CLINTON, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women competed at the Mississippi College Spring Cleaning Classic to open the 2024 outdoor season. The Owls set seven school record-setting efforts during the day.
 
Women's records to fall during the meet included the shot put mark by Arie'Onna McCollum. McCollum, who set the Owls' indoor shot record earlier in this, her freshman, season, had a toss of 9.60 meters. In the women's 1500-meter run, Fellow freshman Hannah Owens posted a record clocking of 5:30.67 minutes.
 
In all, five men's outdoor records went by the wayside at the Spring Cleaning Classic and sophomore Jourden Whitfield was a part of three of those.  Whitfield ran a time of 22.81 seconds n the 200 meters, besting teammate Dedrick Gates' previous record of 22.91. Whitfield then broke his own Owls' 400-meter mark, set in 2023, with a time o 20.02 seconds (good for fifth place, overall).
 
Whitfield then joined Gates, Andra Williams and Tavonta Macon to set the school 4x100-meter relay record in a finish of 44.04 seconds.
 
Gates also chopped some time off of his 100-meter record, crossing the line at 11.19 seconds (bettering his previous 11.28).
 
Another freshman, Sinaj Lynn, added the men's outdoor long jump standard to his record collection, as well. Lynn leaped 6.29 meters to surpass the previous mark of 6.21m by Nathan Reed in 2022. Gates, who had a top jump of 6.23 meters, also eclipsed Reed's old record.