PHILADELPHIA — NCAA triple jump champion Nicole Toney picked up a victory in her signature event while Olympian Walter Davis moved one step closer to history to pace LSU at the 108th Penn Relays on Friday.
At the same time the Lady Tigers picked up a relay title and two runner-up finishes, while the Tigers advanced both relays in a busy day on the track for both teams.
“We had a very good day today,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “We won two jumps, our women won a relay and finished second in two others. I think we advanced well in most areas in individual competition. Other than one or two minor things I don’t think I could have asked for a much better effort than I received from both teams today.”
Davis won the men’s long jump title for the second year in a row, uncorking a mark of 26 feet 8 1/2 inches that bested the field by more than a foot. The NCAA runner-up in the event, Davis became the first man since Robert Howard of Arkansas in 1997 and 1998 to successfully defend his title.
On Saturday, Davis will set his sites on winning his second consecutive triple jump and would become the first man in the 108-year history of the Penn Relays to sweep the horizontal jumps in consecutive years.
Toney became the first Lady Tiger to win the Penn Relays triple jump crown since former LSU great Suzette Lee won the event in 1996. The sophomore came up with a jump of 43-1 to claim victory. Teammates Bianca Rockett and Andria Booker finished fourth and sixth respectively.
The Lady Tigers extended their string of consecutive Penn Relays with at least one title to 12 with a victory in the sprint medley relay to close out their day. Muna Lee and Stephanie Durst kick-started the relay with solid 200-meters legs before Ronetta Smith gave the Lady Tigers a sizable lead with a steady 400-meter leg.
Marian Burnett closed out the relay by holding off Florida and Tennessee, as the Lady Tigers won with a time of 3 minutes 47.48 seconds. It was the Lady Tigers’ first Penn Relays title in the sprint medley relay and added to their victory at the Texas Relays earlier this month.
The Lady Tigers finished second in the 4×100-meter relay for the second consecutive year, as rival South Carolina took the title. LSU used Lee on the anchor leg, but the sophomore inherited the stick with a five-meter deficit and closed in significantly, but could not catch the South Carolina anchor.
South Carolina posted a winning time of 44.03, while the Lady Tigers finished just behind at 44.11.
The Lady Tigers finished second in the shuttle hurdle relay to South Carolina as well. Ranysha LeBlanc, Zamyal Jackson, Tiffany Robinson and Lolo Jones combined to run a time of 54.12, the sixth fastest time in school history, but fell just short, as South Carolina countered with a time of 53.96.
Elsewhere in relay action for the Lady Tigers, the foursome of Doria Appleberry, Smith, LeBlanc and Jemia Ellis got LSU through the preliminary rounds of the 4×200-meter relay in a time of 1:36.24. In Saturday’s final, LSU will shift its order and use the Jones, Smith, Lee and Durst.
In individual competition, the Lady Tigers looked very sharp, advancing well in preliminary action in both the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles.
Lee posted the fastest preliminary time in the 100-meter dash, clocking an impressive 11.26. The sophomore All-American will aim to become the first woman to win back-to-back 100-meter titles at the Penn Relays since former Lady Tiger great Cheryl Taplin did so in 1993 and 1994.
Stephanie Durst won her heat of the 100-meter prelims and advanced as well with a time of 11.54.
Jones looked very strong in the 100-meter hurdles and clocked a heat-winning time of 13.09 less than 30 minutes after the shuttle hurdle final. Jones exploded out of the blocks and posted the fastest preliminary time of the day, a time of 13.09 that was well ahead of the rest of the field for Saturday’s final.
Jones will attempt to become the first Lady Tiger to win the Penn Relays hurdle title since Kim Carson in 1996. Ironically, Jones and Carson attended the same high school in Des Moines, Iowa.
Zamyal Jackson won her heat of the prelims in a time of 13.75 and advanced to Saturday’s final as well.
On the men’s side, the Tigers advanced in both the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays.
The Tigers opened the day by winning their section of the 4×100-meter relay, edging Ole Miss at the finish line to post victory in a time of 40.32. The Tigers posted the fourth fastest time of the day, as only Tennessee and TCU dipped below the 40-second barrier in preliminary action.
The Tigers closed out the day with a strong showing in the 4×400-meter relay. Anchor Pete Coley held off Clemson and guided the Tigers to victory in a time of 3:05.52.
The Penn Relays conclude on Saturday with all remaining relay and individual finals to be contested.