BATON ROUGE – Six alumni from the national power LSU Track & Field program are set to compete this week at the 2011 Pan American Games as the event’s athletics schedule kicks into high gear Monday at the Telmex Athletics Stadium in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
Among the Tigers and Lady Tigers preparing to compete in their first Pan American Games this week are 2011 seniors Zedric Thomas and Kenyanna Wilson for the United States.
Wilson, an eight-time All-American during her career as a Lady Tiger, is slated to run the 100-meter dash and 4×100-meter relay for the United States. A native of Glendale, Ariz., Wilson wrapped up her career in 2011 by running the leadoff leg on LSU’s 4×100-meter relay team that captured the NCAA championship with its 2011 seasonal-best time of 42.64 seconds in the national final in Des Moines, Iowa.
Thomas, who also wrapped up his collegiate career in 2011 as a five-time All-America performer with the horizontal jumps, will compete for this United States in the triple jump this week in his first career start at the Pan American Games. Thomas posted his wind-legal personal record in the triple jump at 54 feet, 5 ½ inches at the 2011 USA Outdoor Championships following the collegiate season.
Joining Thomas and Wilson as part of Team USA is former four-time All-America and 2010 USA Indoor long jump champion Jeremy Hicks, who is also a former NCAA Indoor runner-up in the event.
In addition, this year’s Pan American Games features a Caribbean flair as LSU alums Laverne Eve of The Bahamas, Jamaal James of Trinidad & Tobago and Isa Phillips of Jamaica will also compete this week.
Eve, a four-time Pan American Games medalist in the javelin competition, has enjoyed a stellar pro career over the past 25 years since her NCAA title in 1987 as a school record five-time Olympian and eight-time World Championships qualifier for The Bahamas all-time. She has captured a pair of silver medals during the Pan American Games in 1995 and 2003 and a pair of bronze medals in 1999 and 2007.
Phillips, a 2008 Olympian while competing for Jamaica, wrapped up his collegiate career in 2007 with an NCAA title in the 400-meter hurdles and will compete in the same event this week. James, a former three-time All-American, is slated to line up in the 800-meter run this week.