LEXINGTON, Ky. – The LSU track and field team closed out their first day of action at the SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday, hosted by Kentucky at the UK Track & Field Complex. After a day of competition the LSU women sit in seventh with a team score of seven points, while the men sit in 12th with one point.
The day got started with the LSU women scoring two points in the javelin throw. Sophomore Trinity Spooner was unable to replicate her performance from last year’s championship, but was still able to score in her sophomore appearance. Spooner tossed a distance of 51.56 meters (169-2) on her fourth throw of the day to finish seventh overall.
On the men’s side of javelin throw, freshman Paul Catalanatto made his first appearance and scored one point with an eighth-place finish. Catalanatto reached his day’s best of 66.16 meters (217-1) on the third throw of the day.
The biggest moment of the day in the prelims came from sophomore Jaiden Reid. After a rough go-through in the regular season after a stellar indoor season, Reid was able to breakout once again. The Caymanian once again broke his national record and clocked a Tokyo World Athletic Championships’ qualifying standard in the 200 meter with 20.13 seconds (+0.2 m/s) to win his heat and take third overall in the prelims. Reid’s new personal best moves him to No. 6 in LSU performance-list history and No. 4 in the NCAA for 2025. The last Tiger to break the 20-second barrier was Terrance Laird in 2021, and will likely be the performance Reid needs to medal on Saturday.
Another Tiger in the men’s 200 meter to stun the field was freshman Jelani Watkins. The dual-sport star was holding on in the top-four of his heat halfway through and then found another gear to hawk down the leader in the final meters, clocking a new PR of 20.32 seconds into a strong headwind of -1.1 m/s. That time was enough to qualify him for Saturday’s final with one of the big Q spots.
In the hunt for her sixth Southeastern Conference title in the 800 meter was Michaela Rose in the prelims. Rose clocked a time of 2:03.62 to advance with the heat win, easing off the pedal throughout the second lap. The Suffolk, Va., native was the first person in SEC history to win three indoor 800m titles, and could be the first to do so outdoors if she wins on Saturday.
Looking to redeem herself after a tough break in the SEC Indoor Championships, Tima Godbless accelerated to a heat win in the 200m prelims on Thursday. Godbless clocked a time of 22.62 seconds (+0.9 m/s) with ease and will have a shot at medaling with a similar time on Saturday.
The day closed out with the women’s 10,000 meter, which included Edna Chepkemoi taking on the event for the first time in her collegiate career. Chepkemoi clocked a No. 2 time in LSU PL history of 33:54.99 to finish fourth overall and score five points for the Tigers. She now only trails her teammate Ella Chesnut on the all-time LSU PL.
Head Coach Dennis Shaver’s Notables
Aniyah Bigam ran a PR of 22.95 in the 200m.
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