PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — LSU All-American Russ Buller won his second Penn Relays pole vault title Saturday afternoon, as the LSU track and field team wrapped up a successful weekend at the 106th Penn Relays at Franklin Field.
“This was a pretty good weekend for us overall,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “This weekend is an opportunity for our athletes to compete in front of better than 40,000 fans and compete in an atmosphere unlike most in American track and field. That brings out the best in most athletes and it did in our case for the most part this weekend.”
Buller went head-to-head with Jon Nance of Texas A&M for the second straight week, and once again got the best of his Aggie rival. Buller won the meet with a clearance of 18 feet 6 inches, then moved the bar to 19-1 to try and break the Penn Relays record, but failed to clear the height. Saturday’s victory was Buller’s second Penn title, adding to his victory as a freshman in 1997.
Joyce Bates bid to win her third event of the weekend came up just short, as the Philadelphia native suffered her first defeat of the season in the 100-meter hurdles. Bates led after eight hurdles, but clipped the ninth and stumbled back to fourth place.
The Lady Tigers were not able to defend their title in the 4×200-meter relay Saturday afternoon, finishing second, as South Carolina broke LSU’s SEC record with a winning time of 1:31.01. The group of April Sams, Valma Bass, Myra Combs and Peta-Gaye Dowdie clocked a time of 1:32.41, the fifth fastest time in LSU history.
Dowdie got the stick on the anchor leg with a significant deficit and was able to pull the Lady Tigers within striking range, but couldn’t make up the last few meters. Dowdie then tightened up following the 4×200-meter relay and was held out of the 100-meter dash, an event she was a heavy favorite in.
“Peta-Gaye ran a lot of races this weekend,” said Henry. “With the conference meet two weeks away, when she said she felt a little bit tight, there was no way we were going to risk anything, she’s too valuable.”
The men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Carlos Garcia, Derrick Brew, Deryell Patterson and Dwhyte Barrett finished sixth in a time of 40.46. TCU continued its dominance in the men’s short relay with an impressive victory in a time of 39.06.
In the field, Traun Smith finished third in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 50-0. Malcolm Leason of Georgia Tech won the event with a leap of 52-4 3/4.
Highlights of the 106th Penn Relays will be broadcast by ESPN on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
LSU will take next weekend off before hosting the Southeastern Conference Championships from May 11-14. It marks the first time since 1991 that the outdoor conference meet will be contested at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.