CLINTON, Miss --- The Mississippi College Track and Field team is preparing to take part in the highly competitive Pittsburg State Invitational in Pittsburg, Kansas. The competition will include the top teams and talents from the NCAA Division II level, including 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Champions and host school Pittsburg State, Northwestern State, and Missouri Southern, as well as other top-tier programs such as Albilene Christian, Butler Community College, and Indian Hills Community College. 

The Choctaws' last outing at the Samford Open in Birmingham consisted of 10 wins, six school records, and 31 lifetime bests, as well as garnering three GSC Performer of the Week awards; Ben Woolhouse and Jan Lukas Becker received the Men's Field Athlete and Track Athlete of the Week, respectively, while Kelechi Christian won the Women's Track Athlete of the Week. 

Previously… 

The Mississippi College Track and Field team dominated the competition at the Samford Open held in Birmingham, Alabama, breaking six school records and winning 10 events.

The competition featured several schools from across the South from all divisions and associations, including NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA. Some notable competitors include Mississippi State University, Samford University, Jackson State University, as well as Gulf South Conference school Shorter University and in-state schools William Carey University, Hinds Community College, The University for Women, and Meridian Community College. 

Kelechi Christian broke two school records; The Women's 60-meter dash in a provisional mark of 7.64, as well as the Women's 200-meter dash in a provisional mark 24.55 for the win. Jan Lukas Becker became the fastest 5,000-meter runner in Mississippi College history, running 14:00.2 to hit a provisional mark and win the Men's 5,000-meter run. Shemar Patten lowered his own school record in the 60-meter hurdles, sprinting to a winning time of 8.09 seconds, also a provisional mark. Ben Woolhouse raised the bar in the Men's Pole Vault, setting the new school record in a provisional mark of 4.80 meters. Lastly, in the final event of the competition, Al Ferrill won the Men's Shot Put in a provisional mark of 16.47 meters, setting the school record in the process.

There were also five other Choctaws that won their respective events; Lauren Wallace broke the tape in the Women's 5,000-meter run in a lifetime best of 17:46.48. Emily Berry won the Women's 1 mile run, stopping the clock in a lifetime best of 5:06.52. Ava Dickerson, a senior from Canton, Mississippi, got her first ever individual Indoor Track and Field career win, winning the Women's 3,000-meter run in a lifetime best of 10:35.79. Mississippi College freshman Haley Hall won the Women's 800-meter run in a lifetime best of 2:17.98, making it a distance event sweep for the Lady Choctaws at the Samford Open. Lastly, Cole Benoit won the Men's 800-meter run in a speedy 1:53.79, an indoor lifetime best for the Carriere, Mississippi native. 

What to look out for

The 2023 Pittsburg State Invitational is shaping up to be one of the premier meets in the Midwest and will feature 100 schools, as well as 16 clubs and numerous unattached athletes. 

The Mississippi College Men's Track and Field team will put a lot of firepower in the Men's 400-meter dash, with 2022 NCAA Division II All-American Niklas Klei leading the way. Klei comes in as the No. 2 seed in a field 54, and his lifetime best of 47.10 will qualify him for the fast section in the Men's 400-meter dash. With a lifetime best of 47.75, Fabio Palmieri, the reigning Gulf South Conference Indoor Track and Field 400-meter champion, will be in the second-fastest heat with a slew of competitors that have gone under 48 seconds for the 400-meter distance. Finally, Connor Stewart and Will Grames will be in the fourth-fastest heat with lifetime bests of 48.38 and 48.45, respectively. That same squad, along with 2022 NCAA Division II All-American Gabe Hodson, will then come back to play a role in the Men's 4x400-meter relay, where they will race the field and go after a national qualifying mark. 

60-meter dash school record holder Kevin Turner and 60-meter hurdles school record holder Shemar Patten will take on the Men's 60-meter dash on Saturday at the Pittsburg State Invitational. Turner's lifetime best of 6.77 seconds has automatically advanced him to the semifinals, while Patten is the No. 2 seed heading into the preliminary rounds. Turner leads the Gulf South Conference in the event and is also No. 11 in NCAA Division II, while Patten is just 0.01 seconds off the provisional standard of 6.86 seconds. Lastly, Turner will double back to compete in the Men's 200-meter dash. 

Ben Woolhouse, a senior from Tupelo, Mississippi, is coming off an indoor lifetime best of 4.80 meters, good enough to win the Samford Open and set the Mississippi College Men's Indoor Track and Field Pole Vault record. Woolhouse now leads the Gulf South Conference in the event, and is also slotted at No. 17 in NCAA Division II. The 2022 Gulf South Conference Indoor Pole Vault runner-up is slotted in at the No. 5 seed in the Men's Pole Vault, and will carry his momentum to Pittsburg, Kansas and rep the blue and gold. 

Essence Tornabene and Al Ferrill hold every Mississippi College Indoor Track and Field throwing event record, and can potentially raise that standard even farther at the Pittsburg State Invitational. Tornabene is entered in the Women's Weight Throw, and is currently ranked No. 1 in the Gulf South Conference No. 17 in NCAA Division II in the event. The Kissimmee, Florida native will also compete in the Women's Shot Put and potentially improve on her season's best and school record of 11.90 meters. Ferrill, alongside freshman phenom Josh Dare, will also be in both the Men's Weight Throw and Shot Put, and will be ready to bring their A-game against a solid field on Saturday. Ferrill currently leads the Gulf South Conference in both events, and is No. 26 in NCAA Division II in the Men's Shot Put. Dare is ranked No. 2 in the Gulf South Conference in the Men's Shot Put, as well as No. 6 in the Men's Weight Throw. 

Kelechi Christian made history at the 2023 Samford Open, setting indoor school records in both the Women's 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. The Lagos, Nigeria native has momentum on her side, and is slated to compete in her two specialty events before potentially tripling back to play a part in the Women's 4x400-meter relay. Christian will be joined by Mississippi College freshman Alana Green, a Tuscaloosa, Alabama native who holds the freshman school record in the Women's 60-meter dash, and is also No. 2 All-time in Mississippi College Women's Indoor Track and Field history in the event. 

Mississippi College Women's Track and Field 3,000-meter record holder Emily Berry will tackle her speciality event at the Pittsburg State Invitational, coming in as the No. 5 seed in the fastest section of the Women's 3,000-meter run. The Tyler, Texas native has found herself on a winning streak, and has crossed the finish line first in her last three competitions, and she will race to extend that winning streak on Saturday. Berry will be joined by Mississippi College senior Ava Dickerson, who is coming off a win in that distance at the Samford Open. 

Honorable Mentions

Lauren Wallace and Jazmin Hernandez have now had two races in a row where they swept the top two spots, and have also yet to finish outside the top five during the 2023 Indoor Track and Field season. The two Lady Choctaws are entered in the Women's 1 mile run, where they will chase the provisional mark of 4:57.54 before they return to compete in the Women's 800-meter run. 

After the Men's 60-meter dash, Patten will come back to race in his specialty event, the Men's 60-meter hurdles, where is entered as the No. 2 seed with a lifetime best of 8.09 seconds. 

Hollis Johnson, a 4:14 miler, made the fast section of the Men's 1 mile, and will be joined in the event by Mississippi College freshman Cooper Parmer, a Pontotoc, Mississippi native that has won three out of four races during the 2023 Indoor Track and Field season. 

Mississippi College freshman Haley Hall, a Wimberly, Texas native that has two wins on her 2023 Indoor Track and Field resume, will join Wallace and Hernandez in the Women's 1-mile and 800-meter run. 2:17 half-miler Leslie Baxter is also slated to compete alongside her teammates in the Women's 800-meter run. 

After the running events, Hall will participate alongside Adrianna Burage in the Women's High jump. Both Hall and Burage are ranked inside the top five in the Gulf South Conference in the Women's High Jump. 

Hilary Udechukwu, a sophomore from Ekeren, Belgium, is slated to run in the Women's 400-meter dash. With a lifetime best of 57.99, Udechukwu is currently No. 3 in the Gulf South Conference, and will aim to improve upon that ranking and gain experience competing against a national-caliber field. She will also double back in the Women's 200-meter dash before potentially playing a role in the Women's 4x400-meter relay.