April 28, 2012

DES MOINES, Iowa – Junior All-American Isiah Young broke the school record Saturday in the 100 meters with a victorious time of 10.08 to highlight Ole Miss’ performance during the final day of competition in front of a record-tying crowd of 14,504 at the Drake Relays held at Drake Stadium.

The previous 100-meter school record of 10.11 seconds was set by Greg Saddler in 1994. Young entered the meet ranked seventh nationally in the event and now has broken the school record for both the 100 and 200 meters this year. Young’s 100-meter title is the second ever captured by a Rebel at the Drake Relays. Teammate Mike Granger won the event at the 2010 Relays.

“We are really proud of how our team performed - a couple more Drake titles and a school record!” Rebel head coach Joe Walker said. “Isiah had a great meet. It was a great (100) race for him and he also ran very well in the 200.”

The only collegiate athlete among the 200-meter special field on Saturday, Young finished second only to U.S. Olympian Wallace Spearmon. Young clocked a time of 20.34, which is only .01 seconds off his career-best and school-record time of 20.33, which occurred earlier this month.

Fellow junior All-American Ricky Robertson finished second in the high jump special section. Competing against all professionals, Robertson, the current national leader in the event, jumped a height of 7-4.25, which tied him with USA’s Jamie Nieto but placed second based on misses.

Saturday also witnessed senior All-American Carson Blanks capture the 400-meter hurdles title and Katie Breathitt break her previous school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Blanks, a native of Meridian, clocked a time of 50.70 to win the long hurdles. He entered the weekend ranked 14th nationally in the event and should move up slightly with Saturday’s result. Blanks’ 400-meter hurdle title marks the third consecutive year a Rebel has won the event at the Drake Relays. Former Rebel Lee Ellis Moore won the event in 2010 and 2011.

“I felt like this was going to be a good day,” Blanks said. “I kind of held back and saw how everyone else was competing. I made my final move on the backstretch. It was a lot better weather today.”

Breathitt, a junior from Lexington, Ky., finished 10th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a new school record time of 10:37.59. She broke her previous school record in the event, which occurred last year when she produced a time of 10:39.95.

Sophomore Kentrell Sanders, who entered the Relays ranked 11th nationally in the triple jump, placed third in the event Saturday with a jump of 52-0.

On Friday, both pole vaulters Sam Kendricks and Neal Tisher finished fourth with quality marks. Kendricks ranks top 10 among men in the nation, while Tisher is in the top 25 of women pole vaulters this year.

The weekend also saw the Rebel women’s distance medley relay team of Haley Cutright, Jasmine Williams, Tia Leake and Kayleigh Skinner put together a relay time of 11:48.00, which now ranks as the second-fastest distance medley relay time in school history.

The Rebels have next weekend off, but will return to action in Baton Rouge, La., for the Southeastern Conference Championships May 10-13.

AGATE

MEN

100-Meter Finals
1. Isiah Young – 10.08 (SR)

100-Meter Prelims (Friday)
1. Isiah Young – 10.37

200-Meter Special
2. Isiah Young – 20.34

1,500 Meters
6. Riley Young – 3:54.47

400-Meter Hurdles
1. Carson Blanks – 50.70

4x100 Meter Relay Prelims (Friday)
7. Serrette, I. Young, Griffin, Shields – 40.84

4x400 Meter Relay Finals
6. Oliver, Blanks, Word, Griffin – 3:09.83

4x400 Meter Relay Prelims (Friday)
8. Oliver, Griffin, Word, Blanks – 3:10.19

High Jump Special
2. Ricky Robertson – 7-04.25

Long Jump (Friday)
17. Caleb Lee - 22-08.00

Triple Jump
3. Kentrell Sanders – 52-00.00
Morris Kersh – FOUL

Pole Vault (Friday)
4. Sam Kendricks – 17-04.50

WOMEN

100-Meter Finals
7. Jasmine Williams – 11.76

100 Meters Prelims (Friday)
2. Jasmine Williams – 12.07

5,000 Meters (Thursday)
Logan Waites – DNF

100-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Friday)
15. Taryn Hartfield – 14.40
19. Fabia McDonald – 14.52

400-Meter Hurdles
17. Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen – 60.96

3,000 Meter Steeplechase
10. Katie Breathitt – 10:37.59 (SR)
19. Kelsey Breathitt – 11:03.80

4x100 Meter Relay Finals
6. Russell, Hartfield, J. Williams, Bridges – 47.07

4x100 Meter Relay Prelims (Friday)
7. Russell, Hollingsworth, J. Williams, Bridges – 45.98

4x400 Meter Relay Finals
8. J. Williams, Hellberg-Jonsen, M. Williams, Bridges – 3:46.66

4x400 Meter Relay Prelims (Friday)
1. Hollingsworth, Hellberg-Jonsen, M. Williams, Bridges – 3:37.62

4x1600 Meter Relay (Thursday)
8. Cutright, Skinner, Threlkeld, Breathitt - 19:57.12

Distance Medley Relay (Friday)
11. Cutright, J. Williams, Leake, Skinner – 11:48.00

Long Jump
6. Marci Morman – 19-01.25
7. Deonna Walton – 19-00.75
13. Fabia McDonald – 18-05.00
17. Rachel Jenkins – 17-11.00

Triple Jump
12. Marci Morman – 40-06.25
22. Aria Gaines – 39-00.25

Pole Vault (Friday)
4. Neal Tisher – 13-01.50