The LSU athletic year is officially over, and the Tigers have capped it off with another solid showing.
Over the past week, the men and women’s outdoor track and field teams competed at the NCAA national championships, starting with the preliminaries on Wednesday and Thursday.
Most of the men’s finals were on Friday, and most of the women’s finals were on Saturday.
The women came into the national championships with high expectations. For much of the outdoor season, the team was ranked No. 1 in the national polls, though it was ranked No. 2 heading into the week.
At the indoor championships in March, the LSU women finished No. 6, and at last year’s outdoor championships, the team finished No. 7. The Tigers were looking to improve on both marks.
Ultimately, LSU placed No. 6 to repeat its result in the indoor cycle. Although it was perhaps short of the lofty expectations of a very talented team, it was an excellent result nonetheless.
The LSU women scored 31 points from five different events.
Before the weekend, the women had qualified 22 total entries to compete at nationals in 14 events. 15 entries advanced to the finals in their events.
The team’s highest placement came in the 4×100 relay, where the team of Brianna Lyston, Thelma Davies, Leah Phillips and Tima Godbless came up with silver.
Lyston did the same in the 100-meter dash, where the Tigers had two other finalists who also came up with points for the team, with Davies in sixth and Godbless in eighth.
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Also taking home points were junior Michaela Rose in fourth in the 800-meter dash, sophomore Ella Onojuvwevwo at sixth in the 400-meter dash and Godbless again at eight in the 200-meter dash.
The men’s team finished No. 16 in the standings, a vast improvement on its No. 53 placement at the indoor championships.
In the standings, the LSU men scored 17 points from five different events, up from just one point in the indoor national championships.
The LSU men qualified 12 entries in nine different events. Of those, nine advanced to become finalists.
The team’s best performance came in the 4×100 relay, where the team of Myles Thomas, Da’Marcus Fleming, Jaiden Reid and Godson Oghenebrume put up a silver medal finish, just like the women’s relay team.
Oghenebrume also finished No. 4 in the 100-meter dash, while the 4×400 relay team finished No. 7 and sophomore Matthew Sophia and senior Sean Burrell both finished No. 8 in the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
