MSU's Copeland Qualifies For NCAAs; Cross Country Excels In Classroom

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State long jumper Wendy Copeland has qualified for the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships which will be held March 12-14 in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

A native of Tupelo, Miss., Copeland is the only Lady Bulldog to qualify for NCAAs. She is set to compete in the long jump where she enters the event ranked 15th.

"Wendy has been giving solid performances all season long," head coach Al Schmidt said. "Obviously her goal is to finish in the Top 8 and become an All-American."

Copeland earned NCAA provisional marks twice this year to earn a spot in the competition. She leaped a lifetime best 20 feet, 9.25 inches Feb. 13 at the Tyson Invitational, and jumped 20-02.25 in January at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational.

Copeland begins competition Friday March 12 at 7:25 p.m.

CLASSROOM ACHIEVEMENT

Off the field of play, the USTFCCCA announced the 2009 Division 1 Women's Cross Country All-Academic Teams, Monday. MSU was ranked seventh out of 176 with a cumulative 3.69 GPA. University of Alabama led the field with a 3.86 team GPA.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Championship and also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative GPA.