Quick Hits
*Arkansas signee John Scott Kendricks, the current Mississippi High School Boys Pole Vault record holder, continues his reign on the Mississippi Pole Vault scene with back-to-back wins at the at the Golden Wave Invitational and Oxford Relays. That marks 17 wins for the Oxford senior.
*Aryn Eady, a standout in thrower in MHSAA 6A, recorded two lifetime bests in the Shot Put and Discus at the Riley Walker Relays, hosted by Bay Senior High School, heaving tosses of 134-1 in the Discus and 35-4 in the Shot Put, respectively. The D'Iberville junior is now ranked No. 2 in Mississippi in the Discus, and No. 6 in the Shot Put.
*Mississippi State signee Roury McCloyen, who is coming off a national title at Adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va., opened up his outdoor season at the Bianca Knight Invitational. The Greenville, Miss. native won the Shot Put and Discus in state-leading marks of 56-1.5 and 174-3, respectively.
*Mississippi Middle School sensation Alexis Mosley has successfully stayed undefeated this season, winning the 100m dash at the Brave Invitational in 12.65 seconds. She remains as the top 8th-grader, as well as No. 11 in the country.
*It was a High School Girls High Jump showdown at the Falcon Relays, as South Panola's Emerie Johnson and Presley Morris, as well as Starkville Academy's Rylee Fisher, all amassed the 5-4 barrier, with Johnson taking the win off of misses in the competition.
*400-meter man Zech Pratt Jr. of Tupelo snagged his third win in a row at the Pontotoc Invitational, with the sub-50 second barrier surely on the horizon.
*Lania McDonald, the state leader in the High School Girls 400m dash, continued her Mississippi undefeated streak in her specialty event, winning the Varsity Girls 400m dash in 59.57 over a stacked field at the Bianca Knight Invitational.
*D'Iberville's Iyana Washington leaped up the state rankings in the Mississippi High School Girls 400m dash, running a lifetime best 59.22 seconds. Washington, who finished fifth in last year's MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships in this event, is now ranked No. 6 in Mississippi, as well as No. 5 in MHSAA 6A.
*Katelyn Hulsey, the reigning MHSAA 6A Pole Vault Champion, won the Northwest Rankin v. Brandon dual meet in her specialty event with a vault of 12-0.
*Mississippi State signee Kennedy Stringfellow kept his unblemished resume, winning the 200m and Long Jump at a Northwest Rankin-Brandon dual meet in impressive marks of 21.80 and 23-6.5, respectively.
*The Varsity Girls 800m run at the Jackson Academy Invitational was a spectacle witness for fans in Raider Park, with private school studs Olivia Smith, Riz McBride, Gracie Atkinson, and Layla Warren. Smith, the top ranked 800m runner in all of Mississippi, kept her undefeated streak, but only narrowly, as MSAIS 6A rival McBride, one of the top middle school 800m runners in the country came in just half a second behind Smith, 2:26.5 to 2:27.1, respectively.
*Marquise Washington had himself a day at the Riley Walker Relays, adding three more wins to his 2023 track and field resume. Additionally, the D'Iberville junior is now ranked No. 4 in Mississippi in the High School Boys 200m dash thanks to his new 21.98 lifetime best in the event.
*Corinth's Ross Evans has become a sleeper pick in both the 800m and 1600m in MHSAA 4A. Recently, Evans put down two lifetime bests of 2:03 and 4:36 in the 800m and 1600m, respectively.
*Recent University of Southern Miss Addison McLaurin dominated at a dual meet between Northwest Rankin and Brandon, winning the 100m, 200m, and 400m, achieving MileSplit Mississippi 1st-Team marks in all three events.
*Hurdle superstar Kendrell Robertson, the reigning MHSAA 3A 110mH and 300mH Champion, has continued his dominance in that event with wins at the Southwest Mississippi Showcase.
*Sophie Santucci proved herself to be the best middle distance runner in the Tupelo metro area, and maybe even MHSAA 6A, on her home turf at the Golden Triangle Relays, winning the Varsity Girls 800m run in a lifetime best of 2:27.47.
*Fellow Tupelo teammate Brookelyn Morgan continued to prove herself as potentially the most aggressive 3200m runner in Mississippi, winning her fourth race in a row at that distance at the Pontotoc Invitational. The 2 x MHSAA 6A 3200m Champion continued to lead the state with her season's best of 11:33.1. Additionally, the Tupelo Sophomore just recently won the 1600m at the Golden Wave Invitational in 5:34.2.
*Mississippi College signee Katie Gates of Columbia High School has been running the show in MHSAA 4A in multiple events. Just last week, Gates put down MHSAA 4A-leading marks in the 100mH, 300mH, and Long Jump, and now owns lifetime bests of 15.00 seconds in the 100mH and 34-4 in the Long Jump.
*Evie Ewing, one of the most prominent athletes in the MSAIS, earned three wins at the Jackson Academy Invitational in the 100m, 200m, and Long Jump. She continued to lead the MSAIS in every sprinting event from the 100m-400m, as well as the Long Jump, and is looking to be a big-time point scorer for the Lady Patriots.
*Denasia Johnson, just a freshman, cleared 5-0 at the Junior Mavericks Invitational, and could potentially score some valuable points for the Lady Pirates at the 2023 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships.
*Hartfield Academy's Ella Rankin, a 4 x MSAIS Champion, has unsurprisingly been dominant in the distance events, making it four straight wins thus far this outdoor season.
*Omari Hampton continued his undefeated streak in the 100m and 200m on his home track at the Bianca Knight Invitational, winning in 10.78 and 22.14, respectively, running into a tough headwind. *NOTE: His MileSplit profile will show 2nd at the Southern Miss Invitational, as Brandon's Kennedy Stringfellow ran a faster time than him in a different heat. The pair have yet to face off against each other.*
*Canton High's Antoine Spillman recorded his third 400m win in a row over a stacked field at the Bianca Knight Invitational, and continues to lead MHSAA 5A in the event.
*Reigning MHSAA 4A Cross Country Champion Lukas Dykes achieved his first-ever sub-10 3200m in his career, winning the Pontotoc Invitational in 9:57. The Blue Mountain College signee also ran 4:32 to win the 1600m.
*Ethan Belcher is now No. 2 in Mississippi in the High School Boys Pole Vault, vaulting 13-8 to win the Gulf Coast Classic, a new lifetime best for the Tupelo senior.
*Warren Central's Jonathan Henderson continued his undefeated streak in the High Jump, clearing 6-6 to win the Vicksburg High Invitational.
*Shaneal Corpuz of Biloxi won the weekend in the Shot Put, taking the Gulf Coast Classic in a new lifetime best of 40-8. The Biloxi senior now ranks No. 2 in Mississippi and No. 75 in the country in the event.
*It was a potential preview of what fans can expect at the 2023 MHSAA 5A Track and Field Championships 300mH final between Callaway's Rkhyzon Cleveland and Hattiesburg's Javarius Molden at the Bianca Knight Invitational. On this occasion, Cleveland took the win over Molden, 39.07 to Molden's 39.59, respectively.