The No. 2 LSU women’s track team hurdled over the Aggies on Saturday in the teams’ indoor track dual meet, avenging their defeat in the same event last season with a 82.5-76.5 win over No. 17 Texas A&M.
The Lady Tigers won 10 out of their 16 events on the day to propel them to victory.
“It helps the group as a whole to know they all did it together,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “They know they can compete with anyone and work together to get the win.”
The Tiger men didn’t fare quite as well, losing 88-68 after dropping nine of the 16 events.
But LSU did dominate the field events, with the men winning five of six, and the women taking four more.
“We won 11 out of 16 if you include the relays,” Shaver said. “We got out to a fast start. They did what they could and were fortunate enough to pull it out.”
Nineteen personal bests were recorded at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium between the Tiger men and women, including multiple scores that rank all-time for the program.
Sophomore Denise Hinton improved her personal best in the weight toss by five feet, claiming 63 feet 2 inches.
That mark gives her the No. 19-best throw in the nation for this season and the second-best throw in LSU women’s history.
The Lady Tigers went 1-2 in the event, with junior Samia Stokes placing second.
Freshman Tori Bliss set a personal best in the shot put with her 50-foot-11.5-inch throw that ranks fifth all-time for LSU.
Junior sprinter Caleb Williams set the nation’s best time in the 400-meter dash in College Station, Texas, with a time of 46.60.
The Tigers’ defending national champion, senior Barrett Nugent, had the nation’s fifth-best time with his 7.82 mark in the 60-meter hurdle.
“I feel like our sport needs more of this,” Shaver said in a press release. “Our meets are certainly more exciting when the team is the focus and the athletes are competing for one another. That’s what you saw out there today.”
LSU will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for their first Southeastern Conference dual meet of the season.
The Razorbacks come into the meet ranked just as high the Tigers, holding the No. 2 spot on the men’s side  — one spot ahead of LSU — while the women are No. 3 — one spot behind LSU.
“We work hard to be better this week than the week before,” Shaver said. “Arkansas is a good program and has a great facility.”
 
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Contact Michael Gegenheimer at [email protected].