LINCOLN, Neb. — Walter Davis completed his sweep of the horizontal jumps, while Muna Lee broke a prestigious school record, highlighting another strong outing for the LSU track and field team on day two of the Adidas Invitational.
Davis, a 2000 Olympian, soared to a winning mark of 54 feet 4 3/4 inches in the triple jump, posting the top mark in the NCAA so far this season. The 2001 NCAA champion in the event, Davis has a combined record of 4-0 in the horizontal jumps in the early stages of the season.
Lee finished second in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes to junior college sprint phenom Veronia Campbell of Barton County, but managed to break the LSU record in the 60-meter dash in a fantastic race.
After running winning times of 7.38 and 7.39 in her first two races of the year, Lee spent all week working on her start and it paid dividends on Saturday, as the sophomore ran an LSU record time of 7.21 in the final, by far the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Lee’s time broke the previous mark of 7.23 by former LSU great Peta-Gaye Dowdie.
“For Muna to run a time like that this early in the season, win or lose, that’s incredible,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “Furthermore, anytime you break a record set by someone of Peta-Gaye’s caliber, you’ve done something remarkable because she was one of the best the LSU and the NCAA has ever seen.”
Lee’s 60-meter time was an NCAA automatic qualifier and she added another later in the day with a scorching time of 23.44 in the 200-meter dash moments later. Teammate Stephanie Durst finished third in the same race with an NCAA provisional time and personal best of 23.93.
Elsewhere on the track for the Lady Tigers, Lolo Jones finished second in the 60-meter hurdles to NCAA champion Perdita Felicien of Illinois, but ran a significant personal best, clocking a time of 8.18. The time is just .01 off an NCAA automatic qualifying time and is the fifth fastest time in LSU history.
Teammate Tiffany Robinson came up with a major breakthrough, recording the first provisional mark of her career in the same race, posting a time of 8.37 to finish fourth.
On the men’s side, the Tigers quarter milers looked good, as Alleyne Francique and Lueroy Colquhoun posted a 1-2 finish in the 400-meter dash. Francique, the NCAA runner-up in the event a year ago, circled the oval in a time of 47.42 while Colquhoun ran a time of 47.69.
Teammate Pete Coley finished ahead of both Francique and Colquhoun but was later disqualified for stepping on the line.
Elsewhere on the track, the men’s distance medley relay foursome of Brent Martin, Jamison Carter, Tomario Thomas and Billy Bohlke finished third, running an impressive time of 9:58.09 in the process, the fifth fastest time in school history.
“We came here looking for a competitive environment and to step things up a notch and we definitely did that this weekend,” said Henry. “I’m pleased with the efforts we got on both sides and I think we’ll continue to build in the weeks to come.”
LSU returns to action on Friday when both squads travel to the famed Armory in New York City for the “Meet of Champions” Armory Invitational, a two-day meet that will feature a number of the nation’s premier teams.