Mississippi’s two SEC track and field programs were well-represented in the conference’s annual awards.
On Monday, officials announced that Ole Miss men’s track & field junior and three-time reigning NCAA shot put champion Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan is the 2025 SEC Outdoor Men’s Field Athlete of the Year. For Mississippi State, Bulldog middle distance standout Abdullahi Hassan has been named the SEC Men’s Newcomer Runner of the Year.
This is the second consecutive indoor-outdoor sweep of the SEC awards for Robinson-O’Hagan, who is one of only three athletes nationally this season to have made all eight watch lists for The Bowerman – track & field’s version of the Heisman Trophy. With today’s fourth career win, Robinson-O’Hagan passes four-time Olympian and Rebel legend Brittney Reese for the most SEC Field Athlete of the Year awards in Ole Miss history.
Last weekend, Robinson-O’Hagan, a Rhode Island native, punched his third consecutive outdoor national double ticket in the shot and hammer at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships with eye-popping performances in both events at the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida. In the hammer, Robinson-O’Hagan took down the East Regional record on his top qualifying toss of 74.51m/244-5 in the first round.
Prior to the Rebel standout accomplishing the feat, no athlete in the history of the East Regional (which began in 2010) had even eclipsed 243 feet. Robinson-O’Hagan carried that momentum into the shot put, where his stadium record and season-best heave of 20.85m/68-5 immediately secured his return trip to Eugene.
At the SEC Outdoor Championships, Robinson-O’Hagan claimed his third straight men’s hammer title with a school-record throw of 75.72m/248-05, which registered as the second-best mark in SEC meet history and fourth overall in conference history. Robinson-O’Hagan followed up his hammer performance by defending his SEC shot put title, giving him nine career conference titles and 104 total SEC points.
He is now one of just three in SEC outdoors outdoors to sweep the shot put and hammer twice, and the only athlete ever to sweep both indoor and outdoor shot/weight and shot/hammer events once. He enters the national meet seeded fourth in the hammer (75.72m/248-05) and second in the shot put (20.85m/68-5), and he reigns as the only thrower in the world to surpass both 69 feet in the shot and 248 feet in the hammer this season.
Ole Miss is currently preparing for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which this year returns to TrackTown USA at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field from June 11-14.
Meanwhile, in Starkville, Hassan has been a staple in the middle distance group this season for Mississippi State, leading the squad in both the 800m and 1500m. He has remained in the top six nationally for the entirety of the outdoor season, posting a personal best time of 1:45.39 earlier this season.
“Abdullahi has been a great addition to our program this season, both on and off the track,” Bulldog head coach Chris Woods said. “His work ethic, resilience, and team-first mindset have set the tone for the season, and he has reaped the benefits of his hard work.”
At the SEC Outdoor Championships, Hassan ran 1:45.64 to finish as the runner-up in the 800m. He matched his performance from the indoor championships, taking silver in the event back in February.
Hassan, a native of Canada, will return to the NCAA Outdoor Championships this week in the 800m. He returns to the meet as the reigning NCAA Indoor Championships runner-up in the same distance.
