NEW YORK – The LSU track and field teams are off and running at the 2011 New Balance Collegiate Invitational as junior All-American hopeful Horatio Williams capped Friday’s action at the Armory Track & Field Center by winning his third 60-meter dash title of the campaign in thrilling fashion.
After qualifying for the final with the third-fastest time of the preliminary heats at 6.72 seconds, Williams sprinted to the finish line in 6.64 in the final to edge Hampton’s Reggie Dixon (6.65), who currently ranks at No. 2 in the NCAA this season with a top time of 6.58, and Tennessee’s Dentarius Locke (6.66).
Williams actually appeared to be running third through 30 meters of the race before overtaking Dixon and Locke at the finish line for the win. With his victory, Williams became the fourth LSU Tiger in six seasons to win the 60-meter dash title at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, joining a select group of LSU greats that includes Kelly Willie (2006), Richard Thompson (2008) and Trindon Holliday (2009).
Williams is still in search of that elusive NCAA Championships automatic qualifying standard of 6.60 for the season as he currently ranks No. 4 nationally in the 60-meter dash with a personal best of 6.61.
“I got out a little bit slow and was probably running third or fourth at one point in the race but I really was able to pick it up over the last 30 meters to come out victorious,” Williams said. “I just need to continue working on my start. I’m running with a lot of confidence right now. It is pretty cool to be right there with those guys who have won it in the past. It’s nice to continue that tradition.
“This does give me a lot of confidence looking ahead to the championship meets. That’s what all of us are working toward. I just want to be in position to do it when it counts the most.”
Joining Williams in the championship final of the men’s 60-meter dash was senior Gabriel Mvumvure and sophomore Rynell Parson. Mvumvure posted times of 6.74 and 6.70 en route to a fifth-place finish on Friday night, while Parson clocked back-to-back season bests of 6.79 and 6.74 for a seventh-place finish.
The championship final of the women’s championship 60-meter dash proved to be just as exciting as LSU again featured three of the eight finalists in the event to wrap up Friday’s action.
Junior NCAA title contender Semoy Hackett was the team’s top finisher in third place overall with a time of 7.25 in the final, while senior All-American Kenyanna Wilson followed in sixth place with a seasonal best of 7.29 and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan took seventh place with a 2011 seasonal best and personal best of 7.30. Duncan actually set two personal bests on the day with a time of 7.32 in the prelim round.
The Lady Tiger hurdlers also set the track on fire during Friday’s championship action at the Armory with freshman Jasmin Stowers becoming LSU’s seventh automatic qualifier into the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships with her runner-up finish in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.
After matching her lifetime personal record with the sixth-fastest preliminary time at 8.28, Stowers posted a PR of 8.13 in the final to finish behind only Southern Cal’s Nia Ali (8.06) with the No. 2-ranked performance in the NCAA this season and the No. 8-ranked time on LSU’s all-time indoor list.
But Stowers was not alone as senior Tenaya Jones also clocked back-to-back seasonal bests with a time of 8.23 in the preliminary round and a personal best of 8.16 to take third place with the NCAA’s No. 5 time.
The duo has enjoyed steady improvement through the first month of the 2011 indoor season as Stowers has dropped her times over the last three weeks from 8.49 at the LSU vs. Texas A&M Dual Meet, to 8.28 at the Razorback Invitational, to 8.13 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Likewise, Jones has had steady improvement over the last three meets with consecutive performances of 8.40, 8.24 and 8.16.
“We’ve been training very hard together and have been doing different things with our workouts that have really helped us these last few weeks,” Jones said. “Coach Shaver has had us do different drills with our trail legs and things like that to help us run better races. And I am just more focused in my training now in this season than I ever have been. That has paid off big for me.”
“It’s a great feeling (to qualify for the NCAA Championships),” Stowers said. “But Coach Shaver said we can’t be satisfied. So, we just need to keep working harder to improve each day. It feels good right now, but we need to keep it up through the rest of the season.”
The Tigers were also impressive in the finals of the men’s long jump as senior Zedric Thomas took runner up honors with a mark of 25-2 and sophomore Damar Forbes took third place with a jump of 25-0 ¾.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers each qualified two runners into the finals of the 400-meter dash scheduled for Saturday afternoon. For the Tigers, juniors Riker Hylton (48.29) placed sixth and Robert Simmons (48.32) placed seventh during Friday’s preliminary heats, while fellow juniors Cassandra Tate (54.14) and Rebecca Alexander (54.91) placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in qualifying for the Lady Tigers.
Distance runners Richard Chautin and Michael Florek were the first Tigers to step onto the track Friday at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational and responded with new personal bests in the 5,000-meter run.
Chautin, a junior from Arnaudville, La., became the No. 8-ranked performer on LSU’s all-time indoor list in the 5,000 meters as he finished in 11th place in the championship event with a new 10-second indoor personal best of 14 minutes, 29.11 seconds. Florek followed Chautin in 15th place overall in the final with a new 11-second indoor PR of his own with a time of 15:03.74.
Other notable personal bests came from a pair of Lady Tiger freshmen as Toshika Sylvester recorded two-straight PRs in the 60-meter dash at 7.42 in the preliminary round and 7.37 in the consolation final for her third-place finish, while Lynnika Pitts matched her indoor PR with a clearance of 5-7 in the high jump.
Saturday’s action at the 2011 New Balance Collegiate Invitational is set to get underway both on the track and in the field at 8:15 a.m. CT. Fans can receive live updates from The Armory Track & Field Center by becoming a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.