AUSTIN, Texas — Named the Texas Relays Most Outstanding Team, the Lady Tiger track and field team was sensational in final-day action here at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
“This may be greatest showing ever for LSU at the Texas Relays,” said LSU head coach. “We couldn’t have asked for better performances today. Both the men’s and women’s team had numerous outstanding performances and I couldn’t be more pleased with results.”
Lolo Jones headlined the Lady Tiger group earning Outstanding Performer honors after winning the 100-meter hurdles in world-leading time and helping the women’s 4×100 to a first-place finish with another world-leading mark. Jones is the fifth LSU athlete to earn the Texas Relays distinction, as the last to do so was Cheryl Taplin during the 1994 season.
LSU began the day with the 4×200-meter relay and the Lady Tigers didn’t disappoint the capacity crowd of 20,000. The foursome of Nadia Davy, Monique Hall, Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee edged host Texas en route to setting a collegiate record in the event. LSU’s mark of 1:30.07 not only bettered the previous collegiate record of 1:30.93 set by Texas in 1999, but it also marked a Mike A. Myers Stadium record as well as a Texas Relays meet record and a LSU school record.
Just more than an hour later Durst, Hall and Lee teamed with Jones to shatter additional meet and stadium records in the 4×100-meter relay. The quartet posted the fastest time in the world this season, 42.63, to top runner-up Texas (43.65) by more than a second. The Lady Tigers’ time ranks second all-time in school history as it came up just shy of the collegiate and school record mark of 42.50 set by LSU in 1989. The Lady Tigers title marks its eighth in the event at the Texas Relays.
Following the 4×100, Jones concluded her stellar day with a win in the 100-meter hurdles. Jones clocked a world-leading and meet record-tying time of 12.90 to top the field and remain undefeated in hurdle competition this season. Also running in the race was sophomore RaNysha LeBlanc, who recorded the 10th fastest mark in school history, 13.20, to finish third overall.
Lee capped off a phenomenal day of competition by taking home the meet title in the 100-meter dash. She became just the third athlete in LSU history to break the 11-second barrier in the event as she blew by the competition with a PR time of 10.97.
“It was a rough race, but I felt confident and knew I was capable of winning,” said Lee. “I came off the blocks really strong and half way through the race I knew I had the win as long as I kept pushing.”
Both the men and women turned in second-place finishes in the 4×400-meter relays. Davy and Hall teamed up with Neisha Bernard-Thomas and Hazelann Regis to post the third-fastest time in school history, 3:29.40, while Robert Parham, Bennie Brazell, Anthony Ewers and Kelly Willie combined to run their fastest time of the outdoor season (3:06.25).
In the field events, John Moffitt and LeJuan Simon had an outstanding day, finishing 1-2 in the triple jump. Moffitt outdistance the competitors with an impression leap of 54-6 1/2, while Simon’s jump of 52-6 1/2 earned him runner-up honors. Moffitt’s jump also marked a personal best distance by over five inches and ranks fifth on the Tiger’s all-time outdoor list.
In the women’s triple jump competition, Nicole Toney recorded an outdoor PR of 44-1 1/4 to finish second to SMU’s Zivile Pukstiene (44-5 1/4).
In other relay action men’s 4×100 team of Daniel Trosclair, Kelly Willie, Pete Simon and Bennie Brazell combined to record the Tigers’ top time in the event this season, 39.36, to place third overall.
The LSU track and field team returns to action next weekend when it hosts the annual LSU Alumni Gold Invitational, April 11-12.