FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — All-SEC honors by Tina Harris in the long jump and a trio of school records from the Tiger squad highlighted the second day of competition for the LSU track and field team at the SEC Indoor Championships Saturday.
Harris matched her personal best of 21-1 1/2 in the event in earning runner-up honors. The conference honor marks the first of the sophomore’s career.
“Tina is ready to jump a long ways,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver.
“She’s been inconsistent in her run and as a result Coach Boo (Schexnayder) has had to do a lot of adjusting with her, but she adapted extremely well, was able to adjust and jump a long way.”
Senior LaToya Payne also picked up some points for the Lady Tigers in the long jump, finishing sixth with a distance of 19-10 1/4.
Also adding points for the Lady Tiger squad was senior Katie McKeever. Her five meet win streak in the shot put came to an end, but she still turned in a solid effort, finishing fourth overall with a throw of 51-6 1/4.
The Lady Tigers finished day two with 21 points and sit in fifth place heading into the final day of competition. Arkansas leads the field with 47 points, while Tennessee (33.5), Georgia (30) and Florida (28.5) round out the top five.
In the men’s standings, LSU has tallied 10 points and is in eighth place after two days of competition. Favorite Arkansas sits atop the standings with 43 points.
A fourth-place finish by Gerald Taylor in the long jump (24-7), as well as sixth and seventh place showings by sophomores Gavin Fleming and Alleyne Lett, respectively, in the men’s heptathlon accounted for the Tigers’ total.
Fleming tallied a school record 5,077 points in the end. Lett wasn’t far behind, accumulating the second best total in school history with 5,072 points.
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will look to score substantial points in the final day of competition after advancing 11 athletes into 13 finals.
The Tigers were outstanding in the short sprints prelims as junior Kellie Willie and freshman Xavier Carter turned in sensational efforts in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes.
Running just his second 200 meter race of the season, Carter shattered his own school record in the event, clocking a sizzling 20.47 to win his first round heat.
“That was a great run by Xavier,” said Shaver. “For someone that doesn’t have that much experience indoors, running just the third race of his life on a banked track, it was great performance.”
Carter added a PR in the 60 (6.74) to advance to that final as well.
Willie broke the school record in the 60-meter dash for the second time this season, clocking a life time best 6.68. The Olympic gold medalist then turned in his second PR of the day in the 200 meters, sailing to a time of 20.68, the second fastest in Tiger history.
“To have two school records in the preliminary rounds just goes to show what could happen tomorrow,” said Shaver.
Senior Pete Coley will also see a second day of competition, qualifying to the finals in the 400 meters. He recorded a season best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 46.62.
The Tigers also saw success in the mile as both junior Patrick Gavin and freshman Michael Hendry recorded PRs on the way to advancing to Sunday’s final. Gavin’s prelim time of 4:08.01 ranks 10th on LSU’s all-time performance list, while Hendry’s 4:09.04 mark was over four full seconds faster than his previous best.
For the Lady Tigers, senior Hazelann Regis was exceptional in the 200 meters. The seven-time All-American clocked a personal best 23.12 to win her heat and advance to the finals with the field’s second fastest time of the day.
Senior RaNysha LeBlanc and freshman Jessica Ohanaja both qualified to the finals in the 60-meter hurdles. The duo finished 2-3 in their heat, as LeBlanc got the automatic nod with her time of 8.40 and Ohanaja moved on with an at large bid, posting a personal best of 8.52.
In the sprints, Kelly Baptiste was the Lady Tigers lone qualifier in the 60 meters. She clocked the seventh fastest time in Lady Tiger history, 7.32, to make the finals.
In addition, freshman Deonna Lawrence and senior Neisha Bernard-Thomas advanced to the second day of competition in the 400 meters and 800 meters, respectively. Lawrence recorded her top quartermile time of the season (53.30), while Bernard-Thomas’ heat winning time of 2:08.42 earned her an automatic bid.
The SEC Indoor Championships will conclude its three-day run tomorrow. Competition in the field events will begin at 9 a.m., running events will follow at 12:35 p.m.
TEAM RESULTS (After two days of competition and five events scored)
Men
1. Arkansas, 43
2. Tennessee, 33.5
3. Georgia, 30
4. Florida, 28.5
5. LSU, 21
6. Ole Miss, 10
7. Vanderbilt, 8
8. South Carolina, 7
9. Alabama, 6
10. Auburn, 3
11. Mississippi State, 1
Women
1. Arkansas, 43
2. Tennessee, 36
3. Florida, 24
4. Auburn, 23
5. Georgia, 17
6. Ole Miss, 14
6. Alabama, 14
8. LSU, 10
9. Kentucky, 8
10. South Carolina, 6