University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Bates, Nichols and Rudolph Earn Sun Belt Weekly Honors
1/21/2026 9:52:00 AM | Track & Field/Cross Country
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Emme Bates, Tyler Nichols, and Valentino Rudolph earned weekly honors for their performances at the Arkansas Invitational, announced by the conference office Wednesday morning.
Bates was named women's track athlete of the week after breaking her second school record this season with a mile time of 4:43, leading the conference and ranking third in the South region. She also currently leads the Sun Belt in the 3k with a time of 9:44.67.
Nichols won the long jump event against multiple SEC and Sun Belt opponents with a long jump mark of 7.84 meters to earn men's field athlete of the week. His mark ranks first in the Sun Belt, and second in the region.
Rudolph rounds out the weekly awards for the Golden Eagles, earning the men's track athlete of the week with his win in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.94 seconds. His time ranks sixth in all of Division I, leading the Sun Belt and the region. Rudolph's talents have also been utilized as the anchor of the men's 4x400 team to also lead in the Sun Belt.
The Golden Eagles will compete next at the Jaguar Invitational, hosted by South Alabama on February 1st in Mobile.
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Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track & Field/Cross Country
Jumps
/ Track & Field/Cross Country
Sprints
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