STARKVILLE — One by one, Mississippi State track and field athletes gushed Tuesday about the opportunity to compete for a conference championship on their home turf during a news conference at MSU’s Humphrey Coliseum.
Each athlete questioned about the advantages of MSU playing host to the Southeastern Conference Championships for the first time since 2002 talked about the advantage of being able to sleep at home, to avoid strenuous travel, and to compete in familiar surroundings.
Brandon McBride, the reigning national champion in the 800 meters, saw things a little differently.
“I have mixed feelings about it,” said McBride, a Windsor, Ontario native who won the national championship in the 800 in indoor and outdoor competition in 2014. “The positives are you train on this track every day. The negatives, it adds more pressure. Some of the people that show up are the people you see on campus every day. There will probably be more pressure, but then again, I guess that’s what you want.”
If McBride seemed pensive about MSU’s home-field advantage, it’s not unusual. According to MSU coach Steve Dudley, McBride’s ability to deal with the pressures of being a national champion are part of the junior’s strengths.
“All we can as coaches is to tell them to focus on what they’re capable of doing,” Dudley said. “Once you accomplish what he has, everybody is after you, so you better be aggressive in everything that you do. That’s what we try to teach.”
McBride won the national championships last February and May. He ran a time of 1 minute, 48.17 seconds to edge Arizona State’s Edward Kemboi at the Indoor Championships. He traveled to Eugene, Oregon, where he posted a time of 1:46.26 to edge Florida’s Ryan Schnule and become a two-time national champion. He also went undefeated in the 800 for all of 2014 and set a personal best and a school record with a time of 1:45.35 last April.
But 2015 hasn’t been as prolific. At the Indoor Championships in February, McBride finished fourth. In the outdoor season, which began in early March, McBride has competed in the 800 once, finishing first with a time of 1:46.28 at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 18 in Walnut, California. His time (1:46.28) is the sixth fastest in the country.
“I felt the bar was raised so high, and the expectations were so high, even when something good does happen, it doesn’t necessary feel like it,” McBride said. “Getting fourth place is a pretty good finish, but since expectations were so high, you kind of look at it as a disappointment. It is what it is.”
This weekend, McBride will attempt to become a conference champion for the second time. A year ago, he won the 800 at the SEC Championships. Action in the three-day event at MSU’s Mike Sanders Track Complex will kick off at 10:57 a.m. and continue until Saturday night. The preliminaries of the 800 are scheduled for 6:30 tonight. The finals are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.
“I just try to remember where I came from and where I’m going,” McBride said. “Years ago, I would have never dreamed I’d run the times I’m running now, so when I run a race, I think back to that. Winning is great, but being satisfied with your performance is a big deal, too.”
McBride isn’t the only MSU athlete ready to step into the spotlight. Heptathlete Erica Bougard is looking to improve on her second-place finish from last year’s event. Bougard is fifth nationally in the event. She also is ninth nationally in the 100 hurdles.
Sophomore runner Rhianwedd Price holds the third-best 1,500 time nationally (4:11.67). She’s 19th in the 800 (2:05). Both times are her personal best.
Senior Marcus Jackson should threaten for a top finish in the high jump. He holds the nation’s third-best clearance in the event this season — a mark of 7 feet, 5 3/4 inches in April at the Florida Relays.
“I am going for 7-7,” Jackson said. “It’s a big deal for me because I’m a senior, so this is my last chance. Having it at home, that’s huge. I think that’s a natural advantage for us.”
Dudley wouldn’t quite go that far.
“Any time you practice in the same place all the time, and you can sleep in your own bed, I guess there has to be some advantage there somewhere,” Dudley said. “Ultimately, every team and every athlete is going to have to run the same distance, face the same obstacles, so I don’t think the home-field advantage is anything major.”
The No. 19 MSU women and the No. 18 MSU men will have to deal with the same thing SEC coaches in other sports deal with: a high level of competition. The SEC has for five of the nation’s top 10 teams on the men’s side and six on the women’s side.
Dudley said that’s life in the SEC.
“Whether you’re competing in football, track, or a science bowl, you are facing the best of the best,” Dudley said, “so you have to be aggressive or you’ll get eaten for lunch.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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