EUGENE, Ore. — The LSU men’s 4×400-meter relay team broke its school record, while both the men’s and women’s teams came up with strong efforts on day two of the NCAA Outdoor track and field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Walter Davis finished second in the men’s long jump, while both teams were near perfect in advancing athletes on Thursday.
“We had about as good a day as we could have had,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We advanced very well on both sides and got just some incredible performances. From top to bottom we did just about everything we could have today.”
Host-Oregon grabbed the lead in the men’s competition with 27 points, while UCLA leads the women’s competition with 16 points. The Tigers are in 12th in the men’s competition with eight points. The Lady Tigers are in 15th with three points.
The Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay justified its No. 1 ranking with a school record time of 3:01.66 to win their heat with ease and advance to Saturday’s final. Anchor Alleyne Francique shut down with 30 meters to go to conserve his energy for the final, otherwise the Tigers would have become only the second team in NCAA history to run a sub-three minute time.
Robert Parham got the Tigers off to a great start with an opening leg of 45.58. Lueroy Colquhoun separated the Tigers from the pack with a blazing 44.69 leg, followed by a 45.62 from Pete Coley and a 45.50 from Francique.
Not to be overshadowed by the men’s relay, the Lady Tigers looked every bit as sharp in the women’s 4×400-meter relay, running a season best time by nearly four seconds, also advancing to Saturday’s final.
The foursome of Stephanie Durst, Xyllena Lynch, Myra Combs and Ronetta Smith blazed to a time of 3:30.20, the fourth fastest time in school history and the fastest by an LSU team since 1995.
In one of the most anticipated match-ups of the meet, Walter Davis finished second in the long jump to nemesis Savante Stringfellow of Ole Miss who won his second straight NCAA Outdoor title.
Davis came up with a lifetime best leap of 26 feet 10 1/2 inches, but just short of Stringfellow’s 27-1 1/4. The finish by Davis was the highest by an LSU man since Llewellyn Starks won the event in 1990.
In preliminary action on the track, Francique began his day with a strong showing in the 400-meter dash, winning his heat while posting the second fastest qualifying time on the day.
Francique set the pace in a loaded heat that included teammates Coley and Parham, as well as NCAA Indoor runner-up Andrew Pierce of Ohio State, by taking the race out quick over the first 200 meters. Francique ran a split of 21.34 at 200 meters, separating himself from the field and enabling him to coast to a time of 45.43.
Coley finished fourth in the heat in a time of 46.21 and Parham sixth in 46.61. Neither advanced to Saturday’s final.
On the women’s side, Muna Lee continued her torrid start to the championships, winning her heat of the 100-meter dash in a time 11.17 to advance to Friday’s semifinal round. The time by Lee was the second fastest on the day and, with a legal wind, was the seventh fastest time in LSU history. Teammate Sa’Donna Thornton finished second in the same heat, advancing with a time of 11.43.
The Lady Tigers got two more qualifiers on Thursday, as Ronetta Smith advanced to the final of the 400-meter dash, while Lolo Jones advanced to the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles.
Smith finished third in her heat of the 400-meter dash, but managed to hold on to the last qualifying spot in the final, posting a time of 52.65.
Jones finished fourth in her heat of the 100-meter hurdles, but still grabbed the final qualifying spot for the semifinals, running a time of 13.45. Ironically, her time was faster than the time she posted in finishing second at the SEC Championships earlier this month.
In the only other final involving an LSU athlete on Thursday, Javier Nieto finished 13th in the men’s hammer with a throw of 202-0.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships continue on Friday with LSU in action in both 4×100-meter relay finals. In addition, Lee and Thornton will compete in the semis of the 100-meter dash, as will Jones in the 100-meter hurdles, while Bianca Rockett sets her sites on the women’s triple jump.
Notes
* The time of 11.17 in the 100-meter dash by Muna Lee was the seventh fastest time in LSU history. The time moved her past 1996 NCAA 100 meter runner-up Zundra Feagin who posted a time of 11.18, ironically, on the same track at Hayward Field.
* The time registered by the Tigers in the 4×400-meter relay bettered their record of 3:01.73 set in Houston on March 31. The time was the second fastest in SEC history. Saturday they will take aim at the SEC record of 3:00.68 by Florida in 1988 and the NCAA record of 2:59.91.
* Ronetta Smith became the Lady Tigers’ first finalist in the 400-meter dash since LaTarsha Stroman won the event at Bloomington, Ind., in 1997.
* Francique’s heat-winning time of 45.43 in the 400-meter dash was the second fastest qualifying time on the day behind only the 45.06 from reigning NCAA Outdoor champion Avard Moncur of Auburn. Francique will attempt to unseat Moncur on Saturday and become LSU’s first champion in the event in 67 years.
* On Friday the Lady Tigers will gun for their first 4×100-meter title since 1997. With the exception of 1999, the Lady Tigers have finished in the top three every year since 1987. The Lady Tigers finished second in Duke a year ago. They ran the fastest qualifying time on Wednesday, an NCAA-leading 43.35.
* The finish by Walter Davis was the highest by an LSU man in the long jump since Llewellyn Starks won the event in 1990 at Duke.
* The time of 3:30.20 by the Lady Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay was the fourth fastest time in school history and the fastest time by an LSU relay since 1995.