Georgia’s Justin Welch Launches Career-Best Mark In Weight Throw
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Bulldog sophomore Justin Welch unleashed the longest weight throw of his career on the first day of the Virginia Tech Elite meet in Blacksburg, Va., on Friday.
Welch launched his top effort of 67 feet, 8 inches on his third attempt to take fifth in the competition. Virginia Tech’s Marcel Lomnicky (75-7.50), who is the brother of Lady Bulldog thrower Nikola Lomnicka, and Alexander Ziegler (75-7.25) finished first and second, respectively, with the longest throws in the nation this year.
Welch is now ninth on Georgia’s all-time top-10 list with the longest throw for the Bulldogs in the last two years. Sophomore Caleb Whitener also had a career-best throw of 60-7.25 to take ninth while redshirt freshman Burke McCarty was 12th with a personal-best effort (56-8.75).
Freshman Chris Foster managed his fastest collegiate time in the 400-meter dash (48.10) to earn runner-up honors. Foster had times of 48.6 in his first two meets of the season.
“The two best things of this opening day were Justin Welch’s continued consistency and the improving of Chris Foster,” said head coach Wayne Norton. “Foster keeps getting better and Justin is staying at that same high level he has been at. Both have been bright spots so far in 2012. I was also pleased with Caleb having a personal best tonight.”
Freshman Jared Dunn finished eighth in the 60 hurdle finals with a time of 8.32. Dunn matched his career best in the event in the prelims after recording an 8.27 for seventh in the prelims.
Freshman Justin Scott-Wesley, who redshirted for the Bulldog football team in the fall, was sixth in the 60 finals after speeding to a 6.84 finish. Scott-Wesley was eighth in the prelims with a 6.83.
In the women’s 200, freshman Quintunya Chapman clocked a personal-best 25.22 to finish ninth.
Georgia continues action at the Virginia Tech Elite meet on Saturday. The women’s high jump is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the women’s distance medley relay is the first event on the track and is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Kierre Beckles Paces Gamecocks In NYC
NEW YORK CITY – South Carolina senior Kierre Beckles set the example for Curtis Frye’s youth-laden team Friday at the New Balance Collegiate in being the first Gamecock to qualify and place in a championship final at the first premier meet of the indoor season.
A two-time All-American last year with citations in both the 60-meter hurdles and the 100-meter hurdles, Beckles ran 8.28 in both the prelims and finals of the 60-meter hurdle championship Friday night to place fifth overall in the event. Running out of lane three, Beckles matched her preliminary time late Friday night in the final to take fifth after originally placing third in the prelims. Freshman Chalese Davis placed 24th overall in the prelims at 8.62.
“We still have a young team,” Frye said. “We had a great recruiting class (come in), but those freshmen are still freshmen. It wasn’t a great day, but Kierre making finals in the hurdles was great.”
Sophomore Amber Allen was the other Gamecock to earn a bid to a final section after placing fifth overall in the women’s 400-meter dash college section at a season best time of 56.20. The final will be run Saturday at 4:17 p.m. Freshman Tamera Harris also ran a season best in the event, 56.99, to finish 13th overall in her first collegiate appearance at The Armory.
In the men’s 500-meter dash, freshman Juan Stenner won his heat and placed sixth overall with a time of 1:05.03. Sophomore Nejmi Burnside, who ran in the same heat, placed 12th overall at 1:05.53.
Dorian Johnson hit a personal best in the men’s long jump college section with a leap of 22’8 ¾ (6.93m) to place eighth overall in the event.
Freshman Ahtyana Johnson’s return to her home state produced a season best for the Bayside, N.Y., native. Johnson ran 24.93 in the 200-meter dash college section to take 14th overall. On the men’s side in the same event, Chris Maxwell won his heat at 25.16 to place 11th overall.
Sophomore Clayton Gravesande placed 12th overall in the men’s 400-meter championship section at 48.09, narrowly missing out on the finals. Junior Andre Carter took 25th at 49.00. In the college section of the event, freshman Eric Winfrey placed 24th at 49.69.
The Gamecock women’s shot putters posted two season bests in back-to-back finishes by Katie Vuckovich and Breanna Radford. Vuckovich placed 11th overall at 48’3 ¼ (14.71m), and Radford took 12th at 47’9 ¼ (14.56m). Senior Stacee Roberts placed 22nd overall at 45’6 ½ (13.88m).
A trio of Gamecock women competed in the 400-meter championship section with freshman Erika Rucker leading the way with a time of 55.90 to place 23rd. Nadonnia Rodriques ran 56.19 (28th) in her return to her hometown, and freshman Christal Green ran 57.06 to place 40th.
Chris Royster took 18th overall in the 60-meter dash championship section at 6.84. Freshman Damiere Byrd was disqualified by a false start in his first appearance at the New Balance Collegiate. In the women’s 60-meter championship section, Vashti Bandy and Asia Delaney both competed for the Gamecocks with Bandy running 7.72 and Delaney running 7.85.
A pair of seniors competed in the men’s and women’s 60-meter dash college sections with Kelsey McCorkle taking 38th in the women’s section at 7.87 and Chris Maxwell taking 40th in the men’s section at 7.17. In the first men’s event of the day, Chris Sharp placed 26th in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.90.
Freshman Megan Wall cleared a season best 11’3 ¾ (3.45m) in the women’s pole vault college section to take 29th overall.
In the women’s 1000-meter championship, Liz Locke ran 3:03.55 to take 55th in the large field.
Competition resumes Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with the women’s 5K and concludes with the 4x440-meter relays at 5:43 p.m.
Six Gator Victories Highlight Opening Day of Virginia Tech Elite Meet
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Gators boasted six victories on the first day of the Virginia Tech Elite Meet in Blacksburg, Va. on Friday evening, including another NCAA automatic qualifying mark for the No. 2 Gator men’s track and field team.
Junior sprinter Jeff Demps (Winter Park, Fla.) led the Gators on Friday evening, competing in his first meet of 2012. The two-time defending NCAA Champion finished first in the men’s 60 meters with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 6.59.
“We’re obviously very pleased with Jeff,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “He’ll be the first to tell you that he didn’t kick the race well in the final, but he’s been working a lot in practice and he’ll only continue to improve as we get deeper into the season.”
Junior thrower Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) moved into the Florida record books with a personal-best toss of 20.27m/66-6, good for seventh all-time at UF.
“Coach (Steve) Lemke talked about Fidela throwing big this weekend and we’re both just so pleased with her,” Holloway said. “We’re looking forward to big things from Fidela as the season progresses.”
Junior hurdler Ugonna Ndu (Newark, N.J.) moved to second all-time at Florida in the 60 meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.43, earning her a second-place finish on Friday evening. Fellow hurdler Ashley Favors (Riverview, Fla.) turned her best performance of the season, finishing fifth with a personal-best time of 8.52, good for fifth all-time in Florida school history.
“Ugonna is just getting better and better each meet,” Holloway said. “And we can’t mention the 60 meter hurdles without mentioning Ashley. What a huge PR for her, especially as a freshman, to get fifth all-time in school history is incredible.”
Freshman Marquis Dendy (Middleton, Del.) won the second event of his rookie campaign, taking the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.69m/25-2.75, a personal-best and tied for ninth all-time at Florida.
“I was very pleased with Marquis Dendy tonight,” Holloway said. “He had a PR and made top ten in school history. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, which is exciting.”
Sophomore hurdler Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.) took the men’s 60 meter hurdles title with a time of 7.72, just two-hundredths of a second away from an NCAA automatic qualifying time.
“Eddie did great tonight and just barely missed automatically qualifying for NCAAs,” Holloway noted. “Eddie will keep working hard and he’ll get there, but I’m very pleased with his effort.”
The Gators swept the 400 meter titles on Friday evening, as junior sprinter Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Fla.) won the women’s 400 meter invite with a time of 53.44. Fellow junior Tony McQuay (Riviera Beach, Fla.) took the men’s 400 meter invite title with a time of 47.94.
“Very pleased with Lanie Whittaker tonight,” Holloway said. “She
Junior sprinter Leonardo Seymore (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) earned his first victory of 2012 on Friday evening, as he won the men’s 200 meter open with a time of 21.61.
Junior throwers Jeremy Postin (Auburndale, Fla.) and David Triassi (St. Johns, Fla.) finished 3-4 in the men’s weight throw, recording marks of 21.18m/69-6 and 20.77m/68-1.75, respectively. Triassi’s throw was a personal best and improved his standing at third all-time in Florida school history.
“Pleased with both Jeremy and David tonight,” Holloway mentioned. “David really stuck his nose in there and there were some great competitors in there this evening. He and Jeremy should both be pleased with their performances.”
The Gators are back in action in Blacksburg on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET. Live results will be available at http://www.flashresults.com/2012_Meets/indoor/02-03-VTElite/realtime/.
“Tomorrow, we’re looking to come out and get better,” Holloway said. “I talked to the team tonight after the meet and told them to get hydrated, eat well, rest up and come back tomorrow and perform at a high level.
“These two-day meets are great preparation for the conference meet and NCAAs because we compete back-to-back and we get to test that right away,” Holloway added.
Arkansas School records, NCAA auto mark at NBCI
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 3 University of Arkansas women’s track and field team collected four wins, two school records, an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark and a meet record Friday at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York. The Razorbacks picked up wins in both sections of the 500 meters with Regina George and Martine Borge, respectively, in the pole vault with Tina Sutej and from its distance-medley relay team.
In her victory, George set the school and meet records in the 500 meters with her time of 1:09.81, the No. 6 all-time performance by a collegian. She replaced the previous Arkansas mark of 1:10.93 set by Shelise Williams in 2011 and bested the NBCI record of 1:1204 set by Clarissa Moh of Seton Hall in 2009. George also established the fastest time by a collegiate runner at The Armory, surpassing the time of 1:10.05 set by Natasha Hastings of South Carolina in 2004.
The relay foursome of Kristen Gillespie, Gwendolyn Flowers, Samantha Learch and Stephanie Brown turned in the first school-record performance of the day with a victory in the DMR. The Razorbacks combined for an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 11:01.01. The time currently ranks third in the NCAA and replaces the previous school record of 11:02.45 set last year at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Tina Sutej notched her third win of the season in the pole vault. She secured the victory with a final clearance of 4.30m/14-1.25. Sutej has now won 10 consecutive indoor competitions and 16 of 17 meets, overall, dating back to the beginning of the 2011 season. Tara Diebold tied her personal best with a clearance of 4.30m/14-1.25 and finished in third place on misses. In fifth place, Danielle Nowell set a personal best of her own with a 4.10m/13-5.25 clearance.
Arkansas’ first win of the day came from Martine Borge in the college section of the 500 meters. She crossed the finish line in a time of 1:13.05, a personal best and the fourth-fastest result in school history. Right behind her in second place, Chrishuna Williams raced to a time of 1:13.92 to post the No. 5 time in school history.
In the consolation final of the 60-meter hurdles, Ivanique Kemp finished in third place with a personal-best time of 8.27. Her performance also marked a new national record in the event for her native Bahamas. Kemp was the 10th-fastest qualifier out of the preliminary heats.
Other personal-best efforts Friday came from Rachel Werner at 400 meters and Kirsten Hesseltine in the high jump. Running in the championship section of the quarter mile, Werner crossed in a time of 55.71. She has improved upon her personal best in each meet this season. In the college section of the high jump, Hesseltine tied for seventh place with a final clearance of 1.70m/5-7, tying her personal best at Arkansas.
Kaitlin Flattmann, in her second race of the indoor season, posted a time of 16:47.95 in the championship section of the 5,000 meters. The Razorback freshman finished the race in eighth place.
Day two of the New Balance Collegiate Invitational begins at 8:55 a.m. (CT) for the Razorbacks. The team is scheduled to compete in eight events to close out the meet. Visit www.armorytrack.com for schedule, live results and video stream. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Trinidad & Tobago Duo Sets Tone For Tennessee
NEW YORK -- The Tennessee track & field teams were in the Big Apple Friday, but Trinidad & Tobago natives Annie Alexander and Jamol James felt right at home, delivering UT its best finishes of the day at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Alexander, a senior from Port-of-Spain, posted her fourth top-two shot put finish of the season, stretching the tape measure to 55 feet, 10 1/2 inches with her fifth throw to take second in the women’s championship division at The Armory. Leading the field since the first round, she extended her advantage with that toss, but Baylor’s Skylar White punched out a blast of 56-10 in that round and held on for the win.
James, a true freshman from Chaguanas, recorded a personal-best time of 6.75 in the prelims of the 60-meter dash during the afternoon and then lowered it to 6.74 later in the evening to wind up fifth in the consolation final. With only four meets under his belt, he already ranks as the 13th-best 60m sprinter in a very rich Vol history of speedsters.
Redshirt freshman Matthew Hoty wasn’t satisfied with his overall series in the shot put, but he continued to land throws in the vicinity of 60 feet. His effort of 59-9 was good enough for fifth place Friday night in the championship section.
In another men’s championship event, junior Desmond Brown produced a leap of 23-10 3/4 to wind up eighth in the long jump.
In the women’s college pole vault, sophomore Linda Hadfield carded a sixth-place finish in a return to her home state. The Yorkville product matched her career indoor best with a clearance of 12-5 1/2 on Friday afternoon.
Vol sophomore Daniel Tobin also carded a sixth-place outcome, finishing the men’s Eastern 3000-meter run in a time of 8:41.67.
In championship division preliminary action, senior Ellen Wortham moved on to the finals in the women’s 400 meters with the fifth-best readout of the qualifiers, a career-best 54.14 output that was good for second in heat three.
In a college division preliminary race, senior Ashley Harris won heat seven of the women’s college 200m in 24.57 to advance to Saturday’s consolation final.
“I thought we had a pretty productive day today,” UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark said. “We had several personal bests and near personal bests and made a few finals. Jamol James had two PRs in the 60, Linda Hadfield matched hers in the vault and Daniel Tobin was close to hitting his in the 3000 meters.
“Jamol is heading in the right direction, and Ellen Wortham had a nice PR in the 400 prelims today. We’ve been very consistent with Matthew and Annie in the shot, and Matthew was in there again today mixing it up with a strong group of throwers. I look for our team to continue to have more of these types of efforts as we return to the track on day two.”
The Tennessee squads return to action on Saturday with another full slate of action at The Armory. The first events of the day are the women’s weight throw at 9:15 a.m. and the men’s 5000m run at 9:37 a.m.
Luttrell Wins 5K at Notre Dame Meyo Invitational
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior distance runner Walter Luttrell shattered his career-best time in the 5,000-meter run, and the Kentucky men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded multiple times/marks that rank in the top 10 in program history Friday, the first day of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
Luttrell got off to a strong start at Meyo Track, leading the first lap of the event that spans over three miles in length. After losing the lead, the Dayton, Ohio native surged back to the front and won the race with a career-best time of 14:14.35, breaking his previous best time of 14:29.50 by over 15 seconds. The fastest 5,000m time in the Southeastern Conference entering tonight’s competition was 15:08.09 set by Cullen Doody of LSU. Luttrell’s time is the fifth fastest 5,000m run recorded in UK history.
One week after earning, SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors for her record-breaking performance in the 60m dash, Keilah Tyson competed in the women’s long jump for the first time in her collegiate career. Much like last week, Tyson impressed, finishing fourth in the event with a jump of 6.08m/19-11.50. Tyson’s jump is the seventh best long jump in school history.
Sophomore Kayla Parker and junior Darryl Bradshaw each earned top-12 times to qualify for the finals of the 60m hurdles. Parker advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles finals with a time of 8.61, while Bradshaw qualified for the men’s 60m hurdles finals by winning his heat with a time of 8.05. Bradshaw’s time of 8.05 is the same time he ran last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, missing out on his career best time by 0.01, which is also the sixth fastest time in the UK record books. The finals for the women’s 60m hurdles will begin Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET. The finals for the men’s 60m hurdles start at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.
Freshman Tamyah Pipkin qualified for the finals in the women’s 60m dash with a time of 7.63, finishing in eighth place overall at the preliminaries. The women’s 60m dash finals begin Saturday at 3:20 p.m.
The men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished in third and fifth, respectively. The young men’s team, comprised of freshmen Keffri Neal and Sean Keane, and sophomores Robert Scharold and Adam Kahleifeh, finished the relay stretching 4,000m in 9:57.23. The women’s quartet of junior Cally Macumber, freshman Angelica Whaley, and sophomores Allison Peare and Chelsea Oswald crossed the finish line in 11:31.07.
Senior Jennifer Svoboda had a career-best throw in the women’s weight throw, recording a mark of 16.47m/54-00.50. Svoboda’s mark was tied for 14th at the meet. Sophomore Andrew Evans, a transfer from Michigan, Kalamazoo Community College, recorded his season-best mark in the men’s weight throw Friday. Evans finished 12th with a mark of 16.87m/55-04.25.
The Wildcats begin competition Saturday with a number of both track events and field events at 10 a.m. The final event of the day for Kentucky will be the men’s 3,000m run, raced by junior Luis Orta, who recorded the eighth fastest time in program history in the event last week at the Rod McCravy Memorial, finishing in 8:10.58.
A link to live results of Saturday’s competition is available at UND.com. Results from day one of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational are listed below. Below those results is a list of all the events UK athletes are scheduled to compete in Saturday, as well as the scheduled start time for the event.
For more Kentucky track and field news and information, including results from day two of the Notre Dame Meyo Invitional, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “KentuckyTrack” and go to UKathletics.com.
Cross advances to hurdles final
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The top-ranked University of Arkansas men’s track and field team opened competition Friday with a light schedule at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind. In the Razorbacks’ only races of the day, Caleb Cross qualified for Saturday’s final in the 60-meter hurdles and Scott Gillespie established a personal best in the 1,000 meters.
Running in heat six of the 60-meter hurdles prelims, Cross finished in a time of 7.90 and was the second-fastest overall qualifier for tomorrow’s final. The event final is scheduled for a 1:50 p.m. (CT) start Saturday. In other hurdle results, Andrew Pennington clocked in an 8.27 to finish in 22nd place overall in the preliminary round.
Gillespie, in the Razorbacks’ final race of the day, finished in eighth place at 1,000 meters. He crossed in a personal-best time of 2:25.69. With his performance, he took nearly five seconds off his previous best (2:30.48) which he ran earlier this year at the season-opening Arkansas Invitational.
Day two of the Meyo Invitational begins Saturday at 10:15 a.m. with the unseeded section of the mile run. Arkansas is schedule to compete in six events to close out the two-day competition. Live results and schedule can be found at www.deltatiming.com. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Lipsey, Forbes Take Titles on Day 1 at New Balance Invitational
NEW YORK – Lady Tiger junior Charlene Lipsey made a triumphant return to her home state Friday afternoon as she took down the New Balance Collegiate Invitational meet record in claiming the women’s 1,000 meters championship during the opening day of competition at The Armory Track & Field Center.
Fellow junior Damar Forbes added a victory in the men’s championship long jump with a seasonal best as the LSU Track & Field teams captured a pair of event titles during Friday’s action.
While running in the fifth of five heats of the 1,000-meter run, the former Hempstead (N.Y.) High School star led wire-to-wire while claiming LSU’s first event championship of the meet with her winning time of 2 minutes, 44.34 seconds. Lipsey outkicked BYU standout Katie Palmer (2:44.78) to the finish line on the bell lap as the Cougar All-American faded down the homestretch in a runner-up effort.
With the win, Lipsey eclipsed the previous meet record of 2:45.73 by more than a second as BYU’s Sarah Edwards held the mark that was set during the New Balance Collegiate Invitational a year ago.
Lipsey continues to display an All-America form in the first month of the indoor season as she has set two PRs in both the 800 meters (2:03.79) and mile (4:45.04) already on the campaign. Her personal-best effort of 2:03.79 in the 800 meters is currently the NCAA’s fastest time for 2012.
“The more I run, the more confidence I get. These races have been a huge confidence boost for me since I am finally winning,” Lipsey said. “Since I’ve gotten here, my indoor season has usually been horrible, but I always pick it up outdoors. With me having such a good start indoor, it gives me so much confidence for the rest of the season. I’m happy with the way it’s turning out right now.”
Lipsey signed with the Lady Tigers as the No. 1-ranked 800-meter recruit in the country with the Class of 2009 following a brilliant prep career at Hempstead High School in Hempstead, N.Y.
“It’s really special,” Lipsey said of returning home to New York and setting a meet record. “Each of those other two times I came here, I didn’t run well at all. So, I was really discouraged coming home because of those performances. For me to finally win something like this at home really means a lot to me.”
Forbes teamed with senior Kyron Blaise for a 1-2 finish and 18 points in the men’s long jump as each had seasonal-best performances in leading the Tigers’ scoring on Friday evening.
After recording the No. 3-ranked mark in the NCAA this season at 26 feet, 0 ¼ inches last weekend at the Razorback Invitational, Forbes improved his mark to 26-0 ¾ to become the third LSU Tiger in four seasons to win the New Balance Collegiate Invitational long jump championship. Forbes joined such long jump champions at The Armory Track & Field Center as former Tigers Walter Davis (2002), John Moffitt (2003, 2004), Will Coppage (2009) and Zedric Thomas (2010).
Blaise also moved into the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings this season with his performance as he recorded a 2012 seasonal best and the nation’s No. 6-ranked mark 25-4 ½ to finish runner-up to Forbes in the final event standings. Blaise is poised to break his indoor personal record of 25-6 ¼ this season.
Five Tigers and Lady Tigers even strengthened their NCAA qualifying position with seasonal bests in the sprints and hurdles during Friday’s action while advancing to finals on the opening day of competition.
Senior Barrett Nugent led the way with a bronze-medal winning third place finish in the final of the men’s 60-meter hurdles as he clocked the NCAA’s No. 4-ranked performance this season at 7.72 to finish behind only Syracuse’s NCAA leader Jarrett (7.54) and Clemson’s Spencer Adams (7.68) for the title. He set his previous seasonal best of 7.74 in the preliminary round on Friday afternoon.
Lady Tiger sophomore Jasmin Stowers finished runner-up in the consolation final of the women’s hurdles with a seasonal-best time of 8.11 that moved her into the No. 5 spot on the NCAA list for 2012 and only a mere .01 seconds off the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 8.10 in the event.
Senior Keyth Talley won his qualifying heat of the men’s 60-meter dash with a new personal best of 6.67 before taking sixth place in the championship final with a time of 6.71. Junior Kimberlyn Duncan added a sixth-place finish of her own in the championship final of the women’s 60-meter dash with a 2012 best of 7.35, while fellow junior Takeia Pinckney took second in the consolation final with a time of 7.36.
Lady Tiger freshman Tori Bliss kicked off the meet for the LSU Track & Field teams with a strong PR for fourth place in the championship division of the women’s shot put.
Bliss, who posted a previous PR of 50-11 ½ in her victory at the Texas A&M Dual Meet on Jan. 21, went 51-5 ½ on her fifth throw and 51-7 on her sixth throw of the competition to move into fourth place overall and finish the competition among the nation’s leading freshmen in the event. Her series-best of 51-7 ranks No. 2 overall in the SEC and No. 3 among freshmen in the NCAA for the 2012 indoor season.
Two Tiger freshmen also set lifetime personal bests in the championship division of the men’s shot put as Rodney Brown led the way with a mark of 51-3 and Jeremy Tuttle followed at 45-7 ¼.
Junior Cullen Doody enjoyed a personal-best performance of his own Friday as he slashed 38 seconds off his previous best in the 5,000 meters with the No. 9-ranked performance all-time by an LSU Tiger at 14:30.25 that scored one point with an eighth-place finish in the championship section.
In addition, junior pole vaulter Lacey Sanchez shattered her indoor PR in her specialty with a clearance of 12-9 ½ as she took home 10th place in the women’s championship pole vault. Sanchez strengthened her position at No. 3 on LSU’s all-time performance list after entering the meet with a previous PR of 12-1 ½.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers also feature two of the favorites to take home the 400-meter dash titles during Saturday’s championship finale as senior Rebecca Alexander and junior Caleb Williams each emerged from Friday’s qualifying action with two of the fastest times of the afternoon.
Williams won his heat of the men’s 400-meter prelims with the fastest time of the day at 47.14 as finished ahead of Dublin City’s Brian Gregan (47.29) for the No. 1 seed in Saturday’s final.
Like Williams, Alexander cruised to victory in her qualifying heat of the women’s 400 meters with a time of 53.74 to finish well ahead of Tennessee’s Ellen Wortham (54.14) in the section. Alexander trailed only the time of 53.71 by Clemson’s Marlena Wesh in Friday’s preliminary action in the 400-meter dash.
The action continues for the LSU Track & Field teams at the 2012 New Balance Collegiate Invitational at 8 a.m. CT on Saturday morning as many of the nation’s premier programs wrap up this year’s event at The Armory. The Tigers and Lady Tigers follow Saturday’s action with a return trip to Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 10-11 to compete at the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center.