Senior sprinter Richard Thompson has developed a habit for breaking University records this season. Thompson broke the school record in the 100-meter dash this weekend at the 81st Texas Relays in Austin, Texas at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Thompson won the men’s invitational 100-meter dash with a time of 10.0 seconds – the fastest time in the world this season and a Myers Stadium record. Thompson also set the University record in the 60-meter dash during the indoor season with a time of 6.51 seconds at the NCAA Indoor Championships. “I have the confidence that I can beat the best sprinters in the NCAA,” Thompson said in a news release. “By the time June comes around and we go to the NCAA meet, people will be forgetting what happened indoors. I just want to prove to myself and to everyone else this outdoor season that I can be one of the greatest sprinters to ever come through LSU.” Junior Trindon Holliday held the previous school record of 10.02 seconds, a mark set at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this past season. Holliday won the men’s university 100-meter dash at the Texas Relays with a time of 10.2 seconds. The university division is open to NCAA Division I athletes, while the invitational division is limited to special invitations only. Thompson and Holliday also led the men’s 4×100-meter relay team to its fifth-straight victory in the men’s university competition. Thompson, Holliday, sophomore Armanti Hayes and freshman Gabriel Mvumvure won with an NCAA-leading time of 38.74 seconds. The women’s 4×100-meter relay team finished second to Texas A&M with a time of 43.10 seconds. The Lady Tigers’ time is the second fastest in the NCAA this season. Senior Kelly-Ann Baptiste won the women’s invitational 100-meter dash for the second time in her career with a time of 11.06 seconds. She won her first Texas Relays outdoor title in 2006. Junior Nickiesha Wilson won the women’s university 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.85 seconds. Her time ranks third in the nation this season. The teams also won titles in the women’s 4×400-meter relay and the men’s distance medley relay. “It’s special any time you’re able to win one title at the Texas Relays because you’re talking about 81 years of history,” LSU coach Dennis Shaver said in a news release. “To win eight in one weekend says a lot about their competitiveness.” The Tigers and Lady Tigers will compete at home the next two weekends. They host the Tiger Invitational on April 12 and the LSU Alumni Gold on April 19.
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]