TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU track and field team began its 2000 outdoor season Saturday afternoon with a strong showing despite holding a number of athletes out of competition, as the men’s and women’s teams combined to win 11 events at the SEC Quadrangular in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
LSU head coach Pat Henry was pleased despite not using a majority of his athletes that cometed at last week’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
“We got a lot done today and this meet was an opportunity for a lot of new faces to step up and make something happen,” Henry said. “We saw some nice things happen today, so it was a good way to start and now we turn our attention to our home opener next week when we’ll open it up a little more.”
Craig Nall made his first performance with the LSU track and field team a memorable one, winning the javelin with a strong throw of 214 feet, the fifth best throw in LSU history.
1998 NCAA discus runner-up Alex Forst opened his quest to regain his All-American status of two years ago with a respectable 182-4. Teammate Christian Nehme finished second with a throw of 174-5.
A week after finishing fifth in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Derrick Brew opened his outdoor season in the 200 and looked good, edging teammate Carlos Garcia with a winning time of 20.97.
Frans Schimper picked up the other victory by the Tigers on Saturday, holding off Michael Chettle of Alabama in a sprint to the finish to win the 1,500-meter title with a time of 3:52.48.
Highlighting the day for the Lady Tigers was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark by April Sams in the 100-meter hurdles, who won the event in a legal time of 13.64 seconds, her fastest time since 1998. Sams also won the 200-meter title in a personal best time of 24.28.
A week after a disappointing NCAA competition, Claudine Williams began defense of her NCAA 800-meter title by winning the half mile in a time of 2:08.91.
Althea Thomas came up with a promising debut in the 400-meter hurdles, an event the Lady Tigers have had little impact in in recent years. Thomas returned to her native Alabama and won the event in a time of 1:00.74.
Other winners for the Lady Tigers on were Valma Bass in the 400-meter dash, Susanne Strunz in the 3,000-meter run and Margaret Reaves in the pole vault.
LSU returns to action next weekend with its 2000 outdoor home opener, as Texas A&M, TCU and Oklahoma come to Bernie Moore Track Stadium for the U.S. Collegiate Track and Field Series meet.