PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Lady Tigers turned in a trio of top-five finishes in the field events to kick off action for the LSU track and field team at the 111th annual Penn Relays on Thursday.
All-American Tina Harris was LSU’s top finisher on the day, jumping 20-8 to place second in the championship division of the women’s long jump.
Throwers Katie McKeever and Amanda Harmata each posted fourth-place efforts, as McKeever launched the shot put 51-2 1/4 and Harmata threw 146-6 in the javelin.
On the track, the Lady Tigers advanced both their 4×100 and 4×400-meter relay teams into second-day action.
Freshmen Ashley Owens, Deonna Lawrence, Brooklyn Morris and Kelly Baptiste turned in the fastest qualifying mark of the day in the short relay, clocking a season-best 44.29.
“I thought the 4×100 was outstanding today,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “They were conservative on their handoffs, but I felt each individual ran better. To come out in this type of environment and run like they did, I’m real proud of them, they did a nice job.”
The 4×400 squad of Meisue Francis, Tanya Osbourne, Morris and Lawrence advanced to the event’s consolation final after placing fourth in their preliminary round heat with a time of 3:44.15.
“Today was a learning experience,” said Shaver. “We got out poorly on the first leg and in an effort to make up for that the other three came out too fast and were gassed by the end.
“The important thing is that they put themselves in a position to be here tomorrow. Now it’s all about coming back and getting something done.”
Action from the University of Penn’s historic Franklin Field continues Friday at 9 a.m.