Modern technology, nutrition, talent and speed converged this weekend, culminating in the pinnacle of collegiate competition and athletic success at the Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky., during the 2007 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship meet. All the SEC track and field teams competed in a three-day athletic spectacle in which records were broken and individual and team championships were determined. The LSU women’s track and field team placed third with a score of 101 total points, two behind University of Georgia and 19 behind SEC champion University of Tennessee. The LSU men placed fourth with 79.5 points while University of Arkansas scored 126 total points to win their 14th SEC title in the past 17 years. Tennessee and University of Florida filled the other top spots in the men’s field with 115.5 and 93.5 points respectively. LSU coach Dennis Shaver said both the men and the women’s team improved from a year ago, with the Lady Tigers moving from a seventh place finish to third and the men improving upon their point total of 77 in last year’s fourth place SEC finish. “As far as the women’s team is concerned, they exceeded the total number of points that I thought they would be able to score at this meet,” Shaver said. “I was extremely pleased with the third-place finish after last year being seventh.” If the meet were a dance then junior sprinter Jessica Ohanaja was the belle of the ball for the Lady Tigers. Ohanaja tied the fastest collegiate 60-meter hurdle performance and set a SEC Indoor Championship meet record with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 8.03 seconds in the event. “[Ohanaja] is a girl that last year didn’t break 8.30 [seconds] and this year she’s just doing a tremendous job,” Shaver said. “I was really happy. That’s her first SEC individual title since she’s been at LSU, and she earned it.” Ohanaja said she views her success as just a way of contributing to the overall success of the team. “It really means a lot to me because coming in and getting first I know that the team can count on me, and they know that I can get the job done,” Ohanaja said. Freshman sprinter LaTavia Thomas collected 10 points for her win in the 800-meter run, and junior sprinter Kelly Ann Baptiste received six points for a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash. The Lady Tigers 4×400-meter relay team also gained 10 points for their latest SEC title in the event. Junior sprinter Reggie Dardar, who won the 400-meter dash, and freshman sprinter Jamaal James, who took first place in the 800-meter run, are the newest SEC title holders for the LSU men’s team. Dardar also focused on the team when asked about his success on the track during the weekend. “We had 28 personal records so as a whole we did great,” Dardar said. “Our coaches are excited; we went out and did every thing we needed to, and we did better on both sides men and women.” Junior sprinter Richard Thompson set a school record in the 60-meter dash finals and placed second with a time of 6.64 seconds. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team collected eight points for their second place finish in the event as well. “We had 28 personal record performances by 24 different athletes on our men and women’s teams, and I don’t remember that happening in my years at LSU in a SEC championship meet,” Shaver said.
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