COLUMBUS, Ohio — LSU’s Lady Tiger track and field team was crowned the first NCAA Mideast Regional champions, while the men finished third as the two teams combined to advance 15 athletes and four relay teams to the NCAA Championships in final day of competition from Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Behind individual event titles in the 100 meters, the triple jump and both the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays, the Lady Tigers added an astounding 88 points on the final day of competition to blow away the competition with a final team total of 95 points. Michigan finished a distant second with 62 points, while Indiana followed scoring 60 points.
In the men’s team race, SEC teams swept the top-three spots as Arkansas was crowned the champion with 73 points and Auburn was second (68), while the Tigers followed in third (57.5).
“We had a lot of athletes compete well today,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “Despite the weather conditions we lined up and did well. We advanced a lot of people to the NCAA Championships and that was our goal. The women’s team title just comes as icing on the cake.”
Sophomore Mallory McDonald started the day off on the right foot for LSU, qualifying to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish in the hammer throw. McDonald scored six points for the Lady Tigers after launching the hammer 191-11, her second-best throw of the season.
On the track, the Lady Tigers picked up were McDonald left off, beginning the day’s running events with a come-from-behind performance in the 4×100-meter relay to win the Lady Tiger’s first individual regional title.
The foursome of Stephanie Durst, Monique Hall, Lolo Jones and Muna Lee combined to squeak by Auburn at the finish line, as LSU anchor Muna Lee came from nearly two meters back to clip AU’s Daniele Browning at the tape.
Winning their sixth consecutive meet title in the event, the Lady Tigers set the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium record for the second straight day, finishing with a time of 43.53 to Auburn’s 43.55.
The Tiger’s 4×100-relay proved to be just as thrilling. The LSU foursome of Kelly Willie, Robert Parham, Pete Coley and Bennie Brazell edged Middle Tennessee State at the finish line, beating out MTSU, 39.82 to 39.85.
LSU’s dynamite relay performances didn’t stop there as both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays came away with gold-medal winning performances despite cold, windy conditions. For the Lady Tigers Nadia Davy, Monique Hall, Althea Thomas and Hazelann Regis combined for a meet-best mark of 3:36.18, while the Tiger quartet of Robert Parham, Pete Coley, Marlon Greensword and Kelly Willie came out victorious with a time of 3:09.90.
Individually, Muna Lee and Nicole Toney won LSU’s other regional titles, taking home top honors in the 100-meter dash and triple jump, respectively.
Lee’s win (11.17) marked her fifth in six meets this season, while Toney’s season-best distance of 44-6 3/4 earned her her third straight triple jump title.
Concluding a productive day, LSU advanced 12 other athletes to the NCAA Championships through top-five finishes in their respective events.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the Lady Tigers, who advanced three athletes to the finals of the 100-meter hurdles, automatically qualified just one athlete to the national championships in the event. Sophomore RaNysha LeBlanc earned the automatic bid with her fifth-place finish (13.16), while Lolo Jones, a two-time All-American in the event, and Zamyal Jackson both suffered spills during the race and did not finish. Jones, who owns the NCAA’s second-best time in the 100 hurdles this season, should still advance to the NCAA Championships with an at-large bid.
In the 400-meters, both the Tigers and Lady Tigers had two athletes earn trips to the NCAA Championships as freshman Kelly Willie and Pete Coley finished third and fifth, respectively, with times of 46.21 and 46.46. For the women, NCAA leader Hazelann Regis and Nadia Davy will also be making trips to nationals as Regis placed second (52.04) and Davy finished in third (53.26).
For the Lady Tigers, both Stephanie Durst and Monique Hall advanced in the 200 meters. Durst finished second with a time of 23.56 and Hall followed in third at 23.80. On the men’s side, junior Robert Parham will also be competing in the 200 meters at the NCAA Championships, as he placecd second in the finals with a season-best effort of 20.81.
In the 800-meters, Neisha Bernard-Thomas will be heading back to the national meet after placing fourth in finals with her second-best run of the season (2:03.95).
Also advancing for the Lady Tigers was Althea Thomas in the 400-meter hurdles. She clocked 59.46 to place third overall. Thomas will be joined by Bennie Brazell on the men’s side as he moved on to the national meet, placing fourth with a time of 51.60.
All-American pole vaulter Daniel Trosclair will be making his second trip to the NCAA Championships this season as he automatically qualified after placing fourth with a season-best outdoor clearance of 16-11.
The LSU track and field team will conclude its season in two weeks when it heads to Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 11-14.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (Top 10 only)
Women
1, LSU, 95. 2, Michigan, 62. 3, Indiana, 60. t4, Arkansas, Auburn, 45.5. 6, Ohio State, 40.5. 7, Tennessee, 36. t8, Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame, 34.5. 10, Illinois, 25.
Men
1, Arkansas, 73. 2, Auburn, 68. 3, LSU, 57.5. t4, Purdue, Ohio State, 43. 6, Middle Tennessee State, 37. 7, Tennessee, 36. 8, Indiana, 33. T9, Alabama, Mississippi State, 28.
LSU’s Mideast Regional Champions
Women
Muna Lee – 100 Meters (11.17)
Nicole Toney – Triple Jump (44-6 3/4)
4×100 (Durst, Hall, Jones, Lee) – 43.53
4×400 (Davy, Hall, Thomas, Regis) – 3:36.18)
Men
4×100 (Willie, Parham, Coley, Brazell) – 39.82
4×400 (Parham, Coley, Greensword, Willie) – 3:09.90
LSU’s Automatic NCAA Championship Qualifiers
Women
100 Meters – Muna Lee
200 Meters – Stephanie Durst, Monique Hall
400 Meters – Nadia Davy, Hazelann Regis
800 Meters – Neisha Bernard-Thomas
100 Hurdles – Zamyal Jackson
400 Hurdles – Althea Thomas
4×100 – Durst, Hall Jones, Lee
4×400 – Davy, Hall, Thomas, Regis
Long Jump – LaToya Payne
Triple Jump – Nicole Toney
Hammer – Mallory McDonald
Men
200 Meters – Robert Parham
400 Meters – Pete Coley, Kelly Willie
400 Hurdles – Bennie Brazell
4×100 – Willie, Parham, Coley, Brazell
4×400 – Parham, Coley, Greensword, Willie
Long Jump – John Moffitt
Pole Vault – Daniel Trosclair