FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – While competing against an NCAA Championships caliber field during Friday’s invitational long jump at the Tyson Invitational, LSU’s Zedric Thomas soared to a lifetime PR of 26 feet, 6 ¼ inches on his second attempt to capture the event crown and solidify his position as a national championship contender in his senior campaign.
Thomas, who entered the meet with a previous personal best of 26-3 ¾ set earlier this season at the Purple Tiger Invitational, improved upon his No. 2-ranked performance in the NCAA and pulled to within two inches of the nation’s leading mark of 26-8 ½ currently held by Texas standout Marquise Goodwin.
But Thomas’ victory on Friday night did not come easy as this year’s Tyson Invitational men’s long jump featured such All-Americans as former NCAA Outdoor champion Ngonidzashe Makusha of Florida State in addition to Tarik Batchelor of Arkansas and both Will Claye and Christian Taylor of Florida.
Makusha finished runner-up to Thomas with a top mark of 26-5 set on his fifth jump, while Batchelor and Claye finished in third place and fourth place, respectively, with matching jumps of 26-1.
LSU teammate Damar Forbes followed in fifth place overall with a mark of 25-6 ¼ on his third attempt of the preliminary round, while Taylor followed well back in 10th place at 24-11 ¼ for the competition.
“What a tremendous performance for Zedric to come here and PR on his second jump. There is a guy who is beginning to show the kind of consistency needed to perform at the championship meets,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “And to do it against that kind of field is what’s most impressive to me. Those are the same guys who we’ll see again at the SEC and NCAA meets in the coming weeks.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers also competed in the finals of both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles in Friday’s action as junior Barrett Nugent led the way with a runner-up finish in the men’s hurdles.
After qualifying for the finals with consecutive times of 7.76 seconds in the preliminary round and 7.82 in the semifinal round, Nugent crossed the finish line in the final in second place with a seasonal-best time at 7.73 for the No. 5-ranked performance in the NCAA. Andrew Riley of Illinois took the title in 7.71.
In the final of the women’s hurdles, freshman Jasmin Stowers finished in fourth place with a time of 8.27, while senior Tenaya Jones finished in seventh place with a time of 8.38. The Tigers and Lady Tigers were also represented with one finalist apiece in the 60-meter dash as junior Horatio Williams (6.64) picked up a fourth-place finish in the men’s final race and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan (7.38) earned a fifth-place finish in the women’s final to wrap up Friday’s competition.
One LSU Tiger All-American who saw his first action of the 2011 indoor season on Friday afternoon was sophomore Caleb Williams, who opened his campaign with an impressive run in the 400-meter dash.
While running in the 14th of 23 sections, Williams raced out to an early lead and never looked back with a victory in his heat as he finished the two-lap race in fifth place overall with a time of 46.65. With his performance, Williams wrapped up the first day of competition at the Tyson Invitational ranked No. 12 in the NCAA this season as LSU’s top performer in the 400-meter dash.
In addition, three other LSU athletes set personal bests in the 400 meters as junior Jonique Day recorded a new lifetime PR of 54.14 and sophomore Latoya McDermott set a new indoor PR of 54.94 for the women and freshman Keith Griffith set a new lifetime PR of his own at 47.89 for the men.
Lady Tiger distance runner Laura Carleton also enjoyed one of LSU’s all-time great performances for the women’s mile after establishing a new personal best with the No. 7-ranked performance on LSU’s all-time indoor list at 4 minutes, 56.17 seconds to earn a third-place finish in Friday’s college section.
Sophomore Dakota Goodman also set a new personal record in the college section of the mile after taking eighth place overall behind Carleton with a top time of 5:01.79.
Saturday’s action at the 2011 Tyson Invitational is scheduled to begin for LSU at noon in the field events followed by the first events on the track at 1 p.m. CT. Fans are reminded that live results for the Tyson Invitational are available online at www.flashresults.com. Live updates for the Tigers and Lady Tigers are also available as a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and by following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.