Despite breaking collegiate records in events, the LSU Tigers Track and Field men’s and women’s squad fell short of an SEC Championship crown.
The highlight of the weekend was the Men’s 4x100m relay team setting a new collegiate record and the second fastest time in the world. The team of Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Godson Oghenebrume and Da‘ Marcus Fleming ran a time of 37.90.
Camel led the men’s team in points with 23. The men’s team finished second overall behind Arkansas. The women’s team finished sixth overall with their leading points scorer being Alia Armstrong who scored 20 points.
Armstrong also set a new collegiate record of her own in the 100m hurdles. Breaking her previous record time of 12.33. Armstrong ran a time of 12.31 which qualified her for the finals, which she won.
Armstrong was also a part of the women’s 4x100m team that won first. The team consisted of Armstrong, Favour Ofili, Brianna Lyston and Thelma Davies. The team ran a time of 42.92 seconds.
Micaela Rose also took home the 800m crown with ease. Her time of 1:59.73 cruised her to the top spot. She won the race by almost four seconds.
Other notable performances came from Sean Burrell, who finished fourth in the 400m hurdles, setting his season best time that also ranks ninth in the nation. Oghenebrume also won the 100m dash with a time of 10.04.
While the records and top finishes were great individual accomplishments, the team still fell short of the goal of winning the meet. Arkansas swept the weekend winning both titles. The team might still be in contention for a national title, but failing to win the SEC championship could put a damper on those plans.
For a team that is ranked inside the top ten in the country, winning the meet should have been its top goal. Arkansas is higher ranked than the Tigers, but a strong performance from a once highly ranked squad could have catapulted it over the Hogs.
The men’s team has now bounced down from its highest mark of second in the nation to eighth in the latest polls. The women’s team with the same downfall from first in the nation to seventh.
After the SEC championship, most of the team is done for the season. The qualifiers for regionals will begin to prepare for their next test. The Tigers who qualified will be in action in Jacksonville, Florida from May 24 through 27.
