Twin brothers combine for three gold medals

By By Robby Atkinson / staff writer
June 20, 2004
Runners young and old laced up their shoes for the 2004 edition of the track and field event as a part of the State Games of Mississippi on Saturday at Meridian Community College.
The day was broken into two divisions, with the 16 and under age division running in the morning session and the 17 and over divisions running in the late afternoon session.
Commissioner Greg Stringer was pleased with the way the event turned out for 2004 and is hoping for great things in 2005.
"The day went pretty good and we had just a few minor glitches, which is sometimes common in this type of event," said Stringer. "We had a good number of young people to run in the morning session this year, and that is a plus."
Stringer also serves as the assistant track and field coach at the University of Southern Mississippi and was impressed with some of the young high school talent that took part in many of the running events.
"This state has some very good runners at the high school level and I was very impressed with some of them today," said Stringer. "We hope that next year will be just as good. Meridian Community College has a great facility that we can use, which is a great plus."
The running events had many different twists and turns in the late afternoon session that needed the use of video replay. Rory Tabb competed in the 100-meter dash and originally thought that he won a sliver medal, but the instant replay showed different. Officials had the luxury of video replay and reversed the decision which gave Tabb the gold medal in the 100-meter event.
"It was a close finish and I was glad to be able to win a gold medal," said Tabb. "It was fun to be able to come to Meridian and compete in the games."
Tabb is a recent graduate of Jim Hill High School and plans to attend Jackson State in the fall and begin his collegiate career as a member of the Tigers track team.
The highlight of the day for the Meridian area in the afternoon session came in the 200-meter dash event. Meridian Community College athletic director and head women's basketball coach Hilary Allen competed in the 200-meter dash and secured a silver medal in the 45-49 age category.
"It was fun to be a part of the event," said Allen. "It takes a lot of out of you, but winning a medal is a great honor."
A unique story of the afternoon session came in the form of a pair of twin brothers from Jackson. Brad and Jeff Nesbit combined for three gold medals on the day. Brad collected two gold medals with one coming in the 400-meter run and another coming in the 200-meter run. Brad is currently attending college at Belhaven and was honored to be a part of the games.
"It was great to come to Meridian and be a part of this event," said Brad Nesbit. "We run in three or four meets every summer and we also run in regional and national meets as well. We love to run in these types of meets and we had a great time today."
Jeff Nesbit secured a gold medal in the 100-meter run and won a silver medal in the 200-meter run. Jeff is very active in many meets around the region and is currently studying to become a minister.
"These games bring out some great people that are here to have a great time," said Stringer. "We hope for much more success like this next year."