Five Rebel Freshmen Set for USATF U20 Outdoor Championships

MIRAMAR, Fla. – Five members of the impressive Ole Miss track & field freshman class will represent the Rebels at the USA Track & Field U20 Outdoor Championships this weekend (June 21-23) at the Ansin Sports Complex.
 
The junior championships feature athletes from 14-20 years old, with berths to the Pan American U20 Championships later this summer on the line. The top two finishers in each event with the qualifying standard earn a trip to Costa Rica as a member of Team USA.
 
Four Rebels have competed in the Pan American U20 Championships: James Shelton, who won a gold medal on Team USA's 4x100-meter relay while also winning a bronze in the 100-meter dash in 1999; Kendrick Triggs in the 200-meter dash in 2001; and Carmia Carroll in the high jump in 2005.
 
Competition begins for the Rebels with freshman Joseph Benedetto in the men's hammer, which is slated for 4 p.m. CT on Friday. Read below for a full competition schedule and more about each Rebel qualifier.
 
Competition Schedule (All Times CT)
 
Friday, June 21
4 PM CT – Men's Hammer Final – Joseph Benedetto
 
Saturday, June 22
2:42 PM CT – Women's 100-Meter Dash Prelims – Brandee Presley, Kelly Rowe
3:15 PM CT – Women's Discus Final – Tedreauna Britt
5:14 PM CT – Women's 100-Meter Dash Final – Brandee Presley, Kelly Rowe
5:15 PM CT – Women's Shot Put Final – Tedreauna Britt
 
Sunday, June 23
2:57 PM CT – Women's 200-Meter Dash Prelims – Jayda Eckford, Kelly Rowe
4:35 PM CT – Women's 200-Meter Dash Finals – Jayda Eckford, Kelly Rowe
 


Joseph Benedetto | Men's Hammer
Date / Time: Fri., June 21 / 4 p.m. CT
Hometown / High School: Middletown, N.Y. / John S. Burke Catholic
Personal Best: 59.36m (194-09) // May 9, 2019; SEC Outdoor Championships // 7th all-time at Ole Miss
Season Best: 59.36m (194-09)
Seed Mark: 5
World U20 Rank: 23
Quick Facts: NCAA East Region qualifier … Ranks seventh all-time at Ole Miss … Current PR was a five-foot improvement at the SEC Outdoor Championships.


 
Brandee Presley | Women's 100-Meter Dash
Prelims: Sat., June 22, 2:42 p.m. CT
Finals: Sat., June 22, 5:14 p.m. CT
Hometown / High School: Bixby, Okla. / Bixby HS
Personal Best: 11.24 (+0.5) // June 6, 2019; NCAA Championships // Tied school record
Season Best: 11.24 (+0.5)
Seed Mark: T-1
U.S. U20 Rank: 3
U.S. Overall Rank: T-24
World U20 Rank: 7
Quick Facts: Ran 11.24 in the NCAA Championships prelims, tying eight-time All-American Teneeshia Jones' 2000 record … Earned Second-Team All-American honors, finishing 12th overall … Also ran on the school-record women's 4x100-meter relay team (43.45) that finished with Second-Team All-American honors in 12th place at the NCAA Championships … Entered NCAA East Regional ranked No. 43 … First Rebel women to qualify in the 100-meter since Jones in 2001 … Owns the Oklahoma high school state record at 11.44 ... Broke 12 seconds in the 100 each year she was in high school.
 


Kelly Rowe | Women's 100-Meter Dash | Women's 200-Meter Dash
100m Prelims: Sat., June 22, 2:42 p.m. CT
100m Finals: Sat., June 22, 5:14 p.m. CT
200m Prelims: Sun., June 23, 2:57 p.m. CT
200m Finals: Sun., June 23, 4:35 p.m. CT
Hometown / High School: Mansfield, Texas / Mansfield Lake Ridge HS
100m Personal Best: 11.62 (+1.5) // March 30, 2019; Ole Miss Classic // 15th all-time
100m Season Best: 11.62 (+1.5)
100m Seed Mark: 11
100m U.S. U20 Rank: 27
100m World U20 Rank: 55
200m Personal Best: 23.85 // Feb. 22, 2019; SEC Indoor Championships
200m Season Best: 23.85
200m Seed Mark: 12
200m U.S. U20 Rank: 42
Quick Facts: Earned Second-Team All-American honors as the leadoff leg of the Rebel women's 4x100-meter relay … Also part of school record team that ran 43.45 … Part of Texas 5A state championship team her senior year in 2018 … Both her parents are retired Marines, and her brother is a medical tech in the Army.


 
Tedreauna Britt | Women's Discus | Women's Shot Put
Discus Finals: Sat., June 22, 3:15 p.m. CT
Shot Put Finals: Sat., June 22, 5:15 p.m. CT
Hometown / High School: St. George, S.C. / Woodland HS
Discus Personal Best: 53.45m (175-04) // March 23, 2019; Trailblazer Challenge // 4th all-time
Discus Season Best: 53.45m (175-04)
Discus Seed Mark: 2
Discus U.S. U20 Rank: 2
Discus World U20 Rank: 15
Shot Put Personal Best: 15.41m (50-06.75) // April 27, 2019; LSU Invite // 5th all-time
Shot Put Seed Mark: 3
Shot Put U.S. U20 Rank: 5
Shot Put World U20 Rank: 21
Quick Facts: One of two in competition with top-three seed marks in both the discus and shot put … NCAA East qualifier in both the discus and shot put … Scored in the discus at the SEC Championships, finishing seventh overall … Earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors both indoors and outdoors … 2016 USATF national champion in 15-16 girls shot put … Five-time South Carolina state champion.


 
Jayda Eckford | Women's 200-Meter Dash
Prelims: Sun., June 23, 2:57 p.m. CT
Finals: Sun., June 23, 4:35 p.m. CT
Hometown / High School: Clinton, Miss. / Clinton HS
Personal Best: 23.00 (-0.1) // June 6, 2019; NCAA Championships // Wind-legal school record
Season Best: 23.00 (-0.1)
Seed Mark: 3
U.S. U20 Rank: 5
U.S. Overall Rank: T-32
World U20 Rank: 7
Quick Facts: Ran a wind-legal Ole Miss record 23.00 into a -0.1 headwind in the prelims of the NCAA Championships … Only trails eight-time All-American Teneeshia Jones' 22.94 (+2.2) on the all-time list … Earned Second-Team All-American honors for her 11th-place finish … Fourth Rebel ever to qualify in the women's 200-meter outdoors … Also ran on the school-record women's 4x100-meter relay team (43.45) that finished with Second-Team All-American honors in 12th place at the NCAA Championships … Also owns a 400-meter PR of 53.98 (8th all-time) ... Won three state titles her senior year at Clinton, helping lead them to a team state title ... 2016 Junior Olympian, took sixth in the 400-meter.
 
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.