EUGENE, Ore. – The LSU men’s track & field team closed their week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday, hosted by Oregon at the historic Hayward Field. The men ended the meet with a score of 11.33 points to finish 28th in the team race.
The underclassmen duo of freshman Jelani Watkins and sophomore Jaiden Reid scored the majority of the points for the men this week in the 100 meter. Watkins didn’t have the greatest start, but the last 20 meters of the race were almost perfect as he finished with bronze in his first NCAA appearance. The freshman clocked a time of 10.10 seconds (10.092), which was only .001 away from a silver medal. Reid finished in sixth with a time of 10.17 seconds to score three points for the Tigers. Together the duo brought home nine of the 11.33 points score on the men’s side.
First Tiger up to bat on Friday was Kuda Chadenga in the high jump final. The Zimbabwean got off to a great start clearing the first two heights of 2.10 meters (6-10.75) and 2.15 meters (7-0.5). Chadenga was unable to clear the height of 2.20 meters (7-2.5), which would’ve been a season best. The senior finished in a three-way tie for eighth, scoring a third if a point for the Tigers.
In the men’s hurdles, Jahiem Stern finished in seventh to score two points. The junior clocked a time of 13.57 seconds, staying relatively clean over the hurdles until the halfway point where he started to clip them.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay quartet consisting of Stern, Reid, Myles Thomas and Watkins were thought to have finished third overall in the event. Moments later the team was disqualified for overstepping their lane two or more times.
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