BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field continued to look sharp in the early stages of the outdoor season, as both the Tigers and Lady Tigers got several strong performances at the SEC Three-Way meet at Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Saturday.
“We had a very good day today on both sides,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “Again, we’re still being a little conservative with our athletes this early in the year but for the second straight week we got some outstanding performances. We’ll gradually let them do more and more starting with a trip to Houston next week and then the Texas Relays the following week.”
LSU won the team titles in both sides, as Georgia finished second and third Auburn in each race.
NCAA Indoor 200-meter champion Muna Lee opened her individual outdoor campaign with a victory in the 200-meter dash, while also anchoring the Lady Tigers to a victory in the 4×100-meter relay for the second straight week.
Lee ran a conservative time of 23.33 to win the 200-meter title and registered an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the process. Her 200-meter time came just two hours after she anchored the Lady Tigers to a winning time of 44.84 in the short relay, just off the time they ran last weekend.
All-American Ronetta Smith made her outdoor debut in the 400-meter dash and produced a very fast time for early in the season. The senior won the women’s quarter in a time of 52.69, a very high provisional qualifier.
Candice Gonzalez broke her own LSU record in the hammer throw and recorded the first provisional mark ever by a Lady Tiger in the event. Gonzalez won with a throw of 187 feet 5 inches, while Mallory McDonald finished second with a throw of 177-6.
Other wins for the Lady Tigers on Saturday included Lolo Jones in the 100-meter dash, Tiffany Robinson in the 100-meter hurdles and Doria Appleberry in the 400-meter hurdles.
When last seen on the track, Lueroy Colquhoun was helping the Tigers to a third place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and finished fourth in the 400-meter dash. Saturday Colquhoun made just his second attempt ever at the intermediate hurdles and proved that Henry’s squad may be on to something big.
Colquhoun finished second in the 400-meter hurdles in a tightly contestedrace, but clocked a time of 50.11, an NCAA provisional qualifier and just .01 off an automatic mark. The time ranks fourth in LSU history and is the fastest by a Tiger since 1996.
In addition Bennie Brazell, a member of the LSU football team, looked very sharp in his first open collegiate race. The freshman finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 51.89.
Walter Davis made his outdoor debut and did not disappoint, winning the long jump with a high NCAA provisional jump of 25-10. The mark ties him with teammate Marcus Thomas for a tie for second in the nation based on results recorded prior to Saturday’s meet.
Thomas looked good for the second straight week and took the triple jump title, registering an NCAA provisional mark in the process. Thomas won the event with a leap of 52-11 1/2 in his first triple jump competition since the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Other wins for the Tigers came from Claston Bernard in the 110-meter hurdles, Pete Coley in the 200-meter dash, Jeffrey Fisher in the 800-meter run, Brent Martin in the 1,500-meter run, Likhaya Dayile in the 3,000-meter run, Kenny Henry in the steeplechase and Matt Vincent in the shot put.
LSU returns to action on Saturday when both the men’s and women’s squads travel to Houston for the Tom Tellez Invitational.