AUBURN, Ala. — He fouled twice. He sat in second place heading into the final rounds.
When it was over, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan had done something no one in Southeastern Conference history had ever done before.
The Ole Miss senior became the first athlete to win four straight SEC men’s hammer throw titles Thursday at the 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships in Auburn, Ala. He capped one of the most dominant individual runs the conference has seen across any sport.
It didn’t come easy.
Robinson-O’Hagan scratched on his first two attempts, putting him on the edge of elimination before he’d even gotten started.
He found the sector on his third throw at 70.79 meters (232 feet, 3 inches) to keep his hopes alive. He entered the final round sitting second behind Missouri’s Sam Innes, who’d posted 71.65 meters (235 feet, 1 inch).
Fifth-Throw Moment for History Books
That’s when the now 12-time SEC champion showed exactly why he’s spent four years owning this event.
Robinson-O’Hagan uncorked a fifth-round throw of 72.69 meters (238 feet, 6 inches) to grab the lead from Innes.
With Robinson-O’Hagan entering the final round as the runner-up, he had to wait and watch as Innes took his last attempt that sailed out the right side of the sector for a foul.
It sealed the gold medal and cemented Robinson-O’Hagan’s place in the SEC record book.
His freshman season in 2023 is where it all started. Since then, the Rebs’ star thrower has ruled the SEC hammer final without interruption.
Over his four-year championship run, Robinson-O’Hagan’s average margin of victory in the event stands at 9 feet, 2 inches (2.79 meters).
That includes two victories over his own Ole Miss teammates, one of them by a staggering 23 feet, 8 inches (7.21 meters) back in 2025.
Thursday’s title also pulled Robinson-O’Hagan into a tie with Auburn sprinter and jumper Harvey Glance for the all-time SEC men’s record in individual titles across all sports.
Glance collected 12 titles competing for the Tigers from 1976 to 1979. The two now share that mark, though Robinson-O’Hagan’s stay at the top of the list could be short-lived.
He’s entered in the men’s outdoor shot put Friday, an event he’s won in back-to-back seasons, giving him a shot at the outright record.
The Rebels’ men’s squad led all teams with 21 points through three events on day one.
Rebels Pile Up Team Points in Hammer
Robinson-O’Hagan’s win wasn’t the only contribution Ole Miss got from the men’s hammer on Thursday.
Fellow seniors Bryson Smith and Mason Hickel both turned in their best marks of the season, Smith at 68.07 meters (223 feet, 4 inches) for fifth place and Hickel at 65.74 meters (215 feet, 8 inches) for eighth.
Those finishes added 15 combined points to the Rebels’ total.
It’s become a pattern. Since 2024 the Rebs have averaged 20.7 points per SEC men’s hammer final. Robinson-O’Hagan and Hickel have been in the scoring column every single time.
On the women’s side junior Akaoma Odeluga earned a bronze medal in the women’s hammer with a personal-record throw of 67.19 meters (220 feet, 5 inches), a four-foot PR that came in the fifth round.
All four of her legal attempts on the day set career-best marks.
The throw slots her at No. 5 in Ole Miss program history. It makes her one of just two collegiate women ever to reach 63 feet in the shot put and 220 feet in the hammer.
Arizona State’s Maggie Ewen is the other. Thursday’s medal was Odeluga’s fifth career SEC podium finish and pushed her career conference points total to 41.
Fellow junior Skylar Soli also reached the women’s hammer final for the third consecutive year finishing ninth at a season-best 60.97 meters (200 feet even).
Track Performers Add to Strong Opening Night
The throwing events weren’t the only bright spots for Ole Miss.
In the men’s 10,000-meter final seniors Kidus Misgina and Aiden Britt went 5-7 with times of 29:46.70 and 29:53.14 respectively.
It marked the second time this season the duo scored together in an SEC distance final after going 4-6 indoors in the 5K.
On the track sophomore Jordan Urrutia won his heat in the men’s 200-meter dash prelims at an outdoor wind-legal personal record of 20.65 seconds (+1.4) to earn an automatic qualifier to Saturday’s final.
He’s the first Rebel to reach the SEC 200-meter final since Elijah Dryer placed eighth in 2021.
Sophomore Max Armstrong punched his ticket to the men’s 800-meter final with a gutsy performance of his own, clocking 1:47.36 and splitting the final 400 meters in 53.07 seconds to secure a time-qualifier spot.
Freshman Patchnalie Compere came just one-tenth of a second short of making the women’s 200-meter dash final at 22.98 seconds (+0.3).
Competition for Ole Miss resumes Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT with the women’s shot put final.
