AUSTIN, Texas – Junior Johnnie Jackson uncorked a nearly 10-foot personal best in the hammer throw and senior Chanice Chase, junior Ka’Lynn Jupiter and sophomore Kymber Payne each advanced to the women’s 400-meter hurdles final to lead the LSU Track & Field teams in Thursday’s opener at the 89th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Jackson headlined the early field events with a top-five performance in program history as he let fly a personal-best throw of 217 feet, 1 inch on his sixth and final attempt of the competition to win the bronze medal in a third-place finish in the men’s hammer final. He also bettered his previous PR with a mark of 210-2 in the fifth round to climb to third place overall.
A two-time junior college All-American in the event, Jackson eclipsed his previous best of 208-6 with the No. 11-ranked mark in the NCAA this season to become the No. 4-ranked performer in school history.
He was the second-highest collegian in the field behind only Purdue’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi in second place with a series-best of 222-11 in the fifth round, while American international AG Kruger finished well clear of the field with a throw of 241-3 also in the fifth round. Two Tiger seniors also trailed Jackson in the Top 5 as Patrick Geers threw 207-11 for fourth place and David Collins threw 206-0 for fifth place.
In the day’s other throws, junior Terry Hughes placed seventh in the B section of the men’s javelin with a top mark of 197-9 and sophomore Sidnie Wilder finished 15th in the women’s university hammer at 177-0.
Like Jackson, fellow junior Cameron Robichaux opened the 89th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a personal-best performance of his own as he cleared the bar at 16-7 ¼ on his first attempt to tie for sixth place in the C section of the men’s pole vault. Robichaux cleared heights of 16-1 ¼ and 16-7 ¼ on his first attempt before recording three misses with the bar resting at 17-1.
Lady Tigers will occupy three of the nine lanes in the final of the women’s university 400-meter hurdles on Friday at 7 p.m. CT after Chase, Jupiter and Payne each advanced from Thursday’s qualifying round. Chase was a heat winner in the sixth section as she clocked 57.87 seconds for the fifth-fastest time of the day, while Jupiter finished just one one-hundredth off her personal best at 57.99 and Payne ran her season-opening 58.40 to each finish runner-up in their heats for sixth place and seventh place, respectively, in qualifying.
“We didn’t have a lot going on today, but those who did compete did a great job,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “It’s early in the season, but I thought we looked pretty good running the (400) hurdles. We had a few ladies get through to the final, and that’s great to see in a competitive meet like this. Johnnie also had a good day throwing the hammer, particularly with the way he finished.”
LSU’s athletes return to action bright and early Friday morning with women’s 4×100-meter relay qualifying set to begin at 9:35 a.m. CT followed by men’s sprint relay qualifying at 9:55 a.m. Friday’s field events are even set for an early start at 10 a.m. The Longhorn Network and ESPN3.com will provide live coverage of Friday’s events beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the morning session and 7 p.m. in the evening session.