.8 pound shot put an astounding 63 feet, far enough to claim the women’s collegiate record. To put that throw in perspective, a standard bowling lane is only 60 feet long.
Her drive to succeed is evident upon recognition of past accomplishments which including a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Junior Championships, recognition as the 2014 Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year and a gold medal from last year’s NCAA Championship shot put competition. In fact, she is not only the first female shot put champion from the University of Mississippi, but her throw on Thursday earned her the number seven position in the all-time women’s shot put rankings. Her accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider that Saunders, a marketing major, is still only 20.
Saunders now holds both the NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put records. Saunders will head to Eugene, Oregon next month to begin Olympic trials.
Also competing on Thursday, the Ole Miss Women’s 4×100 meter relay team, comprised of sophomore Nicole Henderson, sophomore Shannon Ray, junior Breanna Tate and senior Khadijah Suleman, finished 16th overall with a time of 44.56 seconds. Their achievement earned themselves second team All-America recognition, something Henderson, Ray and Suleman are familiar with. Last year, they finished seventh at the meet with the help of Jhorden Hunter and received the same honor.
Ole Miss sophomore Lindsey Murray made waves yesterday by finishing tied for 15th at the pole vault after clearing 4.05 meters (approximately 13.3 feet). Her vault was good enough to also earn her second team All-American honors.
The Rebels are currently tied for sixth place on the women’s side of the NCAA Championship with 10 points and 39th on the men’s side with one point. There is plenty of action today as Branden Greene takes on the men’s high jump at 7:00 pm, followed by Robert Domanic and Craig Engels in the men’s 1500m final at 7:42 pm, MJ Erb in the men’s 3000m steeple final at 7:54 pm and finally Ryan Walling in the men’s 5000m final at 9:25 pm. You can watch these events on WatchESPN and ESPN, with the exception of Greene’s jump, which will only be available on ESPN.
