Austin, Texas – The LSU women’s distance medley relay of Lorena Rangel, Amber Anning, Michaela Rose, and Katy-Ann McDonald, and Tzuriel Pedigo (javelin), set LSU school records on Friday at the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
The women’s distance medley relay ran a time of 11:02.45 for the second place finish. Rangel ran the leadoff leg, the 1,200 meters, in a time of 3:24.47, to start things off. Anning, a sprinter, circled the track once for the 400 meter portion of the race with a split of 52.07 seconds before handing off to Rose for the 800 meter leg. Rose took the stick and ran a split of 2:06.03 before handing off to McDonald for the closing 1,600 meters. McDonald ran that in a time of 4:39.88 to close things out for the 11:02.45. It shattered the previous LSU school record of 11:10.94 that was set all the way back in 1985 by Muffy McLeod, Wendy Truvillion, Camille Cato, and Christine Slythe. It was the oldest school record in LSU women’s record book until today.
Pedigo launched the javelin a career best 253’ 9” (77.34 meters) on his sixth and final throw of the night to better his own school record. It was a near replay of how he set the school record a year ago to win the NCAA title, as he did it on his last throw of the event there as well. His previous best throw was a mark of 252’ 7”. Fellow javelin tosser Eli Gaughan PR’d for the second straight meet, and actually registered two career bests tonight. He started with a career best heave of 229’ 4” (69.90 meters) in round two before improving that mark with a 229’ 8” (70.00 meters) bomb in round three; that mark moved him up to No. 10 in LSU history. Pedigo finished fourth in the competition and Gaughan placed eighth. The two marks also rank inside the top 10 of the NCAA.
Sean Dixon-Bodie only took two jumps in the triple and earned his third-place finish in the A section thanks to a best mark of 53’ 0.25” (16.16 meters); that distance puts him in the No. 3 spot on the NCAA leaderboard early in the season. Freshman Apalos Edwards finished in 10th with a mark of 50’ 8” (15.44 meters). In the women’s triple jump, section B, Kyndal McKnight placed third as well with a wind-aided jump of 42’ 6.25” (12.96 meters) on her second attempt of the day.
Ji’eem Bullock and Serena Bolden both competed in the B section of the long jump and it was Bullock who came away with a podium showing. Bullock leapt out to a mark of 24’ 5.75” (7.46 meters) on his third attempt of the day to garner third place. Bolden almost collected a PR with a jump of 20’ 5.25” (6.23 meters), just half an inch shy of her personal best, to finish fourth overall.
The track events on Friday morning saw LSU advance through in a total of five events (three relays, two ind.). The only two individuals to advance out of qualifying were Eric Edwards Jr. and Alia Armstrong in the hurdles. They both won their heats and earned auto Qs to Saturday’s finals. Armstrong won her qualifier at 12.98, and Edwards Jr. was top guy in his heat with a 13.67.
LSU will have four relays in Saturday’s finals – the LSU women’s 4×400 meter relay was already qualified for the finals of the 4×400 meter relay university invitational. Both men’s relays – the 4×100 and 4×400 – notched season bests. The foursome of Da’Marcus Fleming, Kenroy Higgins II, Ashton Hicks, and Dorian Camel passed the baton around the track in 39.44 to advance in the 4×1, and the group of Camel, Sean ‘Squirrel’ Burrell, Aaron Smith, and Hicks qualified in the 4×4 with a time of 3:05.59. The women’s 4×100 meter relay of Alia Armstrong, Leah Phillips, Tionna Beard-Brown, and Favour Ofili ran a 43.63 to win their heat and advance to Saturday’s finals.
Up Next
LSU will close out the Texas Relays on Saturday. Amber Hart will be the first Tiger in action; a full schedule for tomorrow can be viewed below. The Longhorn Network will begin coverage at 1:30 p.m. CT Saturday. Saturday
Saturday Schedule (All Times CST)
Amber Hart – Discus – 10 a.m.
Women’s 4x800m Relay – 10:40 a.m.
Men’s 4x800m Relay – 10:50 a.m.
Abigail O’Donoghue – High Jump – 11 a.m.
Nyagoa Bayak – High Jump – 11 a.m.
Lisa Gunnarsson – Pole Vault – 12 p.m.
Women’s 4x100m Relay – 1:30 p.m.
Men’s 4x100m Relay – 1:35 p.m.
Alia Armstrong – 100m Hurdles – 2:20 p.m.
Eric Edwards Jr. – 110m Hurdles – 2:40 p.m.
Morgan Smalls – Long Jump – 3 p.m.
Men’s 4x400m Relay – 4:35 p.m.
Women’s 4x400m Relay – 4:45 p.m.