AUSTIN, Texas — Sophomore Mallory McDonald shattered the school record in the hammer throw Thursday to pace the LSU track and field team in first-day action of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays here at UT’s Mike A. Myers Stadium.
McDonald launched the hammer an amazing 197-4 to place second overall in the event and surpass the previous school record by nearly 10 feet. The Lady Tiger’s previous school record mark of 188-1 was set by Candice Gonzalez during the 2002 season.
In other finals action, the men’s 4×800-meter relay team of Tomario Thomas, Marlon Greensword, Jeffrey Fisher and Jamison Carter finished fifth in the event with a time of 7:35.70. Arkansas won the race, registering a time of 7:25.14.
In the men’s and women’s 5,000 meter races Ryan Gallup and Katie Denton were LSU’s top finishers. Gallup placed 14th overall with a time of 15:08.53, while Denton placed 17th with a mark of 18:34.63.
In preliminary round action, senior Althea Thomas qualified into the finals in the 400-meter hurdles. Thomas clocked a season-best time of 59.86 to win her heat and advance to second-day action in the No. 5 position.
Action from the 76th annual Texas Relays will continue to tomorrow, April 4, when the majority of the field and running events get underway at 9:30 a.m. (CST).