MSU’s Anderson gets SEC Men’s Freshman Field Athlete of Year
Anderson Peters, Mississippi State’s standout javelin thrower, has been selected the Southeastern Conference Men’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The conference’s Freshman of the Year award was divided into an award for both runners and field athletes in 2004. MSU last claimed a men’s freshman award-winner in 2000 when Pierre Browne shared the honor with Tennessee’s Stephen Harris.
Peters won the conference championship and is headed to Oregon to compete for the NCAA crown next week. The St. Andrews, Grenada, native also took a bronze medal in international competition at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
“I am grateful,” Peters said. “The season has been pretty good so far because I am consistently getting throws around 80 meters even though I’ve had some struggles. I believe God has a plan and hopefully he will help me pull everything together for NCAA finals.”
The freshman immediately made his presence felt when he broke the MSU freshman record by more than six meters (19-8) on the first throw of his collegiate career. That mark of 81.95 meters (268-10) stood as the NCAA leader until he surpassed it at the SEC Championships.
Peters earned USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week honors for his performance.
Throwing against three-time conference champion Ioannis Kyriazis of Texas A&M, Peters set a new conference meet record at 82.04 meters (269-2). He was the top qualifier out of the NCAA East Prelims last weekend with a mark of 74.22 meters (243-6) without needing to use his final throw.
Peters’ arrival at MSU helped make the Bulldogs the first school in NCAA history with three men to have thrown over 79.00 meters in its record books. All three are currently on the roster.
“He’s come in and immediately helped the whole javelin group get better,” MSU throws coach April Thomas said. “I think the dynamic between the three of them makes my job easier and makes them better athletes because they feed off each other.”
Peters will be joined by senior and SEC CoScholar-Athlete of the Year Nicolas Quijera in the javelin competition in Eugene. The Bulldogs are the only school with multiple athletes in the competition.