JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The men's 4x400m relay team for Mississippi Valley State University wrapped up the events on the third and final day of the 2019 NCAA East Preliminary Round.

MVSU finished ahead of both Alabama and LSU placing 21st amongst the regions best. Head Coach Nadia Alexander-Pompey's relay team consisted of Maurice Johnson (Covington, Ga.), Samuel Gardner (Immokalee, Fla.), Joseph Mitchell (Atlanta, Ga.), and Laval Davis (Jacksonville, Fla.). The quartet crossed the finish line with a time of 3:16.94.

"The 4x400m relay team is a young group and most of these guys have never competed on this level," said Alexander-Pompey. "We took a huge blow by losing one of our top runners, but these young men stepped up and represented Mississippi Valley with pride. Three out of the four runners will be back next year so we are looking forward to great things to come from this group."

Tyefah Saunders (Kingston, Jamaica) finished 48th at the NCAA East Preliminary with a measure of 13.94m (45'9") in the women's shot put. This is a fitting conclusion to a great sophomore campaign for Saunders, during which she captured both the indoor and outdoor SWAC titles.

"This has been a good year for Tyefah after making the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and not losing a beat," said Alexander-Pompey. "She understood that she had to step her game up because of the competition and she did. This is only the beginning for our second-year Devilette."

The 2019 MVSU track and field team sent a current school record of five athletes to the postseason at the NCAA Division I East Prelims. At the 2019 SWAC Outdoor Championships, MVSU won individual championships in the women's shot put and men's 400m, finished as the runner-up winning silver medals in the women's 400m,  men's 400m, and the men's 4x400m relay, while taking bronze in the women's javelin and men's 200m.