FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The LSU women’s track and field displayed its depth on Saturday afternoon, placing the Lady Tigers in position for a big final day at the SEC Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center. For the Tigers, day two was a case of both good and bad news, as they received both tremendous performances and a costly blow.
Muna Lee posted the top qualifying marks in both the women’s 60 and 200-meter dashes, while the men’s quarter milers looked particularly strong. In a surprising turn of events, however, defending long jump champion Walter Davis fouled three times in his quest to defend his title.
The Lady Tigers find themselves in seventh place entering the final day of competition with most of their points lined up for Sunday, while the Tigers sit in fifth place in the men’s race with plenty of scoring opportunities in place for day three.
“With one or two exceptions, 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 put ourselves in position for some good things to happen tomorrow.”
In one of the top competitions of the SEC Indoor Championships, LSU’s Mallory McDonald finished fifth in the weight throw, breaking her LSU school record in event for the third time this year along the way. The freshman came up with a high NCAA provisional throw of 62 feet 8 3/4.
Teammate Candice Gonzales finished ninth, but came up with the first 60-foot throw of her career, posting a provisional mark of 60-0 1/2. The top 11 finishers posted NCAA qualifying marks, highlighted by an NCAA record throw of 73-8 by champion Candice Scott of Florida.
The Lady Tigers got off to a strong off to an equally strong start on the track on Saturday afternoon, placing three athletes in the final of the 60-meter hurdles.
SEC-leader Lolo Jones looked sharp and posted the fastest qualifying time on the afternoon, winning her heat in a time of 8.33 seconds. Zamyal Jackson finished second in the same heat and advanced in a personal best time of 8.42, the first NCAA provisional qualifying time of her career.
Ranysha LeBlanc finished third in her heat, but ran a season best time of 8.47, which seeds her seventh for Sunday’s final.
The Lady Tigers experienced similar results in the 60-meter dash, as Lee and Jones both won their respective heats. Lee blasted out of the blocks to overwhelm the field with a scorching time of 7.25, the second fastest of her career, while Jones won her heat in a personal best time of 7.37, a time that moves her up the NCAA provisional ladder in the event.
The Lady Tigers were once again able to qualify three sprinters in the final, as Stephanie Durst finished second in her heat, but her time of 7.45 was enough to grab the final qualifying spot for Sunday’s final.
Lee later returned to post the third fastest time in LSU history in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 23.00 to easily win her heat. The time is the fastest in the nation this year. Durst advanced as well, finishing second in her heat in a time of 23.33.
Ronetta Smith made a significant statement in the women’s 400-meter dash, posting the top qualifying mark on the day, clocking an indoor personal best time of 52.70. Smith’s time was only the third sub-53 second time in LSU history.
The senior All-American will face a loaded field of South Carolina quarter milers in Sunday’s final, as defending champion Demetria Washington, Lashinda Demus and Melisa Barber of South Carolina all ran sub-53 second times as well in preliminary action.
Marian Burnett looked comfortable in winning her heat of the 800-meter run, posting a time of 2:10.97. Burnett will attempt to become LSU’s first800-meter champion since 1989.
“The women did just a fantastic job on the track today,” added Henry. “We couldn’t have really advanced much better than we did, across the board. From 60-800 meters I don’t think there’s a whole lot more we could have accomplished.”
In the only other women’s final involving LSU athletes, Bianca Rockett finished seventh in the long jump with a mark of 19-9. Nicole Toney finished 10th with a mark of 19-8.
Elva Goulbourne of Auburn won the event with an NCAA record jump of 22-8, breaking former Lady Tiger great Daphnie Saunders eight-year-old record of 22-4 1/2.
The Lady Tigers have six points through four completed finals with 13 events to be completed tomorrow on the women’s side.
The high point of the men’s day was a strong showing by its quarter milers, as the Tigers were able to place three in the Sunday’s final. Alleyne Francique posted the fastest qualifying time on the day, winning a very tight race in which all four runners posted NCAA automatic qualifying times.
Francique held off Shameron Turner of Auburn to win in a time of 46.21. LSU’s Pete Coley finished third in a time of 46.23, easily advancing to the final.
Lueroy Colquhoun, the 2000 SEC runner-up in the event, won his heat with ease, posting the sixth fastest qualifying time overall on the day, a provisional mark of 46.71.
Elsewhere on the track, Robert Parham posted an NCAA provisional mark of 21.21 in the 200-meter dash, but was not able to advance to the final with the number of world class performances posted on Saturday evening.
In an unfortunate turn of events for the Tigers, defending SEC long jump champion Walter Davis was unable to demonstrate the kind of form that made him one of the favorites heading into the event. The 2000 Olympian struggled with his timing, and for the first time in his career at any level, fouled three times and did not post a mark.
Davis will get the opportunity to reverse his fortunes on Sunday when he tries to defend his title in the triple jump.
“I feel terrible for Walter, I know what kind of competitor he is,” said Henry. “He’ll move past this and get ready for tomorrow and I’m sure this will fire him up.”
Teammate Traun Smith was able to grab seventh place for the Tigers in the long jump, posting a jump of 23-10 1/4.
The Tigers picked up a sixth place finish from Javier Nieto in the men’s weight throw, as the senior posted a mark of 61-8 1/4 to give the Tigers 15 points overall after five events. 12 finals will be completed on Sunday in the men’s competition.