12/14/02
Track and Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Collin Bushman, a distance runner from Stillwater, Minn., has signed a national letter of intent with Mississippi State's men's track team, head coach Al Schmidt announced Thursday.

Bushman, who also runs cross country for Stillwater High School, won his conference's 1600m title the past two seasons. He lists his best 1600m mark at 4:24 and his top 800m time at 2:00.

"Collin is another outstanding runner that will help immediately in cross country next season." Schmidt said.

His team's cross country MVP this year, Bushman has been named all-state in cross country during both his junior and senior seasons. He took the cross country 2-A conference title and finished fifth in the state meet this fall.

Bushman is a member of the honor roll at SHS and was named the school's Student of the Month for November. He hails from the same high school and hometown as Bulldog senior distance runner Chris Boldt.

Collin Bushman is the son of Julie and Rich Bushman.

A native of Ethiopia, Ege grew up in Atlanta and attended Grady High School. He was selected his track team's MVP honors at Grady and was selected as the city's track MVP during his four years in high school. Ege earned most valuable honors during his junior and senior campaigns at the state track meet.

His high school cross country team at GHS won the AAU nationals during his freshman year. He won six state titles while in high school, two each in cross country, the 1600 and 3200 meters.

"Gedamu is a veteran who can help our team both in track and cross country," remarked Schmidt. "He is extremely talented and brings a lot to our program."

While at Bevill State, Ege ran his top 8K time of 25:05. He earned all-American status on the junior college level with his third-place finish at the NJCAA National Cross Country Championships. Ege also finished second in his junior college region in cross country.

He participated in the Foot Locker South Region cross country meet, earning second-team honors in both races there. His best finish at the Foot Locker is ninth.

Ege also played soccer in high school, helping Grady's team to a state title during his sophomore campaign.

Gedamu Ege is the son of Tadelce and Josephine debe Ege.

Source: MSU Media Relations

12/10/02
Track and Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head track and field coach Al Schmidt has announced the signing of Brett Marlin, a cross country runner from Tupelo, Miss.

Marlin, currently attending Tupelo High School, was the Mississippi 5A runner-up in cross country the past two seasons. An all-state selection four years running, he has been named his cross country team's MVP for the year.

"Brett is another great athlete from inside our state," Schmidt said. "He adds a lot to our cross country team for next year."

Marlin lists his best 5K at 15:47 and has clocked his best 3200m in track at 10:05. He competed in the Foot Locker South Regional event, running a 16:00 in a 59th-place showing.

He also competes as a member of the soccer team during his time at THS. During his sophomore season, the team won the state 5A title. Marlin is also a Rotary scholar and a member of the National Honor Society.

Brett Marlin is the son of Mike and Georgia Marlin.

Source: MSU Media Relations

12/06/02
Track and Field
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Senior all-American Dion Crabbe, competing for his home country of the British Virgin Islands, placed fourth in the 200-meter dash at the Central American and Caribbean Games Thursday.

The Mississippi State senior was coming off a gold medal win in the 100m earlier in the week at Estadio de la Flor Blanca. He was vying to become the first English-speaking athlete and seventh person ever to win double gold medals in the CAC Games' sprint events.

The Tortola native was competing in the 19th CAC Games, hosted by San Salvador, El Salvador.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Griffith currently attends American Christian Academy, where she is the lone female track and cross country runner at the school. The runner-up in the Alabama 1A cross country championships this fall, she has won the 3200m for the past three seasons.

The winner of this year's high school division at the Crimson Classic, Griffith best listed time in a cross country 5K is 18:18. She finished 14th in the most recent Foot Locker South Regional cross country meet.

"Joy will make an instant impact in cross country for us," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "She should also do great things in track."

Griffith ran her best 800 meters in 2:35, with her best 1600m being clocked at 5:39. She completed her best 3200m in 11:40.

A member of the National Honor Society, she has won the outstanding writing award for her class the past two years. She also won the math and chemistry awards last year at ACA.

Joy Griffith is the daughter of Dr. Robert and Dr. Susan Griffith.

Source: MSU Media Relations

In 2001, her only year to play high school tennis, Serret won the district 8A and the state 4A High School Tennis Championships in girl's singles. She was also named Mississippi's 2001 Most Outstanding Female Player by the Mississippi Tennis Association.

In the fall of 2001, she transferred to Atlanta, Ga., to train full-time with tennis coach Jason Parker at the Universal Tennis Academy. During her time there, she played in three ITF events and ranked as high as No. 458. The events of September 11th changed her plans of staying in Atlanta and continuing to travel while playing the international circuit.

After an eight month break due to injuries and figuring out her personal goals, she decided to rededicate herself to tennis and work towards a scholarship at a Division I school. She received over 35 letters of interest from other Division I schools. Playing on the Supernational Hard Court 18's event at the age of 16 made her visible to top college coaches.

Serret's current coach is Dwayne Clegg of the Racquet Club in Hattiesburg. Clegg was a former assistant men's tennis coach at MSU (1992-94).

During high school, she has been a member of the BETA Club, Mu Alpha Theta, Spanish National Honor Society, FCA and named to the National Honor Roll.

Her high school athletic career stretches beyond tennis. She was selected for the all-State cross country team and awarded Most Valuable Runner in junior high and high school. In 2000, she was the 2000 Most Valuable Offensive Player for the soccer team at St. Martin High School. She also served on the Homecoming Court for two years at St. Martin and was named Class Favorite, Most Charming, and Class Beauty in the Who's Who elections.

"I expect Brittany to improve tremendously when faced with the challenges of the program and the SEC," said head coach Tracy Lane. "She is an extremely athletic individual who loves tennis and is really disciplined in her training. Academically she is really strong so I believe we signed a well rounded individual who comes from a really supportive family."

Serret spent a year training full time at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in 1998-99 on scholarship, where she played in such tournaments as the Eddie Herr Junior International Championships and the Orange Bowl Junior International Championships. She won an STA designated event and the quarterfinal playoffs of the National Spring Fling tournament.

Ranked as high as No. 60 in the nation and No. 9 in the South, she finished 1999 and the following year ranked No. 130 in the nation and top 30 in the south.

Serret teamed with her father Patrick - a former Arkansas Razorback who was the 1982 NCAA Doubles Champion and a four-year, all-American - to win two National Championships in Father-Daughter mixed doubles in 2000 and 2001. They also won numerous open mixed doubles titles together.

Serret has been a five-year member of Mississippi's Junior Davis Cup Federation Cup team. She was unable to play this year due to an injury. She was also a quarterfinalist in doubles at the Chanda Rubin ITF event in Atlanta, Ga., and progressed to the round of 32 in doubles at the big B-1 level ITF North Central American, Caribbean International Championships.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Lambert was a two-time winner of the Male Player of the Year Award for the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, He was also a two-time, all-American Honors recipient for the Future Collegiate World Tour. Throughout his junior golf career, he recorded over 30 junior golf tournament victories on the SJGT, FCWT, PGA Junior Series and Gulf States PGA Junior Section in seven different states. He was also honored with the Sportsmanship Award by the SJGT.

While at Jackson Academy, Lambert won the MPSA Overall State Championship twice as an individual and twice with his team. He was also the MPSA State 4A Champion as an individual and the medalist at 10 different high school events.

Lambert has also excelled in academics. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the Latin National Junior Classical League and the Math Honor Society. He was recognized as a Presidential Scholar, named to the Jackson Academy Honor Roll numerous times, and awarded the American Legion School Award.

His low tournament score was 61-67 at the Caroline Junior Invitational in Madison, Miss. Lambert's 61 is the current course record at the Caroline Golf Club and was recognized in Sports Illustrated, Golfweek and Golf Digest.

In AJGA competition, he finished fourth at the Cardinal Golf Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, sixth at the Easter event in Atlanta, Ga., and 10th at the Robert Trent Jones Mobile Azalea Course. In 2001, he was a USGA Junior Am Qualifier for the State of Mississippi.

"We are extremely excited to have Jake join our program," said head coach Greg Martin. "Mississippi State is very fortunate to have a student-athlete of Jake's caliber and look forward to the contributions he will make in the classroom and on the course."

Source: MSU Media Relations

12/05/02
Track and Field
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador. - Mississippi State senior Dion Crabbe took the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2002 Central America and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Crabbe also advanced to the 200 meter finals at this regional athletic festival hosted by San Salvador, El Salvador. He clocked a 21.04, the second-fastest time in the semis, to advance.

Crabbe, the fourth-ranked male in MSU history in the 100 meters outdoors, earned the British Virgin Islands their first gold medal of the CAC Games with his win. The Tortola native ran a 10.28 to pick up the gold.

Dion Crabbe competes in the 200 meter finals on Thursday night.

Coch has been named the Most Valuable Performer in track and field at East Kentwood High School for the past three years. He was the runner-up in the region cross country meet this year after finishing second at the conference cross country meet as a junior.

The captain of the track team for the past two seasons, he has been named to the all-area, all-conference and all-region teams the last two years. Coch qualified as an individual for the state cross country championships three times.

"Kevin is a fine addition to our team," said MSU head coach Al Schmidt. "He will help us in our goal of winning an SEC title."

Coch's best cross country 5K time is 15:59, while his best 3200m time was clocked at 9:33. He also ran the 1600 meters in 4:26 and finished the 800m in 1:59.

A member of the all-Academic team, Coch is a student council member and has earned the Academic Achievement Award.

Kevin Coch is the son of Daniel and Debra Coch.

Source: MSU Media Relations