FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The LSU track and field team kicked off its 2002 season with several strong performances at the SEC Six-Way at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., Friday evening.
“That was a good opener for us,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We didn’t double anyone up, used people conservatively, but were still very productive. Now we get to come home next weekend and be a little more active.”
The Lady Tigers posted a trio of NCAA provisional qualifying marks on the track, while the Tigers were solid in the field.
NCAA 200-meter dash runner-up made her season debut in the 60-meter dash, easily defeating the field. Lee opened with a comfortable NCAA provisional time of 7.39 seconds to easily win her preliminary heat. The sophomore All-American then cruised to victory in the final, improving slightly with a time of 7.38.
Lolo Jones kicked off her sophomore season in fine fashion, winning the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.33, also an NCAA provisional mark. Jones blasted out of the blocks in her preliminary heat, running a slightly faster time of 8.31.
Newcomer Mariam Burnett looked impressive in her first action in an LSU uniform, winning the 800-meter title. The junior college All-American at Essex County College (N.J.) posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:09.60 in victory.
On the men’s side, Walter Davis picked up an easy victory in the triple jump, posting an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 53 feet 5 ? inches. The defending NCAA champion in the event, Davis became the first Tiger to punch an automatic ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships at the same facility in March.
The defending NCAA champion LSU 4×400-meter relay team smoked the field on Friday night, winning in a high NCAA provisional time of 3:07.07. Lueroy Colquhoun, Pete Coley, Robert Parham and Alleyne Francique returned to the site of last year’s thrilling NCAA victory and looked strong on all exchanges.
“They looked very good, that’s a fast time to run this early in the season,” added Henry. “They’re only going to get faster as the season progresses.”
Javier Nieto came up with the second best throw of his career, finishing second in the 35-lb. weight throw with an NCAA provisional mark of 63-9.
LSU returns to Baton Rouge on Saturday for its 2002 home opener, as it welcomes a field of better than 20 teams to the Carl Maddox Field House for the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational.