FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In just her first 200-meter race of the indoor season, LSU’s Samantha Henry raced around the track at the Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday and crossed the finish line with the world’s fastest time in the event at 23.09 seconds.
The sophomore from Kingston, Jamaica, beat a pair of All-Americans to the tape for the event title as Texas A&M sophomore Porscha Lucas finished in 23.16 and Lady Tiger senior Kelly Baptiste took third with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 23.31.
Henry has firmly established herself among the national contenders in the short sprints as she has now qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships in both the 60 and 200 meters.
The reigning SEC Female Runner of the Week already clocked an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 7.26 in the 60-meter dash last weekend with the nation’s fastest time and the third fastest time in the world this season to win the event title at the Purple Tiger Classic at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse in Baton Rouge.
“I wasn’t really expecting anything like that,” Henry said. “I’ve been working hard the past year and knew I would eventually run a fast time, but I didn’t expect it to happen this early.
“I think I could have run even faster. I didn’t really execute the race as well as I probably should have. I needed to be more aggressive hitting the second bank, and there were some other technical things I didn’t do that I will do later in the season. A lot of that will come with more experience. I’m not that used to running on a banked track right now.”
Baptiste has matched Henry step for step in the early part of the season as she has posted a pair of strong NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 60 and 200 meters. She boasts the nation’s fourth fastest time in the 60-meter dash at 7.33.
“In the time I’ve been at LSU, I can’t remember a better opening performance in the 200 meters than what I saw out of Samantha and Kelly Ann today,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “Samantha is running with a lot of confidence right now. She’s just a completely different person than she was last year. It was also great to see that kind of effort from Kelly Ann.”
“That is an event (200 meters) we must do well in late in the season if we hope to compete at the championship meets. I like where we’re at right now and we’re only going to get better.”
Baptiste was not the only LSU athlete to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Championships as a pair of jumpers posted strong provisional marks on Friday night to lead the way in the field.
Junior All-American Andrea Linton won the women’s long jump title with a new personal best effort of 20 feet, 4 ? inches, while fellow junior Jeremy Hicks posted a seasonal best mark of 24-11 ? to finish fourth and qualify provisionally in the men’s long jump. Linton is now an NCAA provisional qualifier in both the long jump and triple jump.
Freshman Brittani Carter captured an event title of her own as she took top honors in the high jump after clearing the bar at 5-8. Sophomore thrower Kim Williams also posted a new PR in the weight throw, finishing in third place with a toss of 55-4 ?, while freshman pole vaulter Kyle Rose recorded an indoor personal best with a clearance of 15-9 in his specialty.
In addition, a pair of LSU distance runners clocked new personal bests in the 5,000 meters as senior James Presley crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 20.59 seconds and junior Megan Broussard finished in 18:34.89 to move into the No. 7 spot on the school’s all-time indoor list.
“The most important thing that I’ve seen this early in the season is the competitiveness our kids have shown each time they’ve stepped on the track or in the field,” Shaver said. “They’re going out there with the intent of getting something done. Andrea looked great again in the long jump. Kim was outstanding in the weight throw. Kyle Rose also did a great job in the pole vault.
“We’re looking forward to another big day tomorrow. It’s always a challenge the first time our athletes step on this track, and tomorrow is going to be another learning experience for our us.”
The Razorback Invitational continues Saturday at 10 a.m. as competitors take to the track for the first time, while action in the field is set to kick off at 2 p.m. The Tigers and Lady Tigers return home next weekend to play host to the LSU Combined Events and the Bayou Bengal Invitational beginning Thursday at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.