Current LSU track athletes and former Tigers pursuing Olympic glory grabbed top honors Saturday at the 2008 LSU Alumni Gold meet at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
In their final home meet of the season, the LSU men’s and women’s teams finished first in the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays. LSU sprinters Trindon Holliday and Samantha Henry took first place in the men’s and women’s 100-meter dashes, respectively.
The Lady Tigers’ 4×100-meter relay team defeated defending NCAA champions Texas A&M and set a Bernie Moore Track Stadium record with a time of 42.84 seconds. The time leads the NCAA and ranks second in the world this season.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay concluded the track portion of Saturday’s meet by bringing the crowd to its feet in a thrilling finish between Texas A&M and LSU.
LSU sophomore anchor Armanti Hayes entered the final leg trailing Texas A&M by about seven meters, said LSU coach Dennis Shaver.
But in LSU’s fastest anchor leg of the season, Hayes delivered a split time of 45.14 seconds to defeat the Aggies.
Shaver said he decided to change the anchor position by replacing senior Reggie Dardar with Hayes.
“Dardar anchors it normally, but Hayes has been sprinting really well lately,” he said. “He handled it well and didn’t panic when he was behind.”
Shaver said he was pleased with the turnout from former Tiger track and field athletes.
In her first outdoor race of the season, former Tiger hurdler Lolo Jones recorded a time of 12.72 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Her world-leading time of the 2008 season set a Bernie Moore Track Stadium record.
Senior hurdler Ryan Fontenot said he was excited to compete alongside Olympic hopefuls and collegiate rivals. Participating schools included Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tulane and South Florida.
Fontenot won the 110-meter hurdles with time of 13.76 seconds, beating Shamar Sands of the Bahamas by 0.08 seconds.
“It’s the fastest time I’ve ever had running into a head wind,” Fontenot said.
LSU’s distance runners won the men’s and women’s 1,500 meters.
Senior Katie Dawson finished with a time of 4 minutes, 34.71 seconds, while junior John Kosgei won the men’s event with a time of 3 minutes, 44.36 seconds.
Junior Rabun Fox, junior Ricky Jean-Francois and junior Chad Radgowski won the hammer, shot-put and javelin events, respectively.
LSU will conclude the regular season this weekend with a trip to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Post season competition begins May 15 in Auburn, Ala., at the 2008 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]