COLUMBIA, S.C. --- The Mississippi College Track and Field team made a major statement at the South Carolina Invitational, adding four school records and achieving 16 provisional standard marks. The performance was yet another testament to the talented roster of athletes and dedicated coaching staff at Mississippi College.

With 26 school records broken this season, the Mississippi College Track and Field team is rapidly making a name for itself both in the Gulf South Conference and nationally. At the South Carolina Invitational, several athletes stood out with remarkable performances, including Kelechi Christian who broke the school records in the Women's 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash with a provisional time of 24.44 seconds and 56.87 seconds, and Hunter Kurz, who won the Men's 3000-meter run in a lifetime best and provisional standard of 8:07.9.

History was made in the relays as well. In the Men's Distance Medley Relay, Christian Balcer, Fabio Palmieri, Cole Benoit, and Kurz put on a show to win in a provisional standard and school record of 9:44.6, skyrocketing to No. 2 in NCAA Division II. Soon after, the Men's 4x400-meter relay squad of Gabe Hodson, Will Grames, Niklas Klei, and Connor Stewart broke the school record in a provisional standard of 3:13.5, now ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II. 

After yet another successful weekend, the Choctaws will now set their eyes on performing to the best of their abilities at the 2023 Gulf South Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, to be held February 14-15 in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Post-meet field statistics

In the Men's Long jump, Niklas Klei leaped to a lifetime best of 7.26 meters, hitting the provisional standard and now ranked No. 1 in the Gulf South Conference. 

Al Ferrill, the school record holder in the Men's Shot Put and Weight Throw, posted top 10 finishes in the invite section at the South Carolina Invitational. The Tickfaw, La. native threw 15.48 meters in the Shot Put and 17.23 meters in the Weight Throw. 

In the Women's Weight Throw, Essence Tornabene posted a top-five finish in the invite section with a throw of 16.93 meters. 

Ben Woolhouse earned a top-ten finish in the invite section of the Men's Pole Vault, soaring to a mark of 4.67 meters. 

Post-meet running statistics

Kelechi Christian added two more school records to her 2023 Indoor Track and Field season resume, breaking the 200-meter and 400-meter school records. With those marks, Christian is currently ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II in the 200-meter dash and No. 32 in NCAA Division II in the 400-meter dash, and leads the Gulf South Conference in the 60, 200, and 400-meter dash. The Lagos, Nigeria native also added a 7.68 in the Women's 60-meter dash. Lastly, she now holds every Mississippi College Women's Indoor Track and Field record from the 60-meter dash to the 400-meter dash, including the 4x400-meter relay. Mississippi College freshman Alana Green also added marks of 7.70 and 25.42 in the 60 and 200-meter dash. 

After pacing the Men's 1-mile run, Hunter Kurz doubled back to win the Men's 3,000-meter run in a lifetime best and provisional standard mark of 8:07.9, his fourth win of the 2023 Indoor Track and Field season. Fellow Choctaw Brock Kelly also achieved his first-ever provisional standard of his career, running a strong 8:14.7 for third place overall. 

After their performances at the South Carolina Invitational, Jazmin Hernandez and Lauren Wallace are now the fastest performers in both the 800-meter run and 1-mile run in Mississippi College Women's Indoor Track and Field history. In the Women's 1-mile, Hernandez posted a provisional standard and season best of 4:55.0, while Wallace paced to a lifetime best and provisional standard of 4:57.3. With those performances, the pair are now ranked No. 2 and No. 4 in the Gulf South Conference, as well as No. 35 and 48 in NCAA Division II, respectively. They continued to impress on day two of the competition, setting lifetime bests in the 800-meter run; Hernandez lowered her school record to 2:13.6, and Wallace, also under the old school record, ran a lifetime best of 2:13.9. Both Choctaw runners achieved the provisional standard, and are now ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Gulf South Conference, as well as No. 25 and 32 in NCAA Division II. 

In the Men's 1-mile run, Christian Balcer and Cole Benoit had an Incredible showing. Both runners set lifetime bests at 4:06.7 and 4:07.6, hitting the provisional standard and are now ranked No. 2 and No. 5 in the Gulf South Conference, as well as No. 22 and No. 31 in NCAA Division II. 

In the Men's 400-meter dash Connor Stewart & Gabe Hodson set lifetime bests at 49.10 and 49.14, respectively. Fabio Palmieri and Will Grames also season bests at 49.54 and 49.75. The quartet are now all ranked inside the top nine in the Gulf South Conference in the event. 

In the Men's 60-meter dash, Kevin Turner posted a provisional time of 6.82 seconds, his eighth out of nine performances achieving the provisional standard. 

In the Men's 60-meter hurdles, Shemar Patten sprinted to a provisional time of 8.22 seconds, his sixth time this season to achieve the provisional standard, and fifth time in a row.