AUSTIN, Texas — Ten points and a national title by the women’s 4×400-meter relay in the final event of the evening wasn’t enough to bring the Lady Tigers’ a second straight outdoor title Saturday at the NCAA Track and Field Championships as LSU finished one point shy of UCLA in the final standings.
LSU entered the final event trailing the Bruins by six points. The Lady Tiger foursome of Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Hazelann Regis, Monique Hall and Nadia Davy were nothing short of sensational, taking the title in a school record time of 3:25.26. However, it was UCLA’s five points garnered from its fourth-place finish in the event that gave the Bruins the 69-68 edge.
“Anytime you can go to the wire and do your best you can’t be unhappy,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “What the ladies mile relay was able to do tonight was tremendous.”
The team race would not have been nearly so close had an unfortunate disqualification in the women’s 200 meters cost the Lady Tigers eight points. Earlier in the evening the senior duo of Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee turned in what was thought to be a spectacular 2-3 finish in the event. However, it was determined that there was a lane violation by Durst that would result in her disqualification.
“We did everything we could do tonight,” said Henry. “People say it was the disqualification that hurt us, but we could have scored in other areas. I have faith in the officials, if they use good judgment then that’s okay. It’s a track meet, anything can happen.”
Despite the setback, Neisha Bernard-Thomas then took to the track in the 800 meters and turned in a gold medal winning effort in the 800 meters. The four-time All-American clocked 2:02.86 in becoming just the Lady Tigers’ second ever NCAA champion in the event. Claudine Williams first won gold in 1999.
“The time wasn’t very fast, but I was happy I won and was able to give my team the points,” said Bernard-Thomas. “I’ve been going for it for two years now so I’m pretty satisfied with what I did.”
Senior Nicole Toney added eight points for the Lady Tigers in the triple jump. A six-time All-American in the event, Toney jumped a season-best 45-3 1/2 on her last attempt of the day to earn runner-up honors.
In the men’s race, the Tigers finished third in the final standings with 31 points. Arkansas handily won team title scoring 65.50 points. Florida finished in second with 49 points.
The Tigers’ top performances of the evening came from junior Bennie Brazell and sophomore Kelly Willie.
Brazell, a 10-time All-American from Houston came up just short of a NCAA title in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 49.34 to finish behind Florida’s Kerron Clement (49.05).
Willie, a fellow Houston native, also turned in a second-place finish, recording an impressive 44.85 in the 400-meter dash. He was bettered by only Baylor’s Jeremy Warner (44.71).
Other scorers for LSU included Hazelann Regis in the 400 meters (8th, 52.01) and the men’s 4×400-meter relay (8th, 3:06.67).
Team Standings (Top 10 only)
MEN
1. Arkansas, 65.5. 2. Florida, 49. 3. LSU, 31. t4. Ohio State, 30. t4. TCU, 30. t4. SMU, 30. 7, Baylor, 27. 8. Texas Tech, 26.5. 9. Oregon, 26. t10. Wisconsin, 22. t10, Arizona State, 22.
WOMEN
1. UCLA, 69. 2. LSU, 68. 3. Nebraska, 58. 4. Texas, 42. 5. Florida, 29. 6. Stanford, 27. t7. Tennessee, 24. t7. Georgia, 24. t7. South Carolina, 24. t10. Arkansas, 22. t10, Miami, 22.
2004 LSU National Champions
MEN
John Moffitt – Long Jump (27-6 ?)
WOMEN
Neisha Bernard-Thomas – 800 Meters (2:02.86)
Lolo Jones, Monique Hall, Stephanie Durst, Muna Lee – 4×100 Relay (42.61)
Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Hazelann Regis, Monique Hall,
2004 LSU All-Americans
WOMEN
Tina Harris, Long Jump – 5th (21-1 1/2)
Lolo Jones, 100 Hurdles – 4th (12.77)
Muna Lee, 100 Meters – 2nd (11.12)
Muna Lee, 200 Meters – 2nd (22.55)
Brittany Littlejohn, 100 Hurdles – 5th (13.04)
Hazelann Regis, 400 Meters – 8th (52.01)
Nicole Toney, Triple Jump – 2nd (45-3 1/2)
MEN
Bennie Brazell, 400 Hurdles – 2nd (49.34)
Kelly Willie, 400 Meters – 2nd (44.85)