LEXINGTON, Ky. — Senior All-American John Moffitt just missed a second straight SEC title in the long jump Saturday, earning all-conference honors with a runner-up finish at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships at UK’s Nutter Field House.
Moffitt turned in a solid jump of 26-0, but it wouldn’t prove to be enough as Auburn’s Leevan Sands outdistanced him with a leap of 26-7.
“Those were two great competitors out there,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “John just happened to get beat today.”
Moffitt led the Tigers to a 2-6 finish in the event as senior LeJuan Simon turned in a mark of 24-10 to finish sixth.
The Lady Tigers also had two athletes score in the long jump as LaToya Payne finished fourth with a leap of 19-10 3/4 and Nicole Toney was sixth with a distance of 19-9 1/2.
Other scorers for LSU included Joe Lochridge in the shot put (56-1 3/4) and Shontae Harris in the high jump (5-7).
“I think we did what we needed to do today,” said Henry. “We qualified well and put ourselves in a good position heading into tomorrow.”
In addition to the six scorers, the Tigers and Lady Tigers combined to advance 11 athletes into 13 event finals.
Senior All-Americans Muna Lee and Lolo Jones both advanced in two events.
Lee will go for an unprecedented fourth straight 200 meters title after clocking 23.16 to finish second in the prelims. She also advanced to the finals in the 60-meter dash, finishing with the field’s third-fastest mark (7.30).
Jones will join Lee in the 60 finals after clocking 7.47 to finish ninth. The Des Moines native will enter the 60-meter hurdle finals as the field’s top qualifier after posting a top time of 8.16 in the prelims.
LSU was impressive in the 400 meters, qualifying two athletes into both the men’s and women’s finals.
Hazelann Regis broke the school record in the event for the second time in two weeks, clocking a personal best 51.87 to advance to the finals with the field’s second-fastest time. She finished behind only South Carolina’s Lashinda Demus who clocked a SEC and facility record of 51.78.
Senior Nadia Davy also moved on to second-day action recording a time of 53.17 to finish seventh overall.
In the men’s race, sophomore All-American Kelly Willie topped the field with a season-best and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 46.04. Senior Pete Coley was not far behind, finishing with the day’s fourth-best qualifying time (46.41).
The 800 meters saw Lady Tiger Neisha Bernard-Thomas and Tiger Jeffrey Fisher both advance to the finals. Bernard-Thomas clocked the field’s fastest time (2:05.40), while Fisher’s season-best time of 1:50.05 was good enough for the ninth and final qualifying spot.
Senior Stephanie Durst also advanced to second-day action for the Lady Tigers. She posted a season-best and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 23.43 in the 200 meters.
Action from the SEC Indoor Championships will conclude tomorrow, Feb. 29. Competition will begin at 10 a.m. with the field events and continue at 1:30 p.m. with the finals of the running events.
TEAM STANDINGS
MEN (After four events scored)
1, Auburn, 35.
2, Arkansas, 25.
3, South Carolina, 19.
4, Florida, 18.
5, Georgia, 17.
6, Tennessee, 16.
7, LSU, 12.
8, Kentucky, 10.
9, Alabama, 4.
WOMEN (After four events scored)
1, Georgia, 45.
2, Florida, 36.
3, Tennessee, 28.
4, South Carolina, 19.
5, Vanderbilt, 14.
6, Arkansas, 12.5.
t7, Kentucky, 12.
t7, Auburn, 12.
9 , LSU, 9.5.
10, Ole Miss, 5.
11, Alabama, 2.