KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Thrower Mallory McDonald got the top-ranked Lady Tiger track and field team on the scoreboard, placing seventh in the hammer throw, during second-day action at the SEC Championships here at UT’s Tom Black Track.
McDonald recorded LSU’s first points of the weekend launching the hammer 182-10 on her second attempt. Florida, led by Candice Scott’s meet-winning and SEC record throw of 217-10, swept the top four spots in the event.
Freshman Megan Akre just missed contributing to the Lady Tigers’ team score, placing ninth in the women’s heptathlon with 4,430 points. Akre’s total was just 10 points shy of her PR set earlier this season at the LSU Alumni Gold.
In preliminary round action, LSU advanced five athletes into Sunday’s finals. The Lady Tigers took two of the top three qualifying spots in the 200 meters as Monique Hall placed second overall with a time of 23.35 and 2002 SEC champion, Stephanie Durst, followed closely behind winning her heat with a mark of 23.39.
Muna Lee, the NCAA’s leader in the 200-meter dash sat out the race, but will compete in both the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay later this weekend in preparation for the NCAA Regional Championships in two weeks.
In the women’s 800 meters, junior Neisha Bernard-Thomas won her heat and registered the second-best qualifying time of the day, 2:05.49, and her second-best time in the event this season.
The 400-meter hurdles saw LSU advance both Bennie Brazell and Althea Thomas into the men’s and women’s finals of the event. After injuring his hamstring at the Mt. SAC Relays in mid-April, Brazell ran his first hurdles race in nearly a month. He qualified into the finals with the field’s sixth-best time, 50.74, and his second-best mark this season.
Thomas also qualified to the finals with the field’s sixth-fastest mark, finishing third in her heat with a time of 1:00.05.
“Overall, I’m pleased with today’s performances,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “With the exception of Robert Parham in the 200 meters we qualified all the athletes into the finals we expected to. Our 800 runners ran great times and great races, but unfortunately they just weren’t fast enough to advance against this tough competition.”
Tomario Thomas (1:50.06) and Jeffrey Fisher (1:50.89) both posted season-best efforts in the 800 meters, but fell short of advancing to second-day action. Robert Parham also missed qualifying to the finals as he placed 12th in the 200 meters with a time of 21.40.
LSU will resume competition at the SEC Championships tomorrow, May 17.
Action will begin with the men’s and women’s long jump at 3:30 p.m. (EST) and continue at 7 p.m. with the day’s running events.
LSU at the SEC Championships
WOMEN
Event (mark, place)
200 meters prelims
Monique Hall (23.35, 2nd)
Stephanie Durst (23.39, 3rd)
800 meters prelims
Neisha Bernard-Thomas (2:05.49, 2nd)
400-meter hurdle prelims
Althea Thomas (1:00.05, 6th)
Hammer
Mallory McDonald (182-10, 7th)
Heptathlon
Megan Akre (4,430 points, 9th)
MEN
Event (mark, place)
200 meter prelims
Robert Parham (21.40, 12th)
800 meter prelims
Tomario Thomas (1:50.06, 13th)
Jeffrey Fisher (1:50.89, 19th)
Jamison Carter (1:51.43, 21st)
10,000 meters
Ryan Gallup (31:58.30, 14th)
Jeffrey Wiggins (32:12.88, 16th)
400-meter hurdle prelims
Bennie Brazell (50.74, 6th)