AUSTIN, Texas — After opening the 82nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Thursday night with a dominating win in the 4×800-meter relay, the LSU women’s track and field team were just as impressive in capturing its second relay crown of the weekend while running away with the sprint medley relay title on Friday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
The Lady Tigers ended a five-year drought by picking up its first sprint medley relay crown at the Texas Relays since 2004, while it marked their 10th victory in the event all-time.
LSU dominated the race from the start as sophomore Kenyanna Wilson (200 meters) gave way to junior Samantha Henry (200 meters) on the first exchange to give freshman Cassandra Tate a big lead after taking the stick on the 400-meter leg. With sophomore Brittany Hall running the anchor 800-meter leg, the Lady Tigers cruised to a six-second victory in 3 minutes, 50.89 seconds.
The Lady Tigers were never challenged in the race as Washington State finished a distant second with a time of 3:56.68. The LSU women are among the most successful programs to compete for top honors at the Texas Relays as they have now won 32 relay titles in the meet’s storied history.
“That’s a great accomplishment for our women to come to a meet like this and win just one relay title, much less two with another day still to go,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “I thought all of our athletes competed very well today, and we look forward to coming back tomorrow and competing in front of 25,000 people in one of the great atmospheres in our sport.”
Friday was also a successful day of qualifying for LSU as the Tigers and Lady Tigers advanced a total of five athletes and three relays into Saturday’s championship action.
The Lady Tigers kicked off the day’s events bright and early at 9:30 a.m. CT with the fastest time in the qualifying round of the women’s 4×100-meter relay.
The foursome of junior Kristina Davis, Tate, Henry and Wilson cruised to an easy victory in their preliminary heat with a time of 44.35 seconds, crossing the finish line more than one second ahead of the team from Southern California (45.42) in the second of seven preliminary heats. The final of the women’s 4×100 relay will run Saturday at 2:05 p.m.
The Tigers followed by running the second-fastest qualifying time in the preliminary round of the men’s sprint relay as senior Jeremy Hicks, junior Will Coppage, sophomore Gabriel Mvumvure and senior Trindon Holliday carried the stick around the track in 39.67.
LSU trailed only the team from Florida State (39.51) in seeding for Saturday’s final as the Tigers will look to win their sixth-straight title in the Clyde Littlefield 4×100-Meter Relay at 2 p.m.
While LSU qualified both sprint relay teams into their respective championship finals, the women also advanced their 4×400-meter relay team during Friday’s prelims. Tate, Hall, senior Kayann Thompson and junior LaTavia Thomas were the fourth-fastest qualifiers of the day as they teamed to finish the four-lap race in a time of 3:37.01.
The Lady Tigers will run in the final of the women’s 4×400 relay on Saturday at 5:10 p.m., while the Tigers follow in the final of the Cleburne Price, Jr. 4×400-Meter Relay at 5:15 p.m.
“As we expected, our athletes did exactly what they needed to do to get the stick around the track and qualify for the final in both relays,” Shaver said. “We’re very excited heading into tomorrow because we’re going to see not only an NCAA Championship caliber field when we line them up, but also an NCAA Championship kind of atmosphere that makes the Texas Relays so special.”
Henry proved to be LSU’s top individual performer on the day while shattering her seasonal best in the 100-meter dash with a wind-legal effort of 11.21 in the preliminary round. Henry is not just the fastest qualifier for Saturday’s final, but she is now the NCAA leader in the event this season.
Wilson will join Henry in the 100-meter final after qualifying fourth with a time of 11.53. Tenaya Jones also qualified fourth for the final of the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best of 13.50.
The Tigers saw two athletes of their own qualify for Saturday finals as Mvumvure was the eighth-fastest qualifier in the university section of the men’s 100-meter dash with a prelim time of 10.51, while freshman Barrett Nugent clocked a wind-aided time of 14.10 in the qualifying round of the 110-meter hurdles to advance as the seventh-fastest qualifier.
The Lady Tigers added one new NCAA regional qualifier Friday as freshman Brieanna Kennedy recorded a new personal-best mark of 151 feet, 6 inches in the javelin to win the B section of the university/college division. Kennedy’s effort ranks No. 8 on LSU’s all-time performance list.
Sophomore All-American Brittani Carter also enjoyed an outstanding performance to take second in the high jump as she equaled her overall personal best with a clearance of 6-0.
With Friday’s events now in the books, the Tigers and Lady Tigers have combined for 26 NCAA regional qualifiers through three weeks of the outdoor season. The Tigers have qualified a total of 12 individuals and two relays, while the Lady Tigers have added 10 individuals and two relays to the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships set to run May 29-30 in Louisville, Ky.
Saturday’s action at the 82nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is sure to be intense as the event will come to an end with the running of the Cleburne Price, Jr. 4×400-Meter Relay at 5:15 p.m. LSU is set to compete for the first time Saturday beginning at noon.
LSU’s Qualifiers for the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (as of April 3)
MEN
Name, Event, Mark/Time
Chris Bless, Hammer Throw, 189-4
Mark DeBlanc, Javelin, 216-4
Rabun Fox, Hammer Throw, 196-9
Reggie Haslom, Triple Jump, 49-5 ?
Walter Henning, Hammer Throw, 208-7
Jeremy Hicks, Long Jump, 26-1 ?
Michael Lauro, Hammer Throw, 203-1
Marcus McGehee, Pole Vault, 16-6 ?
Barrett Nugent, 110 hurdles, 14.10w
Gabriel Mvumvure, 100 meters, 10.43w
Gabriel Mvumvure, 200 meters, 21.15
Zedric Thomas, Long Jump, 24-9 ?
Hicks, Coppage, Mvumvure, Holliday; 4×100 Relay; 39.36
Hayes, Howard, James, Alleyne-Forte; 4×400 Relay; 3:08.83
WOMEN
Name, Event, Mark/Time
Brittani Carter, High Jump, 6-0
Samantha Henry, 100 meters, 11.21
Tenaya Jones, 100 hurdles, 13.50
Brieanna Kennedy, Javelin, 151-6
Rachel Laurent, Pole Vault, 12-7 ?
Anna Lyons, Javelin, 157-3
Katelyn Rodrigue, Pole Vault, 13-1 ?
Cassandra Tate, 200 meters, 23.96
Kim Williams, Hammer Throw, 189-0
Kenyanna Wilson, 100 meters, 11.40
Davis, Tate, Henry, Wilson; 4×100 Relay; 43.84
Tate, Hall, Thomas, Thompson; 4×400 Relay; 3:36.06