LSU Gold
Position
Middle Distance
Height
5'8
Class
Senior
Hometown
Philadelphia, Pa.
High School
West Catholic HS

Events: 400M (IN: 53.99; OUT: 53.17), 800M (IN: 2:03.77; OUT: 2:01.40)

3-time NCAA Champion
12-time All-American
3-time NCAA Mideast Regional Champion
8-time SEC Champion
12-time All-SEC

CAREER CAPSULE
One of the most prolific middle distance runners in the history of the LSU women’s track and field program … Helped the Lady Tigers win their 25th national championship in program history with a team title at the 2008 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships … Was also a member of four SEC championship teams during her collegiate career, including SEC Outdoor titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and an SEC Indoor title in 2008 … Finished her career ranked No. 2 on LSU’s all-time indoor and outdoor performance lists in the half mile … Set PRs of 2:03.77 indoors and 2:01.40 outdoors during her collegiate career … Was the 2008 NCAA Indoor champion in the 800-meter run after winning the national title during her sophomore season … Is one of four Lady Tigers in program history to win an NCAA individual title in the 800 meters … Also won two NCAA titles as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team during the outdoor season in 2007 and during the indoor season in 2008 … Ranks in a tie for 12th place on LSU’s all-time list with 12 career All-America selections … Swept SEC Indoor and SEC Outdoor titles in the 800 meters in back-to-back seasons in 2007 and 2008 … Also finished her career as a member of two school record relay teams in both the 4×800-meter relay (8:19.77) and 1,600-meter sprint medley relay (3:43.98).

2010
Wrapped up her collegiate career by earning four All-America honors during her senior season in 2010 … Anchored LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team to a pair of All-America finishes at the NCAA Championships … Team clocked 3:33.79 to finish runner-up in the final at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. … Followed by clocking 3:30.61 for a third-place finish in the national final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. … Also earned a pair of All-America selections as one of the leading 800-meter runners in the NCAA … Was the third-place finisher at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 2:03.90 in the national final … Qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet with an automatic qualifying time and indoor personal-best time of 2:03.77 in a third-place finish at the SEC Indoor Championships … Is the second-fastest indoor performance in program history … Also finished in third place nationally at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with an 800-meter time of 2:03.64 in the final … Earned a spot in the national semifinal with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (2:03.51) … Picked up All-SEC honors during the outdoor season with a second-place finish in the 800 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships (2:03.35) … Scored 10 points to help the Lady Tigers win their third SEC Outdoor team championship in four seasons … Set a new lifetime personal best of 2:01.40 in a runner-up finish in the 800 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold to rank No. 2 on LSU’s all-time outdoor performance list … A member of two school record relay teams during the outdoor season … Ran 2:02.25 on the anchor leg to lead the Lady Tigers to a second-place finish in the 4×800-meter relay at the Penn Relays … Teamed with Charlene Lipsey, Kayann Thompson and Brittany Hall for a time of 8:19.77, shattering the previous school record of 8:25.95 set in 1987 by Jackie Bobien, Kathi Harris, Sylvia Brydson and Camille Cato … Also ran on the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team that set a new school record of 3:43.98 to take the event crown at the Texas Relays.

2009
Continued her development as one of the top middle distance runners in the NCAA … Earned a pair of All-America honors in the 800-meter run … Opened up the season by finishing fifth in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 2 minutes, 4.89 seconds in the national final … Went on to earn a third-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Clocked a new overall personal best of 2:01.56 at the NCAA Outdoor meet to move into the No. 2 spot on the school’s all-time outdoor performance list … Qualified automatically for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships … Also earned a pair of All-SEC honors with runner-up finishes in the 800 meters at both the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships … Set a new indoor personal best of 2:04.27 to finish second at the SEC Indoor meet … A staple as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team … Anchored the relay team to an NCAA runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the second-straight season … Blistered the oval with a 51.22-second split on the anchor leg to earn All-America honors in the event … Teamed with Brittany Hall, Kayann Thompson and Samantha Henry to run a seasonal-best time of 3:28.82 in the national final … Also anchored the relay to wins at the SEC Outdoor Championships (3:34.11) and NCAA Mideast Regional Championships (3:31.53) … The 4×400-meter relay team also captured the event title at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a then seasonal-best time of 3:31.81 … Ran on LSU’s sprint medley relay team that captured titles at both the Texas Relays and Penn Relays during the 2009 season … Also anchored the Lady Tigers to a victory in the 4×800-meter relay at the Texas Relays.

2008
Became just the fourth athlete in the history of the LSU women’s track and field program to win an NCAA title in the 800-meter run with her victory at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. … Beat defending NCAA Indoor champion Alysia Johnson of California to the finish line with a time of 2 minutes, 5.07 seconds in the national final … Added her second individual All-America honor of 2008 during the outdoor season with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Crossed the finish line with a time of 2:04.38 at the national meet … Swept SEC indoor and outdoor titles in the half mile for the second-straight season … Clocked a time 2:06.56 to win the SEC Indoor title and a time of 2:03.39 to retain her SEC Outdoor crown … Punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Mideast Regional (2:04.06) … Set a new indoor personal best of 2:04.66 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational and a new outdoor personal best of 2:03.22 at the LSU Alumni Gold … Went on to compete in the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. … Advanced to the final and finished in 11th place against the top 800-meter runners in the United States in her first Olympic Trials experience … Was also an integral part of the Lady Tigers’ national champion 4×400-meter relay team in 2008 … Ran the third leg on the squad that won the NCAA Indoor title with a time of 3:31.14 … Also ran the third leg on the foursome that finished runner-up to Penn State at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a seasonal-best time of 3:28.33 … Their second-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay clinched the team title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the Lady Tigers … It was their first national championship since winning the NCAA Outdoor crown in 2004 … Was a member of LSU’s 4×400 relay that swept titles at the SEC Indoor Championships (3:31.89), the SEC Outdoor Championships (3:32.09) and the NCAA Mideast Regional (3:32.22) … Was named the College Women’s Athlete of the Meet for relay events with her outstanding performance at the 114th Penn Relays in her hometown of Philadelphia … Anchored the Lady Tigers to a pair of “Championship of America” relay titles in both the 4×800 and sprint medley relays … Winning time of 8:30.98 in the 4×800-meter relay at the Penn Relays ranks No. 4 all-time at LSU … Joined a select group of Lady Tiger greats to be recognized as the meet’s top women’s collegiate relay runner, including Cheryl Taplin in 1994, D’Andre Hill in 1996 and Muna Lee in 2003.

2007
Established herself as one of the top young 800-meter runners in the country with her outstanding performance as a freshman in 2007 … Won an NCAA title during the outdoor season as a member of the nation’s premier 4×400-meter relay team … Ran the third leg on the foursome that successfully defended its title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the seventh-fastest time in school history at 3:28.07 … Made her first career appearance in the 800 meters at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships … Just missed earning individual All-America honors as she finished 11th in the event at both meets … Earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships … Clocked a new overall personal best at the regional meet with a time of 2:03.89 in the final … Earned her spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships with a provisional qualifying time of 2:05.76 at the indoor conference meet, … Became the first athlete since Florida’s Tamieka Grizzle in 2000 to sweep SEC indoor and outdoor titles in the 800 meters … Also won an SEC indoor title as a member of the 4×400-meter relay team … Ran the third leg on the foursome that clocked the third-fastest time in school history at 3:29.86 … Finished second in the 800 meters and the Tyson Invitational (2:06.44) during the indoor season … Placed third in the event at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational (2:07.73) … Won the 800-meter title at the Sun Angel Classic (2:06.71) during the outdoor season … Followed the collegiate season by winning the USA Junior title in the 800 meters at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis … Won a gold medal in the event at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil … Finished nearly one second ahead of the silver medalist with a time of 2:06.59 in the final … Also won a gold medal for the United States at the Pan Am Juniors as the second leg of the 4×400-meter relay team that clocked the fourth-fastest junior time in world history at 3:29.67.

PRIOR TO LSU
Was the nation’s top recruit in the 800 meters for the Class of 2006 … Earned four letters while competing for head coach Tim Hicky at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia … Ran the fastest 800-meter time in the nation in 2006 with a mark of 2:07.92 during the indoor season … Was a two-time member of Team USA at the IAAF World Junior Championships in 2004 and 2006 … Also represented her country at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Morocco in 2005 … Finished her high school career as a seven-time AAU Junior Olympic champion in the 800 meters … Won the 800-meter title at the USATF Youth Outdoor Championships in 2004 (2:08.11) and 2005 (2:09.78), while posting a runner-up finish in the event in 2006 … Won the 800-meter title at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in 2005 with a time of 2:07.10, a mark that was just one-half second shy of Joetta Clark’s U.S. Junior record in the event … Defended her title at the 2006 National Scholastic Indoor Championships with a time of 2:07.92 … Named the 2004 Nike Athlete of the Year in the 800 meters after taking top honors at the U.S. Junior Nationals … Clocked a PR of 2:06.76 in the event at the Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, Calif., on April 8, 2004 … Was a four-time outdoor state champion in the 800 meters during her high school career … Led her high school team to indoor state championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

PERSONAL
Full name is LaTavia Vanessa Thomas … Born on Dec. 14, 1988 … Parents are Mark and Octavia Thomas … Has two siblings: Tyeshia and Markeeta … Majoring in communication studies.

 

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