On a chilly Friday morning, LSU welcomed schools such as Alcorn State, Grambling State, Hinds CC, McNeese State, Meridian CC, New Orleans, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern University, Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette and Xavier (La.) to the Carl Maddox Field House. LSU’s jumpers, throwers, and distance runners competed at the Bayou Bengal Invitational in Baton Rouge on Friday, while the sprinters and hurdlers for the Tigers head out west to the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Thirty-five Tigers competed at the Bayou Bengal home meet. Highlighting those 35 athletes was a pair of All-Americans, Lisa Gunnarsson and Sean Dixon-Bodie, who made their 2022 season debuts.
Gunnarsson was perfect en route to victory with a total of four clearances. She opened at a height of 13’ 7.75” (4.15 meters), before progressing to bars of 14’ 1.75” (4.31 meters) and 14’ 5.50” (4.41 meters). Her final clearance of the day came at a height of 14’ 9.50” (4.51 meters) to take over the NCAA lead in the event. She moved the bar to a height of 15’ 1.50” (4.61 meters) in what would have made her equal to the No. 5 performer in collegiate history, but she was unable to clear that height in three attempts.
Gunnarsson, a two-time national champion in the pole vault, competed for the first time since July of 2021 when she took third at the European U23 Championships. Gunnarsson holds the LSU school record in the indoor pole vault with a best clearance of 14’ 11.50” (4.56 meters) that came at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships to win her first NCAA title. That clearance of 14’ 11.50” also ranks her as the eighth-best collegiate performer in the event.
Sean Dixon-Bodie started off his 2022 season by winning the triple jump with an impressive leap of 52’ 4.75” (15.97 meters); that mark ranks No. 10 in the national rankings.
Kyndal McKnight made it a Purple & Gold sweep in the triple jump as she won her second event title of the season with a mark of 41’ 4.25” (12.60 meters).
Amber Hart notched a personal best in the women’s shot put with a toss of 51’ 6.25” (15.70 meters) to take the top collegiate spot in her event. Hart finished second overall behind professional Jessica Ramsey, who won with a mark of 18.30 meters.
LSU had six other event winners at the Bayou Bengal meet. Jake Norris started the day off with a throw of 62’ 10” (19.15 meters) that won the throw event. The Tigers swept titles in the mile run and triple jump, while also winning the women’s 800 meters.
Callie Hardy led a group of six women LSU milers who registered personal bests. Hardy won with a time of 5:01.29. She was followed by podium finishers Adele Broussard (5:07.17/PR) and Sophie Martin (5:07.44/PR). Carly Nicholson (5:13.19), Molly McHale (5:23.19), and Annie Fink (5:34.53) all notched personal bests as well. In the men’s mile, it was Garrett Hamilton who came away with a win in a time of 4:16.86, which was a near six second PR. Cade Martin (4:18.23) and Jack Wallace (4:20.39) rounded out the 1-2-3 finish for LSU in the event with career bests.
Three more distance runners picked up wins to highlight LSU’s nine event titles of the day. Alicia Stamey clocked a personal best of 2:15.41 to win the 800 meters, while both Gwyneth Hughes (10:40.72) and Evan Pardo (8:49.82) notched personal bests to win their first career collegiate races. In the 800 meters, Hardy also ran a personal best with a time of 2:19.47 to place second.
Thomas Daigle was the first LSU athlete in action on the track Friday and he ran a second-place finish in the 600-meter race with a personal best time of 1:22.17. In the men’s 800 meters, Adam Wise (1:56.88) and Jack Wallace (2:00.25) ran career best times on their way to second and third place finishes in the event.
Apalos Edwards and Ji’eem Bullock finished in second and third in the long jump with marks of 24’ 1.75” (7.36 meters) and 23’ 11.50” (7.30 meters). In the high jump, Morgan Smalls took second in the women’s event with a height of 5’ 6.50” (1.69 meters). Ronnie Rounds III placed third in the men’s event with a clearance of 6’ 7” (2.01 meters).
