DURHAM, N.C. – In dramatic fashion reminiscent of their last NCAA title in 1997, the LSU women’s track and field team won its 12th national crown in 14 years Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.
In 1997, on a rainy day in Bloomington, Ind., the Lady Tigers needed 43 points on the final day to secure victory. On Saturday, the Lady Tigers came up with a 46-point explosion and once again took victory in the final event of the competition on a day, ironically, plagued by a lengthy rain delay.
Keisha Spencer needed to finish in the top three in the triple jump to clinch victory for the Lady Tigers with Southern California breathing down their neck, and put an emphatic exclamation point on the LSU’s weekend, winning the event with a jump of 45 feet 10 inches.
The Lady Tigers finished with 58 points to 54 for Southern California. UCLA finished third followed by BYU. The Tigers finished fifth in the men’s competition with 36 points.
“This was a very special weekend for us,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry, who became only the second coach in NCAA history in any sport to reach 20 NCAA titles on Saturday. “Anytime you win one of these it takes a combination of things. Our ladies knew what was at stake and knew there was absolutely no margin for error and simply exceeded anything we could have asked of them. Just an amazing performance by these young ladies.”
Spencer came up with her jump on her fifth attempt. Her winning mark came shortly after the Southern California 4×400-meter relay team closed out the final event on the track by finishing third while the Lady Tigers finished seventh.
“I didn’t put any pressure on myself,” said Spencer. “It’s just an amazing feeling to go out and help my team win a national championship. LSU hasn’t won it since 1997 so I’m glad we could get it back to Baton Rouge. This is a great way for me to go out as a senior.”
The Lady Tigers had only 12 points entering the final day of competition but knew they would have a strong chance on the final day with eight scoring opportunities. The Lady Tigers delivered in flying colors, scoring on seven of their eight opportunities.
Joyce Bates got the Lady Tigers started, winning the 100-meter hurdles in the opening track event of the evening.
Bates exploded out of the blocks and crossed the finish line in 12.85 seconds, just ahead of Jenny Adams of Houston who clocked a 12.91. Bates becomes the third Lady Tiger in five years to win the 100-meter hurdle title.
Shortly after, LSU’s title charge took full steam when Peta-Gaye Dowdie finished second in the 100-meter dash, while Sa’Donna Thornton gave the Lady Tiger two critical points with a seventh place finish.
Angela Williams of Southern California won the event in a time of 11.12, but the combination of Dowdie, who ran 11.23, and Thornton, who ran 11.57, matched the Trojans’ 10 points.
Dowdie then came back with a vengence, taking the 200-meter title while Valma Bass finished fifth, giving the Lady Tigers 14 crucial points.
Dowdie ran a perfect curve and extended her lead down the straightaway to cruise to victory in a time of 22.51, a personal best time. Bass clocked a 23.26.
The NCAA title was the first individual outdoor title of her illustrious career. Combined with her leg on the 4×400-meter relay, Dowdie ends her career as a 19-time All-American, second only to Esther Jones in LSU history.
Moments after the 200 final the meet was halted for nearly two hours due to severe rain in the area. When the meet continued the Lady Tigers knew they had control of their destiny and seized the opportunity.
Claston Bernard finished second in the decathlon and was the only Tiger in action on Saturday. Bernard came up with a personal best score of 7,806, a new Jamaican national record.
The fifth place finish for the Tigers is their highest since placing fourth in Buffalo in 1998. Stanford ended Arkansas’ eight-year reign as national champions, winning decisively with 72 points to 59 for the runner-up Razorbacks. Auburn finished third followed by Florida giving the Southeastern Conference four of the top five places in the men’s race.
Men’s Team Scores (Top 10 only)
1, Stanford, 72. 2, Arkansas, 59. 3, Auburn, 51. 4, Florida, 50. 5, LSU, 36. 6, Arizona, 26. 7 (tie), Southern California, Alabama, 25. 9, Baylor, 24. 10, Clemson, 21.
Women’s Team Scores (Top 10 only)
1, LSU, 58. 2, Southern California, 54. 3, UCLA, 47. 4, BYU, 46. 5, Texas, 39. 6 (tie), South Carolina, Arkansas, 36. 8 (tie), Houston, Colorado, Nebraska, 26.
| Women
100 Final — 1, Angela Williams, Southern California, 11.12 seconds. 2, Peta-Gaye Dowdie, Louisiana State, 11.23. 3, Tonya Carter, Florida State, 11.30. 4, Brianna Glenn, Arizona, 11.47. 5, Shaunta Pelham, Florida A&M, 11.49. 6, Shakedia Jones, UCLA, 11.55. 7, SaDonna Thornton, Louisiana State, 11.57. 8, Lakeesha White, Texas, 11.65. 100 Hurdles Final — 1, Joyce Bates, LSU, 12.85. 2, Jenny Adams, Houston, 12.91. 3, Donica Merriman, Ohio State, 12.92. 4, Kirstin Bolm, BYU, 12.93. 5, Brandit Copper, Alabama, 13.03. 6, Perdita Felicien, Illinois, 13.07. 7, Kyla Shoemake, Arkansas, 13.15. 8, Ellekisha Williamson, South Carolina, 13.43. 200 Final — 1, Peta-Gaye Dowdie, Louisiana State, 22.51. 2, Kinshasa Davis, Southern California, 22.79. 3, Shaunta Pelham, Florida A&M, 23.09. 4, Michele Davis, Nevada-Las Vegas, 23.14. 5, Valma Bass, Louisiana State, 23.26. 6, Aleah Williams, Texas, 23.62. Lakeesha White, Texas, DNF. Donica Merriman, Ohio State, DNS. 400 Final — 1, Mikele Barber, South Carolina, 51.14. 2, Demetria Washington, South Carolina, 51.82. 3, Christine Amertil, Southeastern Louisiana, 52.13. 4, Barbara Petrahn, Baylor, 52.37. 5, Carolyn Jackson, Arizona, 52.58. 6, Debbie Dunn, Norfolk State, 52.67. 7, Michele Davis, Nevada-Las Vegas, 52.68. 8, Lesley Owusu, Nebraska, 53.30. 1,500 Final — 1, Susan Taylor, BYU, 4:13.03. 2, Carmen Douma, Villanova, 4:16.09. 3, Anna Lopaciuch, Southern California, 4:16.75. 4, Shaquandra Roberson, Rice, 4:17.27. 5, Lauren Fleshman, Stanford, 4:17.76. 6, Steephanie Pesch, Wisconsin, 4:19.13. 7, Katie Crabb, Oregon, 4:19.30. 8, Lisa Aguilera, Arizona State, 4:20.67. 3,000 Final — 1, Kara Wheeler, Colorado, 9:02.15. 2, Korene Hinds, Kansas State, 9:10.10. 3, Carrie Tollefson, Villanova, 9:16.48. 4, Jessica Dailey, Arkansas, 9:16.93. 5, Sally Glynn, Stanford, 9:17.81. 6, Shannon Smith, Boston College, 9:17.89. 7, Kathleen Linck, Georgetown, 9:23.72. 8, Lesley Higgins, Colorado, 9:24.32. Javelin Final — 1, Angeliki Tsiolakoudi, UTEP, 197 feet, 8 inches. 2, Emily Carlsten, Florida, 182-1. 3, Katy Doyle, Texas A&M, 171-11. 4, Beth Obruba, Kent State, 171-3. 5, Kim Kreiner, Kent State, 168-11. 6, Cassi Morelock, Nebraska, 168-7. 7, Karis Howell, Oregon, 168-1. 8, Candy Mitchell, South Carolina, 166-11. — — — Men 100 Final — 1, Bernard Williams, Florida, 10.03. 2, Coby Miller, Auburn, 10.14. 3, Kaaron Conwright, Cal Poly, 10.19. 4, Lindel Frater, Texas Christian, 10.20. 5, Daymon Carroll, Florida, 10.24. 6, Shawn Crawford, Clemson, 10.26. 7, Terrence Trammell, South Carolina, 10.30. 8, Sultan McCullough, Southern California, 10.38. 110 Hurdles Final — 1, Terrence Trammell, South Carolina, 13.43. 2, Aubrey Herring, Indiana State, 13.49. 3, Todd Matthews, Clemson, 13.57. 4, Ron Bramlett, Alabama, 13.67. 5, D’Marcus Brown, Arkansas, 13.78. 6, Adrian Woodley, Syracuse, 13.81. 7, Kenneth Fambro, Alabama, 13.95. 8, Kris Allen, Texas A&M,14.05. 200 Final — 1, Shawn Crawford, Clemson, 20.09. 2, Coby Miller, Auburn, 20.12. 3, Bernard Williams, Florida, 20.28. 4, Darvis Patton, Texas Christian, 20.59. 5, Ricardo Williams, Texas Christian, 20.67. 6, JaWarren Hooker, Washington, 20.78. 7, LeShaunte Edwards, Akron, 20.79. 8, Brandon Evans, Texas A&M, 21.23. 400 Final — 1, Avard Moncur, Auburn, 44.72. 2, Geno White, Florida, 45.02. 3, Christopher Brown, Norfolk State, 45.08. 4, Brandon Couts, Baylor, 45.09. 5, Michael Blackwood, Oklahoma, 45.11. 6, Andrew Pierce, Ohio State, 45.29. 7, Bryan Swarn, Georgia Tech, 45.72. 8, Sanjay Ayre, Auburn, 46.80. 1,500 Final — 1, Gabe Jennings, Stanford, 3:37.76. 2, Michael Stember, Stanford, 3:39.53. 3, Bryan Berryhill, Colorado State, 3:40.37. 4, David Kimani, South Alabama, 3:40.58. 5, Sharif Karie, Arkansas, 3:41.10. 6, Daniel Kinyua, Iowa State, 3:41.26. 7, James Karanu, Arkansas, 3:42.07. 8, Ryan Travis, Arkansas, 3:42.30. 5,000 Final — 1, Brad Hauser, Stanford, 13:48.80. 2, Matt Lane, William & Mary, 13:49.92. 3, Murray Link, Arkansas, 13:50.89. 4, Brent Hauser, Stanford, 13:51.22. 5, Tim Broe, Alabama, 13:52.94. 6, Jonathan Riley, Stanford, 13:54.61. 7, Fraser Thompson, Butler, 13:58.07. 8, Jorge Torres, Colorado, 14:04.18. 1600 Relay Final — 1, Baylor, (Zsolt Szeglet, Peter Hauser, Floyd Thompson, Brandon Couts) 3:01.46. 2, Arkansas, 3:03.14. 3, Southern California, 3:04.22. 4, Texas Christian, 3:04.22. 5, Oklahoma, 3:04.23. 6, Georgia Tech, 3:05.46. 7, East Carolina, 3:05.51. 8, Texas A&M, 3:05.54. DECATHLON 1,500 — 1, Boris Kawohl, Tennessee, 4:22.26, 795. 2, Jacob Predmore, Washington, 4:24.58, 781. 3, Stephen Harris, Tennessee, 4:26.57, 767. 4, Bevan Hart, California, 4:26.65, 767. 5, Santiago Lorenzo, Oregon, 4:30.11, 744. 6, Josh Jones, Liberty, 4:30.92, 739. 7, Espen Strindeberg, Missouri, 4:36.05, 705. 8, Andy Morris, Kansas, 4:37.78, 694. 9, Jason Wilson, Southern Mississippi, 4:38.18, 692. 10, Claston Bernard, Louisiana State, 4:44.46, 652. 11, Curtis Pugsley, BYU, 4:45.91, 644. 12, Pat Buckheit, Tennessee, 4:46.66, 639. 13, Aaron Smith, Texas A&M, 4:51.68, 609. 14, Aaron Moser, Miami, 4:53.97, 595. 15, Andy Giesler, Clemson, 4:56.17, 582. 16, Nic McGhie, Boise State, 5:11.20, 497. 17, Scott Wenholz, Fresno State, 5:32.76. Hurdles — Section 1, 1, Josh Jones, Liberty, 14.69 seconds, 887 points. 2, Andy Morris, Kansas, 14.83, 870. 3, Curtis Pugsley, BYU, 14.93, 858. 4, Aaron Moser, Miami, 14.97, 853. Section 2, 1, Nic McGhie, Boise State, 14.88, 864. 2, Boris Kawohl, Tennessee, 14.97, 853. 3, Scott Wenholz, Fresno State, 15.50, 780. Section 3, 1, Jacob Predmore, Washington, 14.67, 890. 2, Claston Bernard, LSU, 14.87, 865. 3, Santiago Lorenzo, Oregon, 15.26, 818. 4, Espen Strindeberg, Missouri, 15.48, 792. Section 4, 1, Pat Buckheit, Tennessee, 14.88, 864. 2, Bevan Hart, California, 14.92, 859. 3, Aaron Smith, Texas A&M, 15.18, 828. Section 5, 1, Stephen Harris, Tennessee, 14.70, 886. 2, James Wilson, Southern Mississippi, 15.21, 824. 3, Andy Giesler, Clemson, 15.89, 745. Pole Vault — 1, Bevan Hart, California, 17-8 1/2 feet, 1035 points. 2, Scott Wenholz, Fresno State, 17-4 1/2, 1004. 3, Curtis Pugsley, BYU, 16 3/4, 880. 4, Boris Kawohl, Tennessee, 15-9, 849. 5, Andy Giesler, Clemson, 15-5, 819. T-6, Santiago Lorenzo, Oregon, 14-9, 760. T-6, Andy Morris, Kansas, 14-9, 760. T-8, Jason Wilson, Southern Mississippi, 14-1 1/4, 702. T-8, Aaron Moser, Miami, 14-1 1/4, 702. T-8, Nic McGhie, Boise State, 14-1 1/4, 702. T-8, Espen Strindeberg, Missouri, 14-1 1/4, 702. 12, Jacob Predmore, Washington, 13-9 1/4, 673. 13, Josh Jones, Liberty, 13-5 1/4, 645. 14, Pat Buckheit, Tennessee, 13-1 1/2, 617. 15, Claston Bernard, LSU, 12-9 1/2, 590. 16, Stephen Harris, Tennessee, 12-9 1/2, 590. 17, Aaron Smith, Texas A&M, NH. Discus — 1, Bernard, 151 feet, 9 inches, 793 points. 2, Kawohl, 145-2, 752. 3, Giesler, 143-1, 738. 4, Wenholz, 141-0, 725. 5, Moser, 140-2, 720. 6, Buckheit, 136-8, 698. 7, Hart, 130-9, 662. 8, Lorenzo, 129-10, 656. 11, Pugsley, 126-8, 636. 12, Jones, 124-4, 622. 13, Smith, 122-9, 612. 14, Harris, 121-11, 607. 15, Strindeberg, 121-0, 601. 16, Predmore, 116-7, 575. 17, Morris, 107-9, 521. Javelin — 1, Santiago Lorenzo, Oregon, 187-9, 696. 2, Boris Kawohl, Tennessee, 185-3, 685. 3, Claston Bernard, Louisiana State, 185, 684. 4, Stephen Harris, Tennessee, 177-2, 648. 5, Bevan Hart, California, 176-4, 644. 6, Espen Strindeberg, Missouri, 174-1, 634. 7, Andy Giesler, Clemson, 172-11, 629. 8, Jacob Predmore, Washington, 172-5, 627. 9, Scott Wenholz, Fresno State, 169-1, 611. 10, Jason Wilson, Southern Mississippi, 168-6, 609. 11, Josh Jones, Liberty, 165-6, 595. 12, Curtis Pugsley, BYU, 153-6, 541. 13, Pat Buckheit, Tennessee, 147-7, 515. 14, Aaron Moser, Miami, 146-10, 511. 15, Aaron Smith, Texas, 146-2, 509. 16, Andy Morris, Kansas, 145-2, 504. 17, Nic McGhie, Boise State, 122-4, 403. Final Standings 1, Bevan Hart, California, 8002. 2, Claston Bernard, Louisiana State, 7806. 3, Boris Kawohl, Tennessee, 7788. 4, Stephen Harris, Tennessee, 7651. 5, Santiago Lorenzo, Oregon, 7543. 6, Curtis Pugsley, BYU, 7531. 7, Jacob Predmore, Washington, 7426. 8, Jason Wilson, Southern Mississippi, 7310. 9, Aaron Moser, Miami, 7273. 10, Scott Wenholz, Fresno State, 7235. 11, Josh Jones, Liberty, 7222. 12, Andy Giesler, Clemson, 7219. 13, Andy Moris, Kansas, 7172. 14, Pat Buckheit, Tennessee, 7022. 15, Espen Strindeberg, Missouri, 6927. 16, Nic McGhie, 6696. 17, Aaron Smith, Texas A&M, 6334. |