Meridian Track and Field Heads to Nationals

Pittsburgh, KS – The culmination of the 2017 indoor track and field season for the Meridian Community College Track and Field team will begin Friday as both men and women’s teams will compete at the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the oversized track on the campus of Pittsburgh State University.  The men will enter the final meet of the season ranked 17^th while the women will enter ranked 22^nd in the latest national team computer rankings compiled by USTFCCCA.

“We are very excited and ready for the national meet and the competition that comes with it,” said Head Coach Chip Gayden.  “This meet will be exciting because we obviously believe we are better than what the rankings say, we are very young on the men’s side with just traveling 4 sophomores out of 14 participants and this meet is about putting everything together over Friday and Saturday.

The men’s squad will once again depend on their middle distance group, just like they did last year at the championships when the men’s 4x800m relay squad captured a national title.  MCC will try to defend their 4x800m relay title with three out of four members of that relay returning.  MCC will also look to Tim Hoodlebrink, Kobey Hill and Noah Smith in the open 800m prelims on Friday.  All three men are currently ranked in the top 11 in the entries.  Rogay Granston will compete in the 600m prelims on Friday.  MCC will open the meet in the distance medley relay on Friday afternoon.  MCC goes in as the seventh ranked distance medley relay .

“The middle distance squad has really been a great group the last two years,” said Gayden.  “Coach Mettler has a group that we believe can defend their relay title, along with put three men in the final of the open 800m that can all score big points for us and have a distance medley relay that can put points on the board.”

MCC will also bolster their team in the sprints as MCC will see Marcus Reaves and Devarius Turner both contest in the 60m and the 200m prelims on Friday.  Turner last year as a freshman finished fifth in the 200m at the meet.  In the 400m, MCC will turn to two freshmen on Friday as James Burnett and Stephan Holcombe will look to make the Saturday final.    

“I feel like we are a little bit of a sleeper this year in the sprints, because we have had some injuries and we have managed our races a lot more,” said Gayden.  “I believe all four men we have entered in the sprint events have great opportunities to make the finals.”

In the field events, MCC will look to two jumpers in Marrel Parker and R’Darius Edwards.  Parker will look to score points for MCC in the long jump on Friday, while R’Darius Edwards will look to score points in the triple jump on Saturday.

On the women’s side, Ashley Henderson will lead the women as she will compete in both the 60m prelim and 200m prelim on Friday.  Last year, Henderson finished seventh in the 60m and then finished second in the 200m.  In the 60m hurdle prelim Friday, MCC will look to two freshmen in Shaliyah Dixon-Tucker and Zaria Husband.

Live results  of the NJCAA Indoor National Championships will be available on the NJCAA website and at heartlandtiming.com.   The NJCAA Indoor National Championships will be streamed live at Flotrack.com.

MCC Softball Games Postponed

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College softball team announced Monday afternoon that its scheduled road doubleheader at Shelton State on Tuesday has been postponed due to wet conditions. The make-up date for the doubleheader between the two schools has yet to be determined as of Monday afternoon. MCC is currently 5-2 overall after winning all four of its scheduled games over the weekend at the annual Rush Invitational Tournament at Northeast Park.

MCC defeated Marion Military Institute (11-8), Spoon River (7-5), Heartland (5-0), and Bishop State (6-5) over the weekend to extend its winning streak to five games. MCC softball will now return to action on Thursday with a road doubleheader at Coastal Alabama Community College (Faulkner State) beginning at 1 p.m.

MCC Baseball Announces Schedule Change

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team announced Monday morning that it has changed its upcoming schedule of games this week. The Eagles were originally scheduled to play Tuesday at the University of West Alabama, but now the team will be headed to Louisiana for a pair of games. MCC is now scheduled to play at Baton Rouge Community College tomorrow in a single game at 11 a.m. and will then take on Jones County Junior College in a game to follow at the same location. MCC is still scheduled to play this Saturday on the road at MGM Park against Jeff Davis in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.

The Eagles are currently 6-2 overall for the 2017 season after splitting a doubleheader over the weekend. MCC defeated Wallace-Selma back on Saturday by a final of 11-5 and then dropped a 5-4 decision to Faulkner University in extra innings.  

MCC Softball Sweeps Four Games in Rush Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College softball team returned to action on Friday by hosting the 2017 Rush Tournament at Northeast Park. MCC had three games on the schedule for Friday in the tournament and came away with three victories. The Lady Eagles opened the tournament with an 11-8 victory over Marion Military Institute and got its second win on Friday by defeating Spoon River by a final of 7-5. MCC capped off the day by defeating Heartland in shutout fashion by a final of 5-0. MCC also picked up another win on Saturday by defeating Bishop State by a final of 6-5.

MCC improved to 5-2 overall with the four victories over the weekend and have now won five straight games. MCC will return to action on Tuesday with a road doubleheader at Shelton State Community College beginning at 2 p.m.

MCC got the day started on Friday by using a ton of offense to take down Marion Military Institute by a final of 11-8. Courtney Moore led MCC at the plate in Game One with three doubles and three RBI's, while Brianna Duquette drove in three runs on a triple. Anna Lloyd also has a solid opening game with three total hits in Game One and drove in one run.

Mackenzie Harvey picked up the pitching win in Game One for the Lady Eagles and collected five strikeouts.

MCC kept its momentum rolling in Game Two by defeating Spoon River out of Illinois by a final of 7-5. Keelee Ladnier drove in three runs in the Game Two victory for MCC on a triple, while Alex Riser drove in a pair of runs on two hits. Courtney Moore had three total hits and one RBI and Mia Johnson drove in one run on two hits.

Kaylie Delapaz picked up the pitching for the Lady Eagles in Game Two by tossing six innings and notching four strikeouts.

MCC finished out the opening day of the tournament by getting a shutout victory over Heartland by a final of 5-0. Tiana Boutte pitched a complete game for the Lady Eagles to get the pitching victory and collected four strikeouts.

Mia Johnson led the Lady Eagles at the plate in Game Three with a solo home run, while Kandler Flora and Jayla Poindexter each had two hits apiece. Abbe Bates scored two runs in the victory, while Brianna Duquette had an RBI double for the Lady Eagles in Game Three. 

MCC finished off the tournament on Saturday by defeating Bishop State by a final of 6-5. Tiana Boutte led the way for the Lady Eagles in the one-run win by tossing five innings out of the bullpen for the pitching victory. 

MCC Baseball Splits Road Doubleheader

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team returned to the diamond on Saturday by traveling to Selma, AL to battle Wallace-Selma and Faulkner State. MCC would come away with a road split by defeating Wallace-Selma in Game One by a final of 11-5, but dropped the second game of the day to Faulkner State by a final of 5-4 in extra innings.

MCC moved its overall record to 6-2 for the 2017 season and will return to action on February 28 with a road trip to Livingston, AL to take on West Alabama. The doubleheader against the Tigers is slated for 2 p.m.

The Eagles trailed 5-3 in Game One to Wallace-Selma on Saturday after three innings, but fought back in the second half of the game to grab an 11-5 victory. Freshman Logan McDowell picked up the pitching win out of the bullpen for the Eagles in the comeback victory.

Trace Jordan led the way in Game One with an RBI triple and RBI single, while Zack Carter picked up two RBI's on a base hit for MCC. Chase Coker also drove in a pair of runs and had a double in the victory. CJ Hughes added an RBI double and Milton Smith knocked in one run for MCC on a single.

MCC and Faulkner State needed extra innings in Game Two on Saturday, but MCC would eventually fall by a final of 5-4. MCC scored a pair of runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 4-2 lead. Zack Carter helped MCC take the lead in the 10th on a squeeze bunt that scored Chase Coker to make the score 3-2. Blake Fields would give the Eagles a little insurance a few moments later by driving in a run to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Eagles. Faulkner State would make a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the 10th inning by scoring three runs to take a 5-4 win over MCC.

Milton Smith also knocked in two runs in the game for MCC and one of those came in the seventh inning on an RBI single that forced extra innings.