A-State Men's Track & Field Carries Top-30 Ranking Into Outdoor Season

[Seminole Indian]

ONESBORO, Ark. (3/21/18) – The Arkansas State track and field teams open the outdoor season schedule this weekend at the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays in Starkville, Miss.

Coming off a Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship, the men's team is ranked No. 29 in the United States Track & Frield and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason rankings for the outdoor season. The No. 29 preseason ranking marks the highest A-State has been ranked in the preseason outdoor poll and the highest for the program since ­­finishing 29th in the team standings at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Scored bests from preseason data for consideration in the USTFCCCA rankings include top five marks for Jaylen Bacon in both the 100-meter (9.97) and 200-meter dash (20.18) and five other individuals. Tiaan Steenkamp ranks 17th in the high jump at 2.18m (7-01.75) while Cristian Ravar Ladislau is 18th in the hammer throw at 67.33m (220-10). Itamar Levi is ranked inside the top-20 in the discus throw, ranking 19th at 57.28m (187-11). Rounding out the individuals in the rankings were Michael Carr in the pole vault at 33rd with a mark of 5.26m (17-3.00) and Nick Hilson in the 400-meter hurdles at 36th with a time of 51.52 seconds.

The A-State women finished fourth at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships. Darragh May is ranked 32nd in the high jump with a mark of 1.80m (5-10.75) while Calea Carr is 32nd in the discus throw at 53.57m (175-9.00). Hannah Dunderdale rounds out ranked individuals for the women with her heptathlon point total of 5,213 ranking her 48th.

The Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays get underway Friday at 11:00 a.m. with the women's hammer throw. A full schedule of events is available on AStateRedWolves.com by clicking on the Track & Field schedule page.

For the latest on the A-State track and field, log onto the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField or follow the team on Twitter or Instagram at @AStateTrack.

http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=211707179