Ole Miss Daily: Track & field's Robinson-O'Hagan wows with pair of NCAA tickets punched

Ole Miss track & field freshman Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan stole the show at his first career regional meet, punching two tickets to nationals to lead a productive first day for the Rebel men at the NCAA East Regional on Wednesday.

Robinson-O’Hagan kept his superb freshman campaign rolling with two national qualifying performances across the hammer and shot put, highlighted by an unreal field series in the latter that saw him reset his own school record on all three of his attempts. Robinson-O’Hagan is now the first Rebel in men’s history to qualify for NCAAs in both the shot put and hammer in the same season.

He finished third overall in the shot put on his third attempt heave of 20.07m/65-10.25, which not only shatters his previous record of 19.24m/63-01.50 set just two weeks ago at the SEC Championships, but it also makes him the first 65-foot and 20-meter men’s shot putter in Ole Miss history – indoors or outdoors. Robinson-O’Hagan’s full field series included two prior school records of 19.61m/64-4 and 19.99m/65-7, but those proved to be just warmups before eclipsing the 20-meter barrier on his final try. His NCAA berth makes him just the third Rebel man to ever qualify outdoors in the shot put alongside Daniel Viveros (2022) and Derek McGuire (2006, ’09).

Robinson-O’Hagan is also now the first collegiate freshman to break 20 meters in the shot put since 2021, and combined with his SEC winning hammer school record of 71.25m/233-09, he is one of just two throwers worldwide this season at 71 meters in the hammer and 20 meters in the shot put (alongside Arizona senior and multiple-time NCAA Champion Jordan Geist). Among freshmen all-time, Robinson-O’Hagan is the lone freshman to break both barriers since at least 2013 in available yearly records via the USTFCCCA.

Several hours earlier in the hammer, Robinson-O’Hagan took care of business, finishing sixth overall at 69.27m/227-03 to punch his NCAA ticket. He is now just the second Rebel to ever qualify in the men’s hammer, joining All-American Dempsey McGuigan, who qualified twice in 2016 (eighth) and 2017 (10th).

On the track, the Rebel men went 5-for-5 in quarterfinal qualifying chances, advancing two apiece in the 800-meter and 1500-meter races, as well as one in the 110-meter hurdles.

Senior Dalton Hengst – who four years ago punched a national ticket to Austin on this very track at Hodges Stadium – had the top qualifying time of the day in the 1500-meter, winning his heat and an automatic spot to Friday’s quarterfinal with a time of 3:44.59. Two heats earlier, senior and SEC silver medalist Shane Bracken earned an AQ berth to Friday’s quarterfinal as well, finishing third in Heat Two and 10th overall at 3:45.45.

Later on in the 800-meter, the All-American senior duo of Tiarnan Crorken (sixth, 1:48.61) and Baylor Franklin (eighth, 1:48.96) left nothing to chance, winning their respective heats to earn auto spots to Friday’s quarterfinal.

Starting off the qualifying frenzy, though, was senior Ahmad Young Jr. in the 110-meter hurdles. Young Jr. had the 19th-overall time at 13.69 (+2.7), but earned an AQ spot to the quarterfinal as the third-place finisher in Heat Six.

Also competing on Wednesday and concluding their 2023 seasons were: senior Daniel Viveros in the shot put (16th, 18.57m/60-11.25); senior Noah Mumme (T-17th, 5.20m/17-00.75) and freshman Logan Kelley (T-29th, 5.05m/16-06.75) in the pole vault; and seniors Chris Maxon (21st, 29:51.15) and Ben Savino (37th, 30:42.51) in the 10K semifinal.

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Ole Miss rifle lands N.C. State transfer

Ole Miss rifle continues to restock and reload, adding their fourth student-athlete to the 2023 signing class. The Rebels and head coach Marsha Beasley announced the signing of NC State transfer Katie Tedeschi on Thursday.

Tedeschi finds a new home in Oxford after a wonderful two-year career on the NC State rifle team. While with the Wolfpack, the rising junior earned CRCA Scholastic All-American and qualified as an individual alternate in air rifle for NCAA Championships. She is coming off her best season, hitting career-highs in smallbore, air rifle and aggregate season averages. Tedeschi was also a leader on the range, serving as a team captain this past season.

The Colorado Springs, Colorado native has a personal high of 596 in air rifle and 584 in smallbore. Tedeschi’s personal aggregate high is 1179.

Before her career at NC State, Tedeschi was already highly successful in the sport. In 2020, she won first place at AMU Nationals with her club Team Winning Solutions. During that same year, Tedeschi had podium finishes in both air rifle and smallbore at Junior Rifle Olympics. She earned Colorado State Junior Olympic Air Rifle Champion. 

“I chose Ole Miss because it was the place I felt most at home,” said Tedeschi. “The athletic and academic support is fantastic.”

Tedeschi is the daughter of former Radford track and field member Gary Tedeschi and Radford All-American gymnast Holly Tedeschi. She also has one sibling in her younger brother, Sam.

Men’s tennis ends season ranked No. 24

Ole Miss men’s tennis received the No. 24 ranking in the final team standings of the 2023 season. The ranking ties the team’s highest of the 2022-23 season.

Ole Miss men’s tennis received 32.16 ranking points in the ITA Collegiate Tennis National Team Rankings on Wednesday. The rankings are the final standings of the 2023 season following the NCAA National Team Championships. The Rebels held strong at No. 24 in the three weeks between the last rankings. Ole Miss concluded as the eighth highest ranked SEC program.

Men’s tennis finished the season 18-10 overall the most wins for the men’s team since the 2014-15 campaign. The Rebels advanced to NCAA Charlottesville Regional where they swept VCU, 4-0, to start before falling to the eventual National Champion Virginia Cavaliers.