KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Behind four event titles on the final day of competition LSU’s top-ranked women’s track and field team jumped seven spots in the team standings to finish third at the SEC Championships Sunday at Tom Black Track. The Tigers earned 52 points in final day action to finish tied for sixth with South Carolina.
Perennial conference champion, Arkansas, won their 10th men’s SEC outdoor title finishing with a meet-high 149 points, while Florida easily claimed the women’s crown scoring 159 points, behind dominate performances in the throwing events.
“I think we came into this meet and accomplished what we expected to,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We had some outstanding performances on both the men’s and women’s side. Now we just need to get and keep the men’s team healthy so we can go into the regional and national meets with the strongest team possible.”
The Lady Tiger sprinters and hurdlers headlined the day’s events as they were nearly unstoppable in the final day of competition.
Short sprint star Muna Lee was nothing short of exceptional, winning her third straight SEC title in the 100-meter dash. Lee registered a top time of 11.11 seconds to become just the second woman in conference history to three-peat in the event. Alabama’s Pauline Davis first did so between the 1986 and 1988 seasons.
“I just ran to win,” said Lee. “I had to think about one part of my race and that was the start. After that, I just opened up and ran.”
Earlier in the day Lee had anchored the foursome of Stephanie Durst, Monique Hall and Lolo Jones to LSU’s 13th title in 16 years in the 4×100-meter relay. The quartet, who currently owns the fastest time in the world this season, easily topped the field with a time of 43.22, winning the conference title for the second straight season.
The Lady Tigers proved to be a force to strong to be reckoned with in the 100-meter hurdles as all three of their qualifiers, Lolo Jones, RaNysha LeBlanc and Zamyal Jackson, went on to finish 1-2-3 in the event, sweeping the medal count while scoring 24 points for LSU.
It appeared as if sophomore LeBlanc might dethrone defending champion, Jones, as she led the race through the ninth hurdle. However, Jones stayed strong in the final stretch and edged LeBlanc, 13.04 to 13.08. LeBlanc’s time however marks a new PR and ranks 10th all-time in the LSU record books.
Junior Nicole Toney successfully defended her conference title, winning the triple jump competition for the second straight year. Toney, a two-time All-American in the event, won the crown on her fourth jump of the day, registering a distance of 43-11 3/4. She became the fourth women in SEC history and the third Lady Tiger to win back-to-back titles in the event.
“I was more comfortable and confident than I was a year ago,” said Toney. “That confidence has allowed me to improve my technique and be more consistent.”
Junior Stephanie Durst just missed repeating as an SEC champion, finishing second in the 200-meter dash. Despite an impressive time of 22.87, Durst was edged by South Carolina’s Erica Whipple at the finish line. Whipple took home top honors, clocking 22.82.
The Lady Tigers also had strong showings in the 400 and 800 meters. Hazelann Regis (51.75) and Nadia Davy (53.44) finished second and fourth, respectively, in the open quarter, while Neisha Bernard-Thomas ran the fourth fastest time in school history in the 800 meters (2:03.32) to earn All-SEC honors with her second-place finish.
Concluding the competition on the women’s side, Davy, Bernard-Thomas, Regis and Stephanie Butler combined to finish second in the 4×400-meter relay.
Regis, running the anchor leg, almost surpassed eventual champion Florida on the final stretch, but fell just short, giving the Lady Tigers a second-place finish with a time of 3:32.58 to the Gator’s 3:32.58.
Not to be outshined, the men’s team turned in several outstanding performances of their own as the field events proved to be a strong suit for the Tiger squad.
In the triple jump, John Moffitt and LeJuan Simon turned in outstanding performances, finishing second and third, respectively. SEC leader Leevan Sands of Auburn won the event jumping 55-2 1/4, while Moffitt, who won the long jump title the day before, placed second with a mark of 54-2 3/4. Simon followed, jumping 53-11.
The Tigers also made their presence felt in the javelin competition. LSU finished 3-4-5-6 to score 18 points for the LSU squad. Taylor Bobo led the Tigers’ march (206-8) and was followed by Luke Kinnard (202-11), Keith Nunez (202-6), and Pat Perrien (202-2).
The Tiger also were also solid on the track. Sophomore Bennie Brazell, the school record holder in the 400-meter hurdles, turned in a season-best effort in the event to place third overall. His time of 49.10 shaved over a second and a half off his previous season-best effort and marked the second fastest time of his career.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Robert Parham, Bennie Brazell, Pedro Tunon and Kelly Willie wrapped up competition for the Tigers as the quartet combined to record a third-place finish. The foursome shaved over a second off their previous season-best outing, clocking 3:05.31 to finish behind champion South Carolina and runner-up Auburn.
The LSU track and field team will resume competition in two weeks when it heads to Columbus, Ohio, for the NCAA Regional Championships, May 29-June 1.
LSU’s 2003 SEC Outdoor Champions
WOMEN
Muna Lee – 100 meters (11.11)
Lolo Jones – 100-meter hurdles (13.04)
Nicole Toney – Triple jump (43-11 3/4)
Stephanie Durst, Monique Hall, Lolo Jones, Muna Lee – 4×100-meter relay (43.22)
MEN
John Moffitt – Long Jump (25-10)
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
Men
1, Arkansas, 149. 2, Tennessee, 111.5. 3, Georgia, 89. 4, Auburn, 85. 5, Florida, 84. 6, LSU, 75. 6, South Carolina, 75. 8, Mississippi State, 69. Alabama, 32.50. 10, Kentucky, 27. 11. Mississippi, 16.
Women
1, Florida, 159. 2, Arkansas, 130. 3, LSU, 110. 4, South Carolina, 86. 5, Auburn, 77. 6, Georgia, 66. 7, Tennessee, 55. 8, Kentucky, 49. 9, Alabama, 38. 10, Mississippi State, 22. 11, Vanderbilt, 19. 12, Mississippi, 5.