BATON ROUGE — Walter Davis became the first Tiger in 12 years to win the national title in the long jump, as LSU got off to a fast start at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Bernie Moore Stadium.
The Tigers sit in second place after one day with 11 points, while Georgia leads the men’s competition with 15. UCLA grabbed the early lead in the women’s team competition while Clemson and North Carolina sit second with 10 points apiece.
The Lady Tigers did not have any scoring opportunities on the first day of competition.
Davis won his fourth career NCAA title, but his first in the long jump with a mark of 26 feet 6 1/4 inches. He became the first LSU man to win the event since Llewellyn Starks in 1990.
Marcus Thomas had hopes of regaining his form of 2000 when he finished third in the event, but battled nagging injuries and had to settle for 11th place with a jump of 25-1 1/4.
The Tigers got a lift in the throws when Javier Nieto finished eighth in the hammer throw to become the Tigers’ first All-American in the event since 1993. Nieto entered ranked 17th, but uncorked a throw of 206-4 on his first attempt to give the Tigers a point.
On the track, both squads were in top form and advanced extremely well.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay opened the track events with a scorching time of 38.32 seconds, the fourth fastest time in NCAA history. LSU now has two of the four fastest times in NCAA history, as it was their best mark since setting the school record of 38.24 in 1998.
Davis got his day started before the long jump and ran a blistering opening leg, while Robert Parham, Pete Coley and Bennie Brazell used flawless exchanges to blow away the field.
Brazell went on to advance to the finals of the 400-meter hurdles as well, winning his preliminary heat, as did Lueroy Colquhoun, giving LSU two strong scoring chances in Friday’s final. Brazell ran a time of 49.57, while Colquhoun circled the oval in 49.99.
Parham advanced in the 200-meter dash among very fast times, winning his heat in a time of 20.45, the third fastest time overall. Justin Gatlin of Tennessee broke the stadium record of former Tiger great Rohsaan Griffin, running a time of 19.98, the first sub-20-second time in Bernie Moore Stadium history.
The Lady Tigers set the pace in the 4×100-meter relay, posting the fastest time of the day with a blazing 43.57 by the foursome of Bianca Rockett, Lolo Jones, Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee.
Lee went on to run the fastest qualifying time of the day in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.66, while Durst advanced to Saturday’s final as well with a time of 22.97.
The NCAA Championships continue on Thursday and run through Saturday.
The first day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships complete at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Please use the NCAA Results page to get the first results.
Race Reviews (5/29/02)
Women’s 4 x 100 relay
Heat 1
Angela Williams broke out to an early lead on the first leg, and USC circled the oval without a hitch to win in the fourth-fastest time of 2002 (43.79). Texas ran down TCU in the final leg to take second but was disqualified for an exchange violation.
Heat 2
Florida used a strong first leg to take the lead after 200 meters. South Carolina and LSU then made up the gap in the final leg after a bad exchange by the Lady Gators. LSU’s Muna Lee took the stick and ran away from South Carolina to win with the second-fastest time in 2002 (43.57).
Men’s 4 x 100 relay
Heat 1
LSU’s Walter Davis made up the stagger before completing the curve, as the Tigers took an early lead in the race and never looked back to post the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history (38.32) and break TCU’s 1987 stadium record (38.82). Clemson ran ahead of the rest of the pack while USC held off East Carolina over the final five meters for third.
Heat 2
Tennessee’s Justin Gatlin took the stick for the second leg and gave the Vols the lead down the backstretch that they would not relinquish. South Carolina out-legged Alabama in the final leg to take second.
Men’s 400 hurdles
Heat 1
LSU’s Bennie Brazell took a commanding lead after the first hurdle and extended it at the fourth to run away from the field in 49.57. Mikael Jakobsson of Minnesota made a late charge after the eighth hurdle to take second place.
Heat 2
LSU’s national leader Lueroy Colquhoun took a wire-to-wire trip to win in 49.99, while Brian Derby of Penn State and Dean Griffiths of Auburn battled for second over the third hurdle. Nicholas O’Brien of Villanova legs away from Griffiths in the final 100 meters for second.
Heat 3
Roberto Carvajal of Kansas State led through three hurldes. Baylor’s Michael Smith and Florida Rickey Harris began to drive at the fourth hurdle and shared the lead at the sixth. Smith and Harris even at the seventh hurdle, but Smith began to fade and Harris maintained the lead. Harris relaxed at the line to give Auburn’s Fred Sharp the win in a season-best time of 49.79.
Heat 4
UCLA’s Kyle Erickson, the nation’s fifth-ranked performer, dropped out at the first hurdle. Tennessee’s Hassan Stamps leads on first staight-away. Minnesota’s Bob Quade pushes ahead until the seventh hurdle when he’s caught by Stamps and Utah State’s Brett Guymon. Guymon maintained the lead to win in 50.12.
Women’s 400 hurdles
Heat 1
National leader Tiffany Ross of South Carolina took a wire-to-wire victory in 56.66. She separated herself from the field at the sixth hurdle and then ran smoothly down the straight-away to win by 1.3 seconds.
Heat 2
Randi Smith of Washington State, Chloe Davis of Hampton and Chava Demart of Baylor raced together through five hurdles. Demart took a slight lead at the sixth before being passed at No. 7 by Texas’ Raasin McIntosh. McIntosh distanced herself after the eighth hurdle and eased for the victory. Davis and Demart battled to take second, and Demart takes it with a lean.
Heat 3
Lashinda Demus of South Carolina well out of the blocks and in the lead through two hurdles. She extended the lead through five and cruised to the victory in 56.39. Rice’s Allison Beckford made a charge after the eighth hurdle to finish second.
Heat 4
UCLA’s Sheena Johnson builds a large lead and is never challenged. Maryland’s Thema Napier moves into second at the eighth hurdle, while Jamese James of Tulsa edges Nicole Nelson of Northern Iowa for third place.
Men’s 800
Heat 1
NCAA defending indoor and outdoor champion Otukile Lekote of South Carolina takes the lead at the break and maintains throughout the entire race for the easy win. Kansas State’s Joseph Lee battles for second place but fades down the stretch as he’s passed by Michigan’s Nathan Brannen in the final straight-away for second place.
Heat 2
Oregon’s Simon Kimata maintains a steady lead until the final 200 meters when he tires and is challenged by Texas Tech’s Jonathan Johnson. Tennessee freshman Marc Sylvester also puts on a late charge as Kimata continues to fall back. Johnson takes victory in 1:46.55.
Heat 3
Florida’s Moise Joseph leads a tight group after 400 meters in 54.25. Arkansas’ Robbie Stevens pushes for the lead on the backstretch but Joseph holds him off until the final straightaway when SMU’s Roman Oravec begins to drive. Orevec takes lead in final 10 meters and wins in 1:48.35, followed by Joseph and Georgetown’s Jesse O’Connell.
Women’s 800
Heat 1
Baylor’s Lanie Millar leads a tight group after 400 meters (62.41). Nikeya Green of Wake Forest pushes to the front and brings with her Tennessee’s Nicole Cook and Millar to the final 100 meters. Florida’s Kristina Bratton makes hard late charge to challenge front-running Cook, and Bratton takes the win by .01 in 2:05.92.
Heat 2
Aleksandra Deren of USC leads a tight bunch after 400 meters in 64.54. Deren and Georgia Tech’s Nicole Campbell try to separate from the pack before Erin Belger of Cal pushes to the front on the final straightaway. Seton Hall’s Kenia Sinclair also mounts a late challenge but Deren reclaims the lead and takes it to the tape in 2:06.93, followed by Belger in 2:07.07 and Campbell a tenth behind.
Heat 3
Florida’s Melissa DeLeon and national leader Tiffany Burgess of UCLA lead after 400 meters at 60.16. With 250 meters remaining, North Carolina’s Alice Schmidt drop out of the lead pack and it’s Burgess and DeLeon down the final straightaway. Georgetown’s Tyrona Heath and Princeton’s Lauren Simmons gain ground over the final 70 meters. Heath surges to victory in 2:03.81 followed by Simmons .06 behind and DeLeon. Burgess finished sixth and failed to advance to the finals for the favored Bruins.
Men’s 3,000 Steeplechase
Heat 1
SMU’s Martin Allegyer and Daniel Lincoln of Arkansas broke away from the pack by 10 meters after 800 meters and by 20 meters with 800 to go. Lincoln pulls away from Allegyer halfway through the race and was 20 meters ahead with 1,000 meters to go. Lincoln put on the cruise control to win in 8:26.50. Jordan Desilets of Eastern Michigan pressed UTEP’s Bashar Ibrahim for second place and held off the Miner in 8:37.96.
Heat 2
Steve Stattery of Colorado took an early lead and was closely followed by Max King of Cornell. With 1,200 meters remaining, Tulane’s Solomon Kandie chased down King for second place and ran with Slattery, Isaiah Festa of Wisconsin and King in the lead pack. With 500 meters to run, Slattery and Kandie distanced themselves from the field. Kandie passed Slattery with 50 meters left to win in 8:38.73. Slattery was second and Festa was a close third.
Men’s 200 Meters
Heat 1
Defending indoor and outdoor champion Justin Gatlin of Tennessee exploded to a stadium record (19.98). Gatlin was never challenged and continued to put distance between he and the field until the tape. Clemson’s Dwight Thomas was second.
Heat 2
Tennessee’s Leonard Scott a Zachary, La., native sped to an easy victory after taking control of the race with 60 meters to go. Scott came out of the turn in a slight lead and won in 20.34. Mississippi State’s Pierre Browne of Mississippi State was second in 20.65.
Heat 3
A strong start by Mississippi State’s Dion Crabbe helped him pull in front of the pack until LSU’s Robert Parham gained ground in the final 20 meters to nip Crabbe at the tape in 20.45.
Heat 4
UTEP’s Aaron Egbele held off Penn State’s Ryan Olkowski for the narrow victory in 20.66. Olkowski finished in 20.71, while Marquis Davis of Mississippi State ran a close third in 20.76. Egbele took a slight lead out of the turn and maintained his advantage to the tape.
Women’s 200 Meters
Heat 1
A strong start by USC’s Angela Williams gave her a slight lead around the curve, but South Carolina’s Aleen Bailey surged ahead with 70 meters remaining to take the win in 22.85. Williams finished second in 23.24.
Heat 2
Arizona’s Brianna Glenn, the defending indoor champion, and South Carolina’s Me’Lisa Barker battled evenly down backstretch until Glenn pull away with 30 meters to go in 22.97. Barker was second in 23.06.
Heat 3
USC Natasha Mayers got out of the blocks quickly and led at the straightaway. She maintained her lead to the tape while being chased by LSU’s Stephanie Durst and Kinshasa Davis of USC. Mayers holds off to win in 22.80. Durst second in 22.97 and a charging Davis was unable to catch Durst in 22.98.
Heat 4
National leader Muna Lee got out quickly in lane 7 and put the race away early, running a prelim-best time of 22.66. Two one-hundredths of a second separated second through fourth, as Michele Davis of UNLV (23.22) edged Texas’ Aleah Williams for runner-up (23.23) and Penn State’s Consuella Moore (23.24).
Women’s 10,000 Meters
North Carolina State’s Beth Fonner took an early lead in the race but was overcome by the field midway through the race. The national leader, Jodie Hodges, along with Kristin Price of N.C. State, Tara Quinn of South Florida and Yale’s Laura O’Neill took over the race with five laps remaining. With a 15-meter lead on the bell lap, Price soared around the track to win by 45 meters in 34:26.63. Quinn finished second more than seven second behind, while O’Neill was third and Hughes struggled home for fourth.