COLUMBUS, Ohio — Long jumpers John Moffitt and LaToya Payne became the first LSU track and field athletes to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, Friday, as Moffitt finished third and Payne placed fourth at the Mideast Regional Championships here at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Moffitt held the lead with his jump of 26-0 1/4 heading into the fifth round of competition. However, a new NCAA-leading mark by Auburn’s Leevan Sands (27-2) and a strong jump by Ohio State’s Drew Carter (26-3) upended Moffitt’s quest for the regional title.
Payne recorded her best jump of the season, 21-0 1/2, to finish just a quarter of an inch behind third-place finisher Rose Richmond of Indiana.
In other finals action, Katie McKeever scored a point for the Lady Tigers finishing eighth in the shot put with her second-best toss of the season (50-3 1/4), while Maria Romero just missed scoring, placing 10th with a throw 135-2.
LSU began the day with solid prelim performances in both the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relay. Both groups posted Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium records en route to turning in the field’s top qualifying times. The Lady Tiger foursome of Stephanie Durst, Monique Hall, Lolo Jones and Muna Lee easily handled the competition with a time of 43.58, while the Tiger foursome of Kelly Wille, Robert Parham, Pete Coley and Bennie Brazell bettered the field, clocking 39.36.
Following the 4×100, the Lady Tigers returned to action with impressive performances in the 100-meter hurdles. LSU dominated the prelims as it advanced three athletes into Saturday’s eight person final. Lolo Jones, the two-time SEC champion in the event, paced the Lady Tigers, qualifying in with the second-best time of the day (12.96), while RaNysha LeBlanc posted the sixth-best mark (13.28) and Zamyal Jackson followed in eighth (13.40).
In an unfortunate twist of fate Muna Lee, the NCAA’s leader in the 200 meters, was disqualified in the prelims of the race after being charged with a false start. However, Lee should get a chance to earn an at large bid to the NCAA Championships based on her NCAA-leading mark in the event and her “honest effort” in the regional event.
“It’s one of those things that happen that you just wish wouldn’t happen,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “She’s the best in the nation in the event and it’s just an unfortunate scenario.”
Fellow sprinters Stephanie Durst and Monique Hall did turn in solid showings in the event, advancing to the finals after finishing 1-2 in the third heat with times of 23.56 and 23.80, respectively. For the men, junior Robert Parham also qualified in the 200 meters, running the seventh-best time of the day (21.28).
In the 400 meters, LSU advanced two athletes on both the men’s and women’s sides. The duo of Kelly Willie and Pete Coley moved on with times of 46.38 and 46.71, respectively, while NCAA leader Hazelann Regis (53.07) and Nadia Davy (53.77) qualified for the women.
The 800 meters saw junior Neisha Bernard-Thomas advance to the finals for the Lady Tigers. She qualified with the field’s third fastest time, winning her heat in 2:05.85.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Bennie Brazell, the 2002 NCAA runner-up in the event, coasted to a first-place finish in his prelim heat, automatically advancing to the finals with a time of 50.29. His counterpart on the women’s side, Althea Thomas, did the same, winning her heat in 1:00.20.
“I think overall we had a great day,” said Henry. “We had some really good things happen. We advanced a lot of athletes and have put ourselves into a good position heading into tomorrow’s meet.”
Action from the Mideast Regional Championships will wrap up tomorrow, May 30, with the field events beginning at 11 a.m. (CST) and finals of the running events following at 5 p.m.
TEAM STANDINGS (After five events scored)
Men
1, Auburn, 28. 2, Ohio State, 23. 3, Purdue, 18. 4, Indiana, 14. 5, Arkansas, 11. t6, Southern Miss, Missouri, Eastern Michigan, 10. 9, Illinois State, 9. 10, LSU, 7.
Women
1, Michigan, 23. 2, Notre Dame, 18. T3, Missouri, Indiana, 16. 5, Eastern Michigan, 13.5. t6, Tennessee, Arkansas, La. Tech, 12. 9, Auburn, 11. T10, Ball State, Northwestern State, 8. T12, LSU, Toledo, 6.