BATON ROUGE- The LSU track and field team tore up the field at the LSU Invitational at the Carl Maddox Field House Saturday, registering a combined 10 NCAA qualifying marks in the final tune-up before a major competition in Gainesville, Fla., next Sunday.
“We had an outstanding day today,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “This meet was intend to prepare us for the next few weeks and it did just that. We made some serious progress today and I know we’re headed in the right direction and prepared for what’s ahead.”
The men’s and women’s teams combined to register one NCAA automatic qualifying mark to go along with nine provisional marks, including an amazing five in the women’s long jump.
Monique Freeman won the star-studded long jump competition with an NCAA provisional jump of 20 feet 9 + inches, the best effort of the season for the senior All-American. Teammate Keisha Spencer, who already leads the nation in the triple jump, put herself in strong position to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the long jump as well, finishing just behind Freeman with a personal best mark of 20-7 +.
Chenelle Marshall finished third with a jump of 20-5 +, while Myra Combs and Bianca Rockett finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Russ Buller picked up LSU’s lone automatic qualifier, claiming the men’s pole vault with an effort of 18-0 +. The mark matches his season-best. Buller then set the bar at 18-3 in an attempt to break the Carl Maddox Field House record, but came up just short despite three very good attempts.
The Tigers also got provisional qualifiers in the field from Marcus Thomas in the long jump, who came up with a personal best effort of 25-2 +, while freshman Traun Smith made a major breakthrough with a third place effort of 51-7 + in the triple jump.
The Lady Tigers came up with a pair of provisional marks on the track in addition to their exhibition in the field. Joyce Bates picked up a win in the 60-meter hurdles for the second time in as many tries and improved her NCAA provisional status with a winning time of 8.24. Meanwhile, Sa’Donna Thornton won the short sprint for the third straight week, posting a winning time of 7.42.
Other winners for LSU on Saturday included Derrick Brew in the men’s 200-meter dash, Christian Nehme in the men’s shot put, J.J. Barton in the men’s high jump, the men’s 4×400 and distance medley relays and the women’s distance medley relay.
LSU now turns its attention to the Gator Invitational at Florida on Sunday. The track at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville is recognized as one of the top facilities in the nation in terms of qualifying athletes due to its generous curves.