NEW YORK, N.Y. — Behind dominating final-day performances by both the Tigers and Lady Tigers, the LSU track and field teams swept gold Saturday at the 4th Annual Armory Invitational.
The Lady Tigers toppled the competition, finishing with 138.5 points to runner-up South Carolina’s 109 points, while the Tigers outdistanced second-place Texas, 103-92.
“We started good and we ended good,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We had some great things happen. A few people surprised us with their performances, accomplishing some things that often only happen once in a lifetime.”
LSU swept the individual honors as seniors John Moffitt and Hazelann Regis were named the Men’s and Women’s Outstanding Athletes of the Meet, respectively.
A day after winning the long jump title with an American and NCAA-leading mark of 27-1 3/4, Moffitt helped LSU to a 1-2-3 sweep of the triple jump, finishing second in the event with a PR distance of 54-4.
Regis turned in one of the most exciting races of the day, battling South Carolina’s Lashinda Demus for gold in the 400 meters.
The two were neck and neck throughout the race before Regis pulled ahead in the final few meters to edge Demus, 51.89 to 52.22. Regis won the not only the event title, but also captured the meet and Armory records.
LSU combined to post five more meet records and two additional Armory records throughout the course of the day.
The record-setting performances began with the men’s triple jump where LSU’s LeJuan Simon, Moffit and Willie Bradley all automatically qualified to the NCAA Championships. Each posted PR marks that rank among the top-10 all-time in Tiger history.
Simon led the assault on the LSU record books, bettering his PR by nearly a foot to claim first-place honors with a jump of 55-5 3/4. Simon’s mark is not only the best in the NCAA this season, but also ranks as the second-best in LSU history.
Moffitt posted the fourth-best mark ever by a Tiger to earn runner-up honors, while Bradley automatically qualified to the national meet for the first time in his career, jumping 53-6 1/4, a distance that ranks ninth all-time at LSU.
In the women’s competition, senior Nicole Toney set a meet record of her own in the triple jump, posting the top distance among all collegiate competitors (43-9 3/4).
On the track the Lady Tigers were unstoppable, winning five events titles on the way to setting four meet records.
National champion Muna Lee extended her winning streak in the 200 meters to 10 consecutive races, setting the meet and Armory records with a time of 23.06. Lee broke the previous record of 23.18 she had set previously during the 2002 season.
Lee also took home first-place honors in the 60-meter dash, clocking 7.36.
Senior Lolo Jones was not far behind in the 60, finishing third with a time of 7.46. That performance followed her win in the 60-meter hurdles, where the defending NCAA champion clocked a provisional and meet record time of 8.17 in her season debut.
In the 800 meters, Neisha Bernard-Thomas blew away the competition with an NCAA-leading, as well as meet and Armory record time of 2:04.97. Her time, which ranks as the third-best in Lady Tiger history, also automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Championships in March.
After that outstanding effort, Bernard-Thomas returned to the track just 35 minutes later, helping the Lady Tigers to a second NCAA automatic mark in the 4×400-meter relay.
Bernard-Thomas teamed with Brittany Harris, Nadia Davy and Regis to garner runner-up honors with a season-best effort of 3:34.38.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Pete Coley, Siraj Williams, Bennie Brazell and Kelly Willie also automatically qualified to the NCAA Championships, winning their race with a meet record time of 3:07.49.
The LSU track and field team will return to action Fri., Feb. 20, when it hosts the LSU Twilight at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
Final Team Standings (Top 10 only)
MEN (Championship Division)
1, LSU, 103. 2, Texas, 92. 3, Tennessee, 73.5. 4, Purdue, 69. 5, South Carolina, 59. 6, California, 47.5. 7, Villanova, 41. 8, Georgia, 37. 8, France, 37. 10, Georgetown, 16.
WOMEN (Championship Division)
1, LSU, 138.5. 2, South Carolina, 109. 3, Duke, 73.5. 4, Columbia, 53. 5, Georgia, 46.5. 6, Purdue, 43. 7, Georgetown, 42. 8, California, 28.5. 9, Maryland, 25. 10, George Mason, 22.