The Ole Miss Rebels had a red-letter day this Friday as the NCAA Track Championship came to a close. The Rebels had five male athletes competing in four different events earning valuable points for the team.
The Rebel men ended up with nine total points, good enough for 26th place. Among the competitors on Friday were junior Robert Domanic, who placed sixth in the men’s 1500 meter final with a time of 3:41.71, sophomore Craig Engels, who finished seventh in the men’s 1500 meter final with a time of 3:43.23, senior Ryan Walling, who completed the 5000 meter race in just 13:31.30 for a new personal and school record as well as seventh place honors, sophomore MJ Erb, who finished 8th in the 3000 meter steeplechase final with a time of 8:43.81, and senior Branden Greene, who 2.14 meters on the high jump to take eleventh place.
The 5000 meter race on Friday would prove to be a memorable one for senior Ryan Walling as he ran both his fastest, and final, race in an Ole Miss uniform. Not only did he smash his personal record but he also bested the previous school record by 15 seconds. His seventh place finish was the second best in school history, falling only to Pablo Sierra who finished in 4th place in 1993. Walling, who transferred in this year from the University of North Carolina, will end his brief tenure as a Rebel as a two time All-American and two time SEC Champion.
Dempsey McGuigan (8th place hammer throw), Robert Domanic, MJ Erb, and Craig Engels have received first team All-American honors for finishing in the top 8 competitors.
Craig Engels and Robert Domanic, who combined for five points in the 1500 meter final, mark the first pair of All-American athletes competing in the same event in Ole Miss history.
The Rebel women accrued a total of 10 points, good enough for sixth place going into Saturday, but do not have any remaining events. Sophomore shot putter Raven Saunders was undoubtedly the highlight as she threw for 19.33 meters, earning her not only first place and the honor of first team All-America, but a new collegiate record. To put her throw into perspective, she now ranks seventh on the list of all-time women’s shot putters.
All in all, the Ole MIss Track Program, under first-year coach Connie Price-Smith, produced one collegiate record, one NCAA champion, two broken school records, six first team All-American competitors and thirteen total All-American athletes.
Several athletes, including Saunders, Engels and Erb, will now continue training in a bid to earn a spot at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
