FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Lady Tiger junior and NCAA title hopeful Semoy Hackett set the pace for the LSU track and field teams on the first day of competition at the Razorback Invitational with a dominating win in the women’s 200-meter final and impressive performance in the 60-meter prelim on Friday night at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas.
Hackett, the reigning SEC Female Runner of the Week, cruised to an easy win in the first of 12 heats with a time of 23.14 seconds in just her second 200-meter race of the 2011 indoor season.
Baylor All-American senior Tiffany Townsend followed in second place with a time of 23.21, while LSU sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan took third place in the event with a new indoor personal record of 23.31. Other Lady Tigers to set new indoor 200-meter PRs on Friday evening include junior Rebecca Alexander (23.58) in a fourth-place finish and freshman Toshika Sylvester (24.07) in a 10th-place finish overall.
Hackett already owns the second-fastest 200-meter time in the NCAA with her season-opening indoor PR of 22.98 run a week ago at the LSU vs. Texas A&M Dual Meet in College Station, Texas.
The Tigers were also impressive in Friday’s 200-meter final as junior Horatio Williams led the effort with a third-place finish overall as he finished the one-lap race in 20.88. Williams currently owns the NCAA’s fourth-fastest time in the event with his season-opening performance of 20.86 at Texas A&M.
Fellow junior Riker Hylton placed fifth in the competition with a new indoor personal record of 21.08 for the No. 8-ranked time on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list, while senior Gabriel Mvumvure finished in eighth place overall with an indoor personal best of his own at 21.13.
“Overall, I thought our athletes competed very well tonight, especially in the 200 meters,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “You can tell they are starting to figure that event out a little bit and are getting more familiar with running on a banked track. We had a number of personal bests set tonight, with several times that are likely to qualify for the national meet. That was a big step for our teams tonight.”
The purple and gold is sure to be on display during Saturday’s semifinal round of the 60-meter dash as the Tigers and Lady Tigers each qualified four athletes during Friday’s preliminary action.
Before setting a new indoor PR of 23.31 in a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash final, Duncan set the pace for a trio of Lady Tiger preliminary heat winners in the 60-meter dash by setting a new personal best of 7.38 to qualify for the semifinal round with the third-fastest time of the day. Duncan was impressive as she shattered previous indoor PRs entering the day of 7.40 in the 60 meters and 23.56 in the 200 meters.
Joining Duncan in Saturday’s semifinal round of the 60-meter dash is a pair of fellow prelim heat winners in Hackett (7.39) and senior Kenyanna Wilson (7.43), as well as Sylvester (7.47), who was second only to Hackett in the first of five qualifying heats on Friday evening.
The Lady Tigers added a pair of semifinal qualifiers in the women’s 60-meter hurdles as freshman Jasmin Stowers nearly matched her PR in winning her qualifying heat with a seasonal best of 8.32. Senior Tenaya Jones finished runner-up to Stowers in the third prelim heat with the No. 3 time of the day at 8.41.
Following an outstanding performance by the Lady Tigers in 60-meter qualifying, the Tigers advanced an equal number of four athletes into Saturday’s semifinal round of the men’s competition.
Williams clocked the second-fastest time of the day of 6.70 to win his preliminary heat, while Mvumvure (6.72) and junior Keyth Talley (6.75) each posted new 2011 seasonal bests to earn a spot in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Geno Jones (6.86) qualified with a seasonal best of his own.
Senior All-American Josh Dominguez led the way in the field events with opening night of the Razorback Invitational as he took first place in the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 17 feet, ¾ inches.
This weekend’s action at the Razorback Invitational will continue Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT in the women’s weight throw and women’s 3,000-meter run. Live results from the final day of competition can be found online at www.flashresults.com. Fans can also receive live updates on both the Tigers and Lady Tigers as a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and by following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.