06/18/03
Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State soccer head coach Neil McGuire announced an addition to his coaching staff Tuesday afternoon with the hiring of former Iowa Central Community College head coach Neil Macdonald as an assistant coach. His hiring is pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.

"It is my privilage to welcome Neil to this staff," McGuire said. "Having known him for so long I know first hand of his coaching abilities and am proud to be able to have him join us. He brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience, yet more importanly he a man of integrity and class.

"Neil has an innate sense for the game and this will no doubt be of huge value to our players. Having been with us in the spring, the players are already familiar with his abilities, and are delighted he is now on staff."

MacDonald starred alongside McGuire during their playing days at Augusta (GA) State, then obtained his first coaching stint as an assistant coach under McGuire at Iowa Central in 1998. MacDonald took over the reigns of both the Tritons men's and women's program in 1999 when McGuire left to become an assistant coach at nearby Iowa State.

Under his tutelage the past five seasons, the men's squad has captured five regional championships, four times reaching the sweet sixteen of the national NJCAA tournament, including this past season when the squad advanced to the Final Four. As the women's mentor, Macdonald helped the Lady Tritons to five consecutive regional championships, including an appearance in the Elite Eight this past season.

During his five-year tenure in Fort Dodge, Macdonald collected an impressive 149-34-5 coaching record and received Regional Coach of the Year laurels from the National Junior College Association of America following the 2002 campaigns.

In addition to his playing career at Augusta State, Macdonald also has a playing stint with the Scottish football club Inverness (1988-89).

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with coach McGuire again," Macdonald said. "We had a wonderful spring season and I have been very impressed with the teamıs commitment and work ethic. I really feel that the future of this program is bright and am anxious for the fall season to begin."

Macdonald and his wife, Jamie, a professor in the Art and Design program at State, currently reside in Starkville. He holds his 'C' coaching license from the Union of European Football Association.

Source: MSU Media Relations

06/15/03
Track and Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sophomore Tiffany McWilliams won the school's first NCAA track individual title in the 1500-meter run, setting a new meet record on the final day of the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

McWilliams crossed the finish line in 4:06.75, breaking the record set in 1990 by over 1 1/2 seconds. She topped her school record time by nearly four seconds.

"She did the race plan exactly as we laid it out," head coach Al Schmidt said. "She did what she trained for all year. Everything came to fruition for us today."

State's women score their most points in NCAA meet history and take home the second NCAA champion for Mississippi State in women's athletics history. The doubles team of Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard took home the 1989 NCAA championship in women's tennis.

For MSU's men, senior Kelvin Harris finished his collegiate career in eighth place in the 110-meter hurdles. The Natchez native clocked a time of 13.86 to earn his only all-America title.

"In God's word he says that the race isn't won by the swift but by those who endure," Harris said. "Getting a point at nationals is a victory for me. All my hard work has paid off for myself and for Mississippi State. I hope this isn't the end to my track career, but this is the best ending for me to my collegiate career."

In late night action on Friday, senior Pierre Browne finished second in the 100-meter dash. He clocked in at 10.34, behind Mardy Scales of Middle Tennessee. The Toronto native took home his sixth all-America award in his career and second this year after winning the NCAA Indoor 60m title.

Junior Marquis Davis, who advanced to the finals, false started and did not place. Davis, however, becomes a four-time all-American, taking home the honor in the 200-meter dash.

Sophomore LaChristopher Lewis ended his 2003 season ranking 10th in the 400-meter dash semifinals. The Coldwater native ran a time of 45.86 and will be named an all-American for the first time.

At press time, State's men stood in 18th with 13 points thru 17 events. MSU's women currently rank 17th through 14 events with 10 points. LSU's women lead the women's team scores, while Arkansas has a three-point lead over Auburn.

Source: MSU Media Relations

06/13/03
Track and Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Mississippi State men's team had a difficult time in the 200-meter dash semifinals. Senior Pierre Browne advanced to the finals, while Marquis Davis ranked 10th in the event, just missing the cut.

Davis, the NCAA indoor 200m runner-up, and Browne both ran in the first heat, finishing with times of 20.95. Browne crossed the line 4/1000ths of a second before Davis to finish fourth in the heat and automatically qualify for the finals. Davis' mark fell short when Arkansas' Ahmad Carroll clocked a 20.93 with his fifth-place showing. Browne runs in the 200-meter dash finals on Saturday.

"We're a little disappointed with Marquis not making the 200-meter finals," head coach Al Schmidt said, "but that's track and field having both in the same heat. We're still in the top four with our team. Everyone else is making mistakes as well.

"Marquis has had a long year, and injuries have taken their toll. His Achilles has been bothering him for a while. He's still one of the top sprinters in the country, and we're still one of the top teams in the country."

In 100-meter dash semifinal action late Wednesday night, Davis and Browne both advanced to Friday's finals. Davis ran a 10.41 mark to rank third, while Browne's time of 10.27 gave him the second-best time going into the finals.

Eight events into the decathlon, freshman Trey Hardee ranks fourth in the competition with 6,263 points. He won the pole vault, clearing 16-4 3/4, and came in second in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.45. He came in 16th in the discus (121-3). The javelin and 1500-meter run remain for Hardee.

During the morning's action, Kelvin Harris advanced into the finals of the 110-meter hurdles. The Natchez senior completed the race in 13.87, finishing fourth in his semifinal heat to automatically advance into the finals held on Saturday.

One of MSU's sophomores got into the action on Thursday. Sophomore LaChristopher Lewis made the semifinals of the 400-meter dash. He finished second in his heat with a time of 45.95 to automatically advance to Friday's semifinals. He ranked ninth by time during the prelims.

Events continued Thursday night with the women's 1500-meter run preliminaries, the close of the decathlon and the men's 4x400-meter relay trials.

Source: MSU Media Relations

06/12/03
Track and Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Mississippi State freshman Trey Hardee closed day one of the decathlon in 11th place at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at Sacramento State University.

State also had three individuals advance into semifinals in their event. Senior Pierre Browne and junior Marquis Davis made the 100-meter dash semis, while senior Kelvin Harris advanced in the 110-meter hurdles.

Hardee ranked third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.96. He finished 13th in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 22-5 and later tied for 12th in the high jump (6-2 3/4). His shot put of 39-7 3/4 put him 17th in that competition. The Vestavia Hills, Ala., native closed the day with a 48.93 time in the 400-meter dash, a new personal-best time, ranking sixth in the race.

Hardee gained 3,833 points on the first day of the meet, just 38 points behind seventh place. His best day one score in the 10-event competition is 3,843 points, scored at the Texas Relays.

Browne won the first heat of the 100-meter dash trials, clocking a time of 10.57. Davis finished third in his heat of the event with his 10.57 time. Both earned automatic berths into the semifinals competing later Wednesday night at Hornet Stadium.

Senior Kelvin Harris ranked 14th in the 110-meter hurdles preliminaries and automatically advanced to the semifinals, which will be contested on Thursday. He crossed the finish line in 13.87, just behind Tennessee's Karl Jennings and Jabari Greer in the fourth heat.

Mississippi State's 4x100m relay team missed the finals after Glenn McFadden pulled his quad muscle halfway through the third leg. The team finished the race in 40.91.

Thursday's events start at 10:40 a.m. PDT for State with the men's 200-meter dash.

Source: MSU Media Relations

06/10/03
Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. ­ Mississippi State all-Americans Kellie Wilkerson and Iyhia McMichael were among 16 players chosen to compete on the USA Elite team, while head coach Jay Miller was, again, selected as the squadıs skipper, in an announcement made by USA Softball Monday afternoon in Oklahoma City.

The selections followed intense workouts last week at the National Team Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The USA Elite team will compete at the Canada Cup, July 4-13, and in an exhibition series against Australia in San Francisco, July 15-20. Wilkerson and McMichael are joined on the USA Elite team by former Alabama all-American Kelly Kretschman and former LSU all-American Trena Peel.

USA Softball Women's National Teams have been among the most dominating of any sports team in history. The USA's ability to bring home the title in World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympics is unchallenged, with a total of 14 gold medals.

The USA Softball Women's National Team won the first Olympic gold medal in the sport's history during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and defended its gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The USA Softball Women's National Team, which has won the past five World Championships, the past four Pan Am Games and the past two Olympic gold medals, has bee the undisputed No. 1 team in the world for the past 17 years.

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. As the National Governing Body, the ASA is responsible for identifying, selecting and training male and female athletes to compete in World, Pan American and Olympic competitions.

Selections to the Women's National Team must be approved by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

2003 USA ELITE TEAM ROSTER
(Current Or Former Colleges Attended In Parentheses)

Selena Collins (Texas A&M) Jodie Cox (Cal State-Fullerton)
Courtney Dale (UCLA) Teri Goldberg (Colorado State)
Alicia Hollowell (Arizona) Lyndsey Klein (UCLA)
Kelly Kretschman (Alabama) Lauren Lappin (Stanford)
Toni Mascarenas (Arizona) Iyhia McMichael (Mississippi State)
Gina Oaks (Cal State-Fullerton) Trena Peel (LSU)
Jamie Southern (Washington) Nichole Thompson (Arizona State)
Mackenzie Vandergeest (Arizona) Kellie Wilkerson (Mississippi State)

Head Coach: Jay Miller (Mississippi State)
Assistant Coaches: Michelle Gromacki (Cal State-Fullerton), Kirk Walker (Oregon State)

Source: MSU Media Relations

"The opportunity for me to come home and coach for my alma mater is very exciting and I couldn't be more proud," said Homan. "I intend to bring enthusiasm and a winning attitude to the golf program and Mississippi State University."

Homan returns to his alma mater after a four-year stint as the head coach for the Rice Owls in Houston, Texas, where he coached three individual tournament champions and three NCAA Academic All-America honorees. He also coached 16 golfers to Western Athletic Conference All-Academic accolades.

While at Rice, Homan served as the director of the annual Rice Intercollegiate Golf Tournament held in February. He also organized five fund-raising golf tournaments that raised over $40,000 for the endowed scholarships at Rice.

"We are excited about the opportunity of Clay Homan returning to Mississippi State," MSU director of athletics Larry Templeton said. "His knowledge of the game of golf and his experience in coaching within the collegiate ranks were outstanding strengths. His involvement in the junior golf programs and golf circles within our state were an added plus as well."

During his professional golf career from 1996-1999, he was a member of the Golden Bear Professional Golf Tour (1998-1999) and the Tommy Armour Professional Golf Tour (1995-1997). In 1999, he participated in the PGA Southern Farm Bureau Classic and the FedEx/St. Jude Classic in 1996.

As a student-athlete, he qualified individually for the 1995 NCAA East Regional and was named the 1994 Kroger Intercollegiate champion. In 1994, he earned Mississippi Amateur medalist honors along with being a U.S. Amateur Match Play participant.

Other college awards include being a member of the 1995 MSU golf team that was named a Southeastern Conference All-Academic Team, a 1995 second-team, All-SEC honoree, and a two-time team co-captain. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 1994-95 MSU team and was awarded the 1994 and 1995 Carroll and Francis Newsom Award.

Homan received his bachelor of business administration from Mississippi State in 1995.

Source: MSU Media Relations

06/03/03
Track and Field
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Junior sprinter Marquis Davis received the Mondo Athlete of the Year honors for the South district, as voted by the U.S. Track Coaches Association.

The Memphis native was one of 18 athletes to receive the honor and one of four SEC athletes selected for the award. The three-time, all-American finished second in the NCAA indoor 200-meter dash the past two seasons and won two titles (100m & 200m) at the 2003 SEC Outdoor Championships.

Davis will be honored June 9 in Sacramento at the Mondo Coaches Banquet at Sacramento State University, site of the Division I NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He is also in the running for the national athlete of the year.

MSU competes next at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 11-14.

Source: MSU Media Relations