FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — LSU’s track and field team got the 2004 indoor season off to an outstanding start, automatically qualifying two athletes to the NCAA Championships, while provisionally qualifying nine others Friday night at the Arkansas Invitational.
“This was one of the better first meets we have had in quite some time,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “There wasn’t much more we could have asked for. We competed hard and left healthy, so I’m extremely pleased.”
Sophomore sprinter Kelly Willie recorded the Tigers’ first NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the season, posting a time of 20.83 in the 200 meters to win his heat, but place second overall. He was followed by senior Robert Parham, who finished second is his race and third in the overall standings with a provisional time of 21.22.
The Tigers’ additional automatic mark came from senior LeJuan Simon in the triple jump. Simon earned runner-up honors with his leap of 53-9.
LSU was impressive in the 400 meters, sweeping both the men’s and women’s races. Pete Coley garnered gold with a time of 46.35, while Hazelann Regis finished first with a time 53.01. Both marks reached NCAA provisional standards.
Also posting provisional times for the Lady Tigers were Muna Lee and Lolo Jones in the 60-meter dash, RaNysha LeBlanc in the 60-meter hurdles and the 4×400-meter relay.
Jones and Lee finished 1-2 in the 60 with times of 7.40 and 7.44, respectively, while LeBlanc won the hurdles title in 8.32.
Monique Hall, Stephanie Butler, Neisha Bernard-Thomas and Nadia Davy then combined to win the 4×400 in 3:38.67.
The Lady Tigers were also solid in the distance events as junior Katie Denton won the 3,000 meters (10:23.09) and the distance medley relay team also finished on top (12:13.17).
In the throws, Lady Tiger Mallory McDonald paced the pack, winning the weight throw, while also provisionally qualifying to the NCAA Championships, with a mark of 62-6.
Katie McKeever and Matt Vincent recorded wins of their own as each took home first in the shot put. McKeever topped the field with a toss of 47-7 1/4 and Vincent outdistanced the competition with a throw of 53-3 3/4.
In the field events, senior John Moffitt turned in a provisional distance of 25-4 3/4 in the long jump to earn runner-up honors, while fellow senior Daniel Trosclair won the pole vault, clearing a personal best 17-8 1/2.
The LSU track and field team returns to action Sat., Jan. 24, when it opens the home schedule at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse with the Purple Tiger Invitational.
Click here for the weekend’s complete results