BATON ROUGE — Despite competing in an LSU track and field uniform for only the third time, Craig Nall, better known for competing for the starting quarterback position for the Tiger football team, appears to have earned himself a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship field by virtue of his performance at the LSU Last Ditch at Bernie Moore Track Stadium Friday evening.
Nall won the men’s javelin with a throw of 229 feet six inches, nearly 10 feet better than his previous personal best throw, recorded in a third place finish at the SEC Championships last weekend. Nall’s throw moves him to No. 13 in the nation with tomorrow at midnight serving as the qualifying deadline. Ordinarily around 16 athletes are taken for field events.
Alex Forst, the 1998 NCAA runner-up in the discus, may have earned a spot in the national meet as well, although not in his signature event. In a surprising turn of events, Forst, who entered the meet looking to improve in the discus with a national ranking of 22, appears to have qualified in the shot put with a winning effort of 60-10 +. The mark moves him to No. 15 in the nation in the shot put and is a personal best by nearly a foot.
The Tigers will not give up on the possibility of Forst doubling at the NCAA Championships, however. He will fly to Atlanta tomorrow morning to try and compete at the Georgia Tech Last Chance meet and try to improve his NCAA provisional status in the discus.
Joyce Bates, not needing a qualifier, sent a message to the rest of the NCAA with a sizzling 12.81 to win the women’s 100-meter hurdles. A wind of just over 2.0 meters per second kept the mark from setting a new stadium record. Bates edged former LSU All-American and NCAA champion Astia Walker who clocked a season-best time of 12.88.
The Lady Tigers shuffled the lineup in the 4×100-meter relay, but the results were the same. The foursome of April Sams, Valma Bass, Myra Combs and Peta-Gaye Dowdie gave LSU its third different sub-40-second short relay, winning the event with ease in a time of 43.92.
The Tiger short relay looked particularly sharp as well, as NCAA pole vault leader Russ Buller substituted on the first leg and combined with SEC Commissioner’s Trophy winner Derrick Brew to give the Tigers a commanding lead after two legs. Deryell Patterson and Dwhyte Barrett brought the Tigers home in 39.53, their second fastest time of the season.
An Olympic 100-meter gold medalist in 1996, Donovan Bailey of Canada appeared well on the comeback trail after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon just over 18 months ago. Bailey approached his own Bernie Moore Stadium record, exploding out of the blocks to a slightly wind 10.00, his fastest time since returning from his injury.
Other notable performances from Louisiana athletes included an impressive 11.36 by Erica Burrell of Southern to win the women’s 100-meter dash. Eldridge Darling of Tulane finished second in the men’s 400-meter hurdles in a time of 50.32, while Vernon Pitcher of Southern finished third in 50.92, both provisional times.
LSU now turns its attention towards the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Durham, N.C., from May 31-June 3. The Lady Tigers finished fifth a year ago and have won 11 of the last 13 titles, while the Tigers finished ninth a year ago and have finished in the top 10 12 of the last 13 years.