Track & Field

Ole Miss Track and Field Shines at Vanderbilt Invitational with Records and Event Wins

Ole Miss track and field posted record-breaking performances, six event wins, and standout debuts while closing a strong weekend at Vanderbilt.

Published

8 months ago

January 18, 2026

Hotty Toddy News Services

Ole Miss pole vaulter clears the bar during an indoor meet, fully extended mid-air in a blue Rebels uniform with an American flag blurred behind.

Ole Miss track and field put together a complete weekend in Nashville, closing out the Vanderbilt Invitational with multiple event wins, record-setting performances, and strong debuts across both squads.

The Rebels set the tone on Friday with one of the top moments of the meet. In the men’s 600 meters, redshirt junior Carson Turner broke the Ole Miss indoor school record with a winning time of 1:16.72. He was followed closely by Cade Flatt in 1:17.21 and Max Armstrong in 1:17.45, giving Ole Miss a clean sweep and three performances that all surpassed the previous program mark. The older record remains the standard-track record due to facility size, but the showing marked a major statement from the Rebel distance group.

Ole Miss controlled the throwing events throughout the weekend, starting with the men’s weight throw on day one. Senior Tarik Robinson O’Hagan claimed another decisive win, while Bryson Smith and Mason Hickel rounded out the top three. Robinson O’Hagan added to his weekend haul on Saturday by winning the shot put with a throw of 20.37 meters, continuing a dominant stretch that has made him one of the most consistent throwers in the country. Freshman Ashton Hearn finished second with a personal best that moved him up the Ole Miss indoor record list.

Saturday’s action shifted much of the spotlight to the sprints, where Ole Miss made its presence felt in both 60 meter dash competitions. Junior Royanah Farmer delivered an impressive debut weekend as a Rebel, posting personal bests of 7.40 and 7.35 in the prelims and semifinals. Both times ranked among the fastest in school history and were the quickest of the meet, even though she did not run the final. Freshman Myla Reed also advanced to the semifinals in her collegiate debut, setting a personal best of 7.66.

On the men’s side, junior college transfer Dekell Minor wasted little time making his mark. Minor ran 6.74 in the prelims and improved to 6.72 in the semifinals, placing him seventh in Ole Miss history after just two races in a Rebel uniform. Wesley Todd added a pair of personal bests of his own while advancing alongside Minor.

The Rebels also continued their success in relay competition. Ole Miss won the men’s 4×400 meter relay for the second straight meet, with Joshua Knox, Cade Flatt, Wesley Todd, and Carson Turner combining for a time of 3:10.53. The performance followed last week’s win at Kentucky and came just outside the program’s all-time top ten.

In the field events, sophomore Lily Beattie delivered one of the top performances of the weekend for the women. Beattie won the pole vault with an indoor personal best clearance of 4.15 meters, reinforcing her position among the top vaulters in program history. Fellow sophomore Katie McFarland finished second with a season-best mark. The women also found success in the triple jump, where freshmen and sophomores posted multiple personal bests and added depth to the Ole Miss all-time lists.

Multi-event competition rounded out the weekend for the Rebels. Freshman William Numnum finished fifth overall in the men’s heptathlon, scoring 4,483 points across two days. His total already ranks among the top marks in school history and highlighted a strong collegiate debut. Earlier in the weekend, the women’s pentathlon group delivered solid first outings as well, led by freshman Carmela Coulter’s top ten finish.

By the time the meet concluded, Ole Miss had claimed six total event wins across two days and posted numerous personal bests, school list performances, and promising debuts. The Rebels will take next week off before returning to action at the Bob Pollock Invitational in Clemson on Jan. 30 and 31, carrying momentum built from a productive weekend in Nashville.

Rebels

Ole Miss Men’s Track Checks In at No. 21 in Week Four USTFCCCA Rating Index

The Rebels landed at No. 21 in the latest USTFCCCA Rating Index with 115.23 points this week.

Published

5 months ago

April 21, 2026

Andy Hodges

NEW ORLEANS — The Ole Miss men’s track and field team has held its spot in the national conversation, landing at No. 21 in the Week Four USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index released Tuesday morning.

The Rebels totaled 115.23 points in the computer-based ranking system, which uses an algorithm to assign point values to individual performances and then adds them up to build each school’s national score.

It’s the fourth straight week the men’s program has appeared in the outdoor rankings this season — a streak that shows how consistently the Rebs have been competing at a high level across multiple events.

Thrower Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan was the program’s biggest contributor to the team total. He earned 34.89 points with his shot put mark of 20.86 meters (68 feet, 5.25 inches) which ranked first nationally.

He also added 30.21 points in the hammer throw with a toss of 77.62 meters (254 feet, 7 inches) ranking third in the country. Together, Robinson-O’Hagan accounted for 65.10 of Ole Miss’s 115.23 total points — more than half the team’s score on his own.

Triple jumper Sterling Scott was the next biggest contributor, posting a mark of 16.43 meters (53 feet, 10.75 inches) that ranked sixth nationally and added 21.78 points to the Rebels’ total.

The Ole Miss 4×100-meter relay team of Minor, Urrutia, Todd and Wright chipped in 11.22 points with an 11th-ranked time of 38.98 seconds.

That group’s contribution helped round out what’s been a strong combination of field events and track events for the Rebs this spring.

Distance runner Kidus Misgina appeared twice on the scoring sheet. He ranked 22nd in the 5K with a time of 13:31.19 and 30th in the 10K at 28:17.69, combining for 3.29 points.

Bryson Smith added 2.19 points in the hammer with a 22nd-ranked throw of 67.16 meters (220 feet, 4 inches).

Sergio Del Barrio contributed 1.81 points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:38.05 while Arvesta Troupe added 1.29 points in the high jump with a clearance of 2.15 meters (7 feet, 0.75 inches).

Dekell Minor also scored 1.28 points individually with a 25th-ranked time of 10.14 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

Women’s Team Also Represented

The Ole Miss women’s program came in at No. 44 in the same index with 46.67 points. Shot putter Akaoma Odeluga was the driving force behind that score.

She ranked second nationally in the shot put with a mark of 19.23 meters (63 feet, 1 inch) worth 32.65 points and added 4.47 more in the hammer with a throw of 64.56 meters (211 feet, 9 inches) ranked 18th.

The women’s 4×100 relay team of Farmer, Compere, Lockette and Burnett contributed 4.98 points with a 17th-ranked time of 43.65 seconds.

Long jumper Lizzie Hatton added 1.25 points and pole vaulter Lily Beattie contributed 1.02 points with a clearance of 4.30 meters (14 feet, 1.25 inches).

Sprinter Patchnalie Compere also showed up on the scoring sheet twice, earning 0.91 points in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.94 seconds and 0.01 points in the 100-meter dash at 11.35 seconds.

Head coach Connie Price-Smith, now in her 11th year leading the program, has guided the Rebels to 77 of the team’s 141 total outdoor ranking appearances across both the men’s and women’s programs in combined program history — 30 for the men and 47 for the women.

Ole Miss doesn’t compete this week. The Rebs return to action May 2 at the LSU Invite.