BATON ROUGE — Walter Davis won the triple jump and helped the Tigers to victory in the 4×100-meter relay, as the LSU men’s team leads the NCAA Outdoor Championships with one day remaining.
LSU enters the final day of competition with 39 points, while South Carolina and Florida are tied for second with 19 points. It’s fourth place Tennessee, however, that will present the greatest challenge for the Tigers on Saturday, as the defending champions have a number of quality scoring opportunities on the final day.
UCLA continues to lead the women’s competition with 44 points while South Carolina sits second with 40. The Lady Tigers picked up their first points of the competition and sit in 19th with eight points and a number of quality scoring chances on Saturday.
Davis was the story of the day for LSU, however, ended his illustrious career as a nine-time All-American and a six-time national champion, both the highest total in LSU men’s history.
The 2000 Olympian closed out his collegiate career by shattering his own LSU record in the triple jump, winning with a mark of 56-10 3/4. He closed his collegiate career a perfect 17-0 in the event.
In the process, he became only the sixth man in NCAA history to sweep the horizontal jumps and the first to do so since 1998.
Davis opened the day by running the opening leg of the 4×100-meter relay, joining with Robert Parham, Pete Coley and Bennie Brazell to win the Tigers’ first NCAA short relay title since 1994. Brazell held off hard charges from Clemson and Tennessee to help the Tigers to victory in a time of 38.48.
Just 20 minutes later, Brazell returned to the track and finished second in the 400-meter hurdles in an LSU record time of 48.80, as Ricky Harris of Florida won the event in a time of 48.16.
An unfortunate twist of fate hit the Tigers in the 400-meter hurdle final, however, as Lueroy Colquhoun hit the 10th hurdle and fell, eliminating what was almost certain to be another top three finish and crucial points.
Claston Bernard entered as the favorite in the decathlon and moved a giant step closer to winning LSU’s first title in the event since 1995. Bernard shattered his own LSU day one record of 4,342, coming up with an extremely efficient 4,385 to grab a 112 point lead.
Bernard opened with a 10.82 in the 100-meter dash, but picked up steam in the shot put, coming up with the top effort of the day, a personal best throw of 51-3 1/2.
His momentum rolled over to the high jump, a traditionally strong event for the 2000 Olympian, as he posted the only seven-foot effort in the event, jumping 7-1 1/4. He closed the day with a time of 49.90 in the 400-meter dash.
The Lady Tigers got on the board with a second place finish in the 4×100-meter relay. Muna Lee fought furiously on the anchor leg to chase down South Carolina anchor Aleen Bailey, but inherited too great a deficit, as South Carolina won in a time of 43.12. LSU’s foursome of Bianca Rockett, Lolo Jones, Stephanie Durst and Lee posted a time of 43.28.
Lee and Durst both went on to advance to the 100-meter dash final, looking solid in semifinal action. Lee finished second in her heat to Brianna Glenn of Arizona, running a time of 11.41, while Durst finished third in her heat in a time of 11.50.
The Lady Tigers closed out the day with a huge statement in the 100-meter hurdles from Jones. The sophomore All-American joined the elusive sub-13 second club, blasting out of the blocks to the tune of 12.84. Danielle Carruthers of Indiana ran an identical time but got the victory in the heat when reviewed to the thousandth of a second, setting up a very fast final tomorrow.
Jones will try to become LSU’s fourth champion in the event in seven years. The NCAA Championships conclude on Saturday with all remaining finals. The Tigers will have plenty of strong scoring chances, as Robert Parham and Pete Coley compete in the 200 and 400-meter finals respectively. In addition, Bernard will continue his quest for the decathlon title, while the Tigers’ will close out the competition with the mile relay.
The Lady Tigers have most of their points on the track tomorrow, as Lee and Durst will compete in the 100 and 200-meter finals, Jones will compete in the 100-meter hurdles and Ronetta Smith will be in the 400-meter final. In the field, NCAA Indoor champion Nicole Toney will attempt to become LSU’s fourth champion in seven years in the event.
Race Reviews (5/31/02)
Men’s 4×100 Relay Final
LSU (38.48) shook off a pair of shaky exchanges to win its first title since 1994. The Tigers stayed near the front of the pack for the entire race, and had a two-meter lead over Ole Miss at the final exchange. Bennie Brazell of LSU took a late handoff from Pete Coley but put four meters between himself and the field to give LSU the title. Clemson’s Dwight Thomas held off Tennessee’s Leonard Scott over the final 10 meters for second (38.82), while the Vols were third (38.83).
Women’s 4x 100 Relay Final
Angela Williams exploded out of the blocks to give USC a sizable lead at the first exchange. South Carolina was also out strong, and Illinois picked up stream in the backstretch as the three teams were all in contention at the second exchange. USC and South Carolina separated themselves from the pack and were even at the final handoff. USC’s Kinshasa Davis was quickly eaten up by LSU anchor Muna Lee, who brought the Lady Tigers from the middle of the pack to second with 60 meters remaining. South Carolina’s Aleen Bailey held off the charging Lee to deliver the Gamecocks their first title at 43.12. LSU (43.28) and USC (43.80) were second and third, respectively.
Men’s 400 Hurdles Finals (Stadium Record 48.16)
Michael Smith, Reggie DePass and Bennie Brazell set the early pace, as all three were first over the third hurdle. DePass began to fade while Brazell and Smith stayed at the front of the pack approaching the sixth hurdle. At No. 7, Rickey Harris and Lueroy Colquhoun entered into contention, but it was Harris and Brazell racing for the gold after the final hurdle while Colquhoun and Fred Sharpe were fighting to gain ground. Harris held on for a comfortable 48.16 win followed by Brazell (48.80). Colquhoun fell over the final hurdle and was forced to walk across the finish line in ninth. Sharpe held off a charging Brett Guymon for third. Harris’ time was eighth in NCAA history and the third-fastest winning time in meet history.
Women’s 400 Hurdles Finals (World Junior Record 54.85)
Behind the wire-to-wire effort of Leshinda Demus, the Gamecocks scored 21 points (1-2-6). Demus held off all challenges to set a world junior record at 54.85. Her biggest challenges came from teammate Tiffany Ross, who was runner-up at 55.22, and Allison Beckford, who was making her drive until she fell at the eighth hurdle and was out of the race. It was the first title in the event for the Gamecocks. (previous record: 55.20 by Leslie Maxie on 9/6/84 in San Jose, Calif.)
Men’s 100 Meters Semifinals
Heat 1
Justin Gatlin charged out of the blocks and had the lead at the 40-meter mark. He extended the lead to win in a comfortable 10.05, while Dion Crabbe (10.241) leaned Anson Henry (10.250) for second. Terrance Newman, who had the fifth-fastest prelim time, pulled up lame with 40 meters to race and hobbled across.
Heat 2
Leonard Scott was strong at the gun and maintained a lead halfway through the race. With 20 meters remaining, Scott fell back of Dwight Thomas and Michael Frater and there was a blanket finish led by Thomas (10.17). Thomas’ furious late drive gave him the edge over Frater (10.21) and Pierre Brown (10.22). Scott was fourth (10.23) to slip into the finals.
Women’s 100 Meters Semifinals
Heat 1
Aleen Baliey disqualified after false start. Muna Lee and Brianna Glenn were strongest out of the blocks and the two led for the entire race. Gleen took charge with 30 meters to race and crossed the line in 11.38, followed by Lee at 11.41. Lauryn Williams pushed hard down the final 15 meters to move from fifth to third and finish in 11.48.
Heat 2
Two USC Trojans dominated the second heat, led by Natasha Mayers who exploded to a large lead and won easily in 11.28. Teammate Angela Williams had little trouble advancing, as she cruised behind Mayers uncontested for second in 11.48. Stephanie Durst was third in the separated field in 11.50.
Men’s 800 Meters Final (Stadium Record 1:45.17)
Simon Lekote successfully defended his title, leading from start to finish and crossing in 1:45.17. it was Lekote followed by Jonathan Johnson and Roman Oravec for the first 600 meters. At the final turn, Moise Joseph took over the No. 3 spot from Oravec. With 100 meters to go, Lekote had enough left to fend off Joseph and Johnson. He also withstood a challenge from hard charging Sam Burley, who worked his way from fifth to second in the final 50 meters. Burley was runner-up in 1:45.59, while Joseph (1:45.74) edged Johnson (1:45.81) for third. Lekote is the first repeat champion since Jose Parrilla of Tennessee won three straight from 1992-94.
Women’s 800 Meters Final
It was a tight race at the break with no clear leader until Aleksandra Deren took a slight edge over Nicole Cook with 650 meters remaining. Alice Schmidt moved from the middle of the tight pack to the front at the bell lap (1:03.02) and established a five-meter lead entering the backstretch. She maintained her lead over the field, including Kristina Bratton who moved to second with 200 meters to race. With Deren fading to the back of the pack, Schmidt ran smoothly to the tape in 2:04.73, while Lauren Simmons and Erin Belger passed the rest of the field to finish second and third, respectively, at 2:05.08 and 2:05.09.
Men’s 110 Hurdles Semifinals Page 2
Heat 1
It was fairly even through three hurdles until Todd Matthews pushed ahead by the fifth and extended his lead at the eighth to win easily in 13.56. Lewis Edmonson was second all the way in 13.68, followed by Ryan Wilson (13.74) and Derek Zachary (13.77) with the auto-qualifiers.
Heat 2
Jermaine Cooper and Ron Bramlett beat the field out of the blocks and led at 55 meters. Chris Pinnock began to drive at the sixth hurdle and was stride for stride with Bramlett and Cooper with 35 meters to race. Cooper and Pinnock battled to the tape, while Bramlett faded to fourth. Pinnock grabbed a slight lead after the final hurdle and crossed first in 13.54, followed by Cooper (13.56). Antwon Hicks caught Bramlett and the duo finished evenly with Hicks taking third with a lean at 13.69.
Women’s 100 Hurdles Semifinals
Heat 1 (Stadium Record 12.86)
Perdita Felicien staked an early lead over the second hurdle and cruised along in front of the field for an easy trip to the finals (12.86). Teammate Susanna Kallur pushed past Nichole Denby at the eighth hurdle for second in 13.11, while Denby was an easy third in 13.17.
Heat 2 (Stadium Record, 12.84)
Danielle Carruthers and Lolo Jones annihilated the field and ran neck-and-neck until the sixth hurdle. Carruthers took the lead to the tape for a photo finish in a stadium-record 12.84. Hannah Cooper was a very distant third in 13.17.
Men’s 3,000 Steeplechase Final (Stadium Record 8:22.34)
Daniel Lincoln successfully defended his title with a runaway victory in 8:22.34, the fastest winning time since Jim Svenoy of UTEP went 8:21.48 in 1995. Lincoln, who brought Arkansas its fourth title in five years, was firmly in control with a 20-meter lead with three laps remaining. He stretched his lead to 50 meters on the bell lap and was unchallenged to the finish. Steve Slattery was second in 8:26.51, followed by Soloman Kandie in 8:35.30. Slattery and Kandie ran 2-3 behind Lincoln for most of the race.
Women’s 5,000 Meters Final
Defending champion Lauren Fleshman made it two in a row, as she ran away from a five-woman pack with 600 meters to race to win in 15:53.91. Fleshman was pushed by Sara Gorton as the two began the bell lap, but Fleshman separated herself on the backstretch and ran home unchallenged. Gorton (16:02.08) ran out of gas and was passed with 30 meters to race by Siri Alfheim (16:00.47) and Kristin Price (16:01.25).