AUSTIN, Texas — The LSU track and field team finished strong on the final day of the 78th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in front of a record crowd of 22,500 at Mike A. Myers Stadium on a very windy Saturday.
“I think the meet was really positive for our group,” said LSU track and field head coach Dennis Shaver. “The women are gaining a little confidence and gaining a little more momentum. Alleyene Lett had a break through this weekend, and he is going to be a major contributor for us.”
Xavier Carter, Marvin Stevenson, Kelly Willie and Bennie Brazell combined to win the men’s 4×100-meter relay with a seasonal best and regional qualifying time of 38.94.
“Well we started off with the men as the first major event, and for them to be able to focus and deal with adjustments and to hang on and win the race is good,” said Shaver. “There is a lot of room for improvement though as Xavier gets better, and we get into a place where the wind is a little more calmer.”
Gold medalist and All-American Kelly Willie finished second in the men’s 100-meter dash with a personal best and school record time of 10.11. In the women’s 100-meter dash, Ashley Owens finished third in the university division with a wind-aided time of 11.08. Kelly Baptiste would finish first in the women’s 100-meter dash invitational with a wind-aided time of 11.04.
“One of the big things is that in the 100-meters Ashley Owens and Kelly Baptiste did well,” said Shaver. “Its not so much the times they ran because they were not wind legal, it is the people that they beat. It was Ashley lining up and beating the NCAA Champion in the 60-meters, Fana Ashby from Auburn. Then with Kelly Baptiste lined up in an invitational event because she false started yesterday. There were a couple of legitimate Olympians in that race, and for her to beat them is outstanding.”
In the men’s 4×400-meter relay, Reginald Dardar, Austin Benton, Brazell and Willie finished fourth with a regional qualifying time of 3:05.19. For the women, Brooklyn Morris, Tanya Osbourne, Meisue Francis and Deonna Lawrence combined to finish eighth with a qualifying time of 3:35.06.
RaNysha LeBlanc finished fifth in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a seasonal best and qualifying time of 13.37. Alleyne Lett finished seventh in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a wind-aided time of 13.96.
All-American Willie Bradley finished third in the men’s triple jump with a seasonal best and regional qualifying mark of 51-9. In the women’s triple jump, Tina Harris jumped a wind-aided personal best 45-5 1/4. The mark puts Harris in eighth all-time in school history.
Ruth Nanyinza finished seventh in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:32.31.
“We still are not quite where we want to be. We need to show some steady and consistent improvement in the field events and not just on the track. I see the effort there, it is just a matter of the athletes making a break through.”
The Tigers will be back in action next weekend, as they will travel to Tempe, Ariz. for the Sun Angel Invitational April 16.