TEMPE, Ariz. — Two of LSU’s standout javelin throwers accomplished something Saturday that had only occurred once in the last 14 years by recording throws of more than 230 feet to take first and second place at the 28th-annual Sun Angel Classic at Sun Angel Stadium.
Freshman Preston Chatham set a new personal best and climbed into the No. 3 spot on the all-time list at LSU with an impressive heave of 233 feet, 1 inch to improve upon his NCAA regional qualifying mark with the third-best throw in the nation this season.
Not to be outdone by his teammate was sophomore Chad Radgowski, who finished runner-up in the event with a new personal best mark of his own with a throw of 231-1 to move into the No. 5 spot on the national list in the event this season.
The duo becomes the only two performers in the last 14 years to record a throw of more than 230 feet as former LSU standout Blake Theriot is the only other Tiger to do so with a career best mark of 231-8 set during the outdoor season in 2000.
“It was really amazing to see Preston and Chad throw like they did today,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “I can’t remember a performance like that from our javelin throwers in the many years that I’ve been here at LSU, and that’s a freshman and a sophomore stepping up big for us.”
A pair of Lady Tigers also stepped up big for their squad in the event as sophomores Amanda Harmata and Anna Lyons each improve upon their already established regional qualifying marks with impressive throws on Saturday night.
Harmata jumped two spots into fourth place on the school’s all-time outdoor performance list in the event after recording an impressive throw of 166-4. The Hazlet, N.J., native is on the cusp of the nation’s Top 10 performers as she bettered her previous personal best by nearly 13 feet and improved upon her seasonal best throw by almost 16 feet.
Lyons followed Harmata’s effort by improving her regional standing with a seasonal best throw of 150-3 as she has now improved her mark in the event in each of the last four meets.
“This was another meet where we took another step forward as a team,” Shaver said. “We got a lot of things done as far as adding a few regional qualifiers and improving in a few other areas that will be a key to our success as we move forward. It’s fun to watch and see who gets focused and ready to compete each time they step onto the track.”
Among those who punched their ticket to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships were three half milers who made their outdoor season debut running the open 800 meters.
Freshman SEC indoor champion LaTavia Thomas led the way for the Lady Tigers by clocking a new outdoor personal best time of 2 minutes, 6.71 seconds to take first place in the event. Junior Reuben Twijukye doubled for LSU by winning the men’s competition in 1:48.95, while freshman Jamaal James also clocked a regional qualifying time of 1:49.34.
Sophomore Monique Cabral will line up in the 200 meters at the regional meet after qualifying for the first time on Saturday with a new PR of 23.74 seconds, while senior Melville Rogers and junior Reggie Dardar each qualified in the 400 with times of 46.83 and 47.05, respectively.
In addition, junior Richard Thompson and freshman Samantha Henry recorded personal best performances to lead a group of 13 athletes and three relay teams that improved their existing regional qualifying marks during Saturday’s action.
Henry improved her times in both the 100 (11.52) and 200 (23.18) while also running the anchor leg on the Lady Tigers’ 400-meter relay team that improved its regional standing with a seasonal best time of 43.70. The freshman ran in place of All-American Kelly Baptiste as she teamed with Jessica Ohanaja, Sherry Fletcher and Brooklynn Morris for the second-fastest time in the nation.
Thompson anchored the men’s 4×100 relay squad to a new season-best time of 39.64 while also clocking a new personal best in the 200 with a time of 20.90. He joined Jeremy Hicks, Will Coppage and Marvin Stevenson on the sprint relay that clocked a seasonal best without arguably the team’s top sprinter in sophomore Trindon Holliday.
“We ran both of our sprint relays tonight without our top sprinters and posted seasonal best times. That just goes to show that we’re starting to really shape up in those events,” Shaver said. “It’s all about developing depth, and I really feel think we took a big step in that direction tonight.”
The sprint relays were not the only squads to show improvement on Saturday as the men’s 1,600-meter relay team of senior Siraj Williams, senior Isa Phillips, freshman Armanti Hayes and senior Melville Rogers carried the stick around the track in a seasonal best time of 3:04.64.
In the distance events, junior Katie Dawson and sophomore Megan Broussard posted the ninth-fastest time in school history in their respective specialty events as Dawson clocked a new PR of 4:35.24 in the 1,500 meters followed by Broussard’s new personal best time of 10:06.99 in the 3,000 meters later in the evening.
The squads will return to Baton Rouge next weekend as they play host to the LSU Alumni Gold on April 21 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium followed by a trip to Philadelphia to compete in the 113th running of the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field from April 26-28.