BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field team came up with a conservative, yet productive outing in its final tune-up before next weekend’s SEC Indoor Championships, as several athletes took advantage of a laid back atmosphere at the LSU Twilight Friday evening, while many athletes got some much needed rest.
Both teams looked sharp, but it was the top-ranked Lady Tigers that stole the spotlight and exhibited their depth with the SEC Indoor Championships a week away.
“We accomplished pretty much everything we anticipated we would,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We rested a good number of people, but those who did compete today were very productive and gave us a great effort. This is a good way to head into our conference meet.”
The Lady Tigers came up with a huge breakthrough in the horizontal jumps, getting high provisional qualifiers from Bianca Rockett and Andria Booker.
Rockett won the event with a season-best mark of 42-11 1/2, while Booker finished just behind at 42-8 3/4. With Nicole Toney already ranked third in the nation, it gave the Lady Tigers three of the top seven ranked triple jumpers in the nation.
In addition, Ashley Gardner stepped up and recorded the first provisional mark of her career in the triple jump and finished fourth with a jump of 41-7, a mark that ranks 18th in the nation.
Stephanie Durst holds the second fastest time in the nation in the 200-meter dash, but Friday evening moved up the NCAA provisional list in the 60-meter dash with a victory. Durst picked up her first career win in the event, edging teammate Lolo Jones with a winning time of 7.39, a mark that moved her from No. 17 in the nation to the No. 13 position.
Jones matched her season-best time with a provisional mark of 7.40 and remained in the 15th spot in the nation.
Freshman Mallory McDonald added a foot and a half to her school record in the 20-lb. weight throw, posting a winning mark of 61-8 1/4. The mark is an NCAA provisional and moved her from 34th to 21st in the nation in the event.
Teammate Candice Gonzalez finished second, also reaching the provisional standard with a personal best throw of 58-3.
Elsewhere in the field, Nicole Toney is already an automatic qualifier in the triple jump, but posted her first provisional mark in the long jump, winning the event with a jump of 20-3.
Sophomore Tiffany Robinson continued her rapid rise as one of the most improved hurdlers in the SEC and Friday night, she picked up the first title of her career, beating 2001 SEC 60 and 100-meter hurdles champion Teneeshia Jones, formerly of Ole Miss.
Teammate Zamyal Jackson got out of the blocks with the lead and finished third in a time of 8.55. Robinson and Jones caught Jackson at the 30-meter mark and took over the race, as Robinson edged the former All-American with a winning time of 8.44.
Ronetta Smith will compete in the 400-meter dash next week at the SEC Championships, but looked good in a training run on Friday evening, winning the 200-meter dash in a provisional time of 24.22.
Other winners on Friday evening included Stephanie Butler in the women’s 400-meter dash and Amanda Roussel in the high jump. Javier Nieto matched his top mark of the season in the 35-lb. weight throw, winning the event with a provisional throw of 64-7, while teammate Matt Vincent finished second.
LSU returns to action on Friday when the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships get underway. For the first time, the event will be a three-day competition with the pentathlon taking place on Friday, while the majority of action will take place on Saturday and Sunday.