LAFAYETTE, La. — Sophomore Chad Radgowski and freshman Preston Chatham opened the outdoor season for the LSU men’s track and field team by qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional in their first competition of the 2007 campaign at the Louisiana Classics on Saturday.
The duo posted second and third-place finishes in the men’s javelin competition with new personal best marks in the event and vaulted into the Top 10 of the school’s all-time outdoor performance list.
Radgowski set a new personal record with a throw of 224 feet, 1 inch to move into the No. 6 spot on the school’s all-time list, while Chatham posted the ninth-best mark in school history with a throw of 217-8 in his collegiate debut after signing with the Tigers a year ago as the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the event.
“Those two really performed well today after not competing for us during the indoor season,” said LSU throws coach John Woosley. “They obviously weren’t perfect since it was their first time out this season, but they showed the kind of talent that they do possess and that they’ll be able to make a major contribution to our team this season.”
Senior Brandon Racca joined Radgowski and Chatham in the javelin by posting a throw of 197-0 in his season debut, while senior Jon Chretien and junior Alexis Lewis posted threw for distances of 152-11 and 149-10, respectively in the discus. Freshman Wayne Mitchell also competed in the field events for the Tigers as he finished the day with a jump of 45-1 in the triple jump.
On the women’s side, sophomore Anna Lyons competed in the javelin competition as she posted a throw of 138-2, and sophomore Mallory Thompson equaled her overall personal best mark in the pole vault by clearing a height of 10-11 ? to take third place in the event.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will open the outdoor season as a team next weekend as they return to Baton Rouge to host the LSU Relays at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium beginning on Friday. They will then return home the following weekend to host the LSU Combined Events and the Tiger Classic from March 29-31.