CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The LSU track and field closed out the first meet of the outdoor season on Saturday with day two of the Hurricane Invitational, hosted by the University of Miami at Cobb Stadium.
A year after having no women javelin throwers, the Tigers now have a pair of freshman throwers than can light it up.
Trinity Spooner got to work early reaching a nation-leading throw on her first attempt with 53.58 meters (175’ 9”) to win the event. Her throw sent her skyrocketing to fourth on the all-time LSU performance list and made her an early No. 1 in the nation. The Longville, La., native was the first freshman in the nation to clear the 40-meter mark this season and just the second in the nation to clear the 53-meter mark among all grade levels. Prior to Saturday, Spooner’s lifetime-personal best came in at 52.40 meters (171’ 11”).
Another freshman out of Louisiana entered the top-10 in school history conversation when Alexis Guillory landed a throw of 50.21 meters (164’ 8”) on her final attempt of the day to finish third. Along with Spooner, Guillory became just the second freshman in the nation to clear the 40-meter mark to start the new season. Saturday’s throw added almost 20 feet to her previous personal-best throw of 44.85 meters (147’ 1.75”) in high school.
Staying on the topic of javelin throwers, the reigning NCAA DIII champion in javelin throw made his debut for the Tigers this weekend. Will Lawrence landed a personal-best loft of 73.14 meters (239’ 11”) on his second attempt of the day to secure second place. His new PR puts him at No. 3 on the all-time LSU PL just two spots behind his two-time national title winning teammate Tzuriel Pedigo. Entering the year Lawrence held a PR of 72.14 meters (236’ 8”) from his time at Wisconsin-Platteville.
Junior Jackson Rimes also found his way onto the top-10 list with a lob of 71.22 meters (233’ 8”) on his second attempt of the day. This weekend’s throw enters him into the 70-meter club, beating out his previous best of 69.16 meters (226’ 11”). The Plaquemine, La., native now sits at No. 7 on the all-time LSU PL after finishing fourth overall in Coral Gables.
In high jump Kuda Chadenga leaped out to the No. 8 height in LSU PL history of 2.14 meters (7’ 0.75”) to earn the win. The Zimbabwean kept his slate clean through the heights of 2.01m-2.06m-2.11m-2.14m, but was unable to clear the height of 2.17 meters (7’ 1.5”) after all three attempts.
A day after recording a discus throw of 56.41 meters (185’ 1”), which put her at No. 2 on the all-time LSU performance list and first in the nation, Estel Valeanu found her way into the top-10 once again with shot put. Her third throw of the afternoon of 15.34 meters (50’ 4”) on Saturday catapulted her to No. 7 on the all-time shot-put list at LSU and allowed her to finish eighth overall in the event.
Personal Bests
Isaac Onuoha jumped a PR of 6’ 9” in high jump.
Montana Monk ran a PR of 4:22.50 in the 1500m.
Hailey Day ran a PR of 4:35.85 in the 1500m.
Sophie Martin ran a PR of 4:35.85 in the 1500m.
Svenya Stoyanoff ran a PR of 4:46.62 in the 1500m.
Trenton Sandler ran a PR of 3:56.85 in the 1500m.
Hugh Carlson ran a PR of 3:58.43 in the 1500m.
Rob Buisson ran a PR of 4:00.98 in the 1500m.
Casey Goetschel ran a PR of 4:04.92 in the 1500m.
Aniyah Bigam ran a PR of 11.40 in the 100m.
Morgan Smalls ran a PR of 11.44 in the 100m.
Jaiden Reid ran a PR of 10.34 in the 100m.
Callie Hardy ran a PR of 2:09.56 in the 800m.
Katie Johnson ran a PR of 2:15.39 in the 800m.
Rhen Langley ran a PR of 1:57.48 in the 800m.
Godson Oghenebrume ran a PR of 20.63 in the 200m.
Salim Epps ran a PR of 21.07 in the 200m.
Sean Burrell ran a PR of 21.13 in the 200m.
Louis Rudge ran a PR of 21.79 in the 200m.
Will Dart ran a PR of 6:04.97 in the 2000m steeple.
Ambria Langley threw a PR of 42’ 11.5” in shot put.
Up Next
LSU is heading home for two meets in-a-row starting with the Keyth Talley Invitational on Saturday, March 23.
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