Several LSU track and field athletes posted new personal bests at their home field in the LSU Tiger Relays held Friday and Saturday.
The winds swirling around LSU’s campus then were evident both in Tiger Stadium, where Josh Jasper nailed a 57-yard field goal, and in neighboring Bernie Moore Track Stadium where times were greatly improved by a tailwind.
The wind discounted some athletes’ efforts , like senior All-American Samantha Henry’s blistering 11.14-second 100-meter run. That run won’t be used as an official time because of a 4.2 meters-per-second tail wind that is over the allowable limit.
Senior pole vaulter Josh Dominguez, who redshirted during the indoor season because of a hamstring injury, set a new personal record in the pole vault with a 17-foot, 7 1/4-inch vault that won the event.
“The conditions were really very good for the pole vault,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “He had a little tail wind where they could get a little help on the runway, but he handled the speed well and jumped well.”
Dominguez actually set two personal bests on the day. His previous best was a 17 feet, 5 inches, set during his sophomore year. He cleared 17 feet, 5 1/2 inches before reaching 17 feet, 7 1/4-inches on his final jump.”The wind was a little tricky,” Dominguez said in a news release.
“Sometimes you catch a good straight tail wind, and others you catch a tough crosswind. I just waited for it to calm down. I wanted a small tail wind, and I got it. It’s a great sign for the rest of the season that I was able to jump this well today. I’m happy with it.”
Damar Forbes also jumped his way into the spotlight. The highly-touted freshman eclipsed his previous triple jump personal record by nearly 4 feet Saturday with a 52-foot jump.
“[Forbes] is really a good competitor,” Shaver said. “We’re excited about what the future is going to bring for Damar. He’s one that is constantly trying to get better.”
The Tiger relay teams enjoyed great success at the meet, with the exception of the 4×100-meter relay team, which did not finish after dropping the baton during the final.
The 4×400-meter relay team had the best time of the day for the Tigers, posting an NCAA season-best 3 minutes, 5.80 seconds despite running the event without two of their top runners, freshman Caleb Williams and senior Richard Jones.
The 4×200-meter relay team and the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team also captured titles, totaling three relay titles for the Tigers at the LSU Tiger Relays.
The Lady Tigers’ relay teams were even more dominant than the men’s teams. Led by 12-time All-American Henry, the Lady Tigers’ 4×100 relay team cruised to an easy victory in the finals Saturday. The team circled the track with the baton in 44.01 seconds, beating the runner-up Louisiana Tech team by more than a second.
The Lady Tigers won every relay event they participated in, winning the 4×200-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay by four seconds, and the 1,600-meter sprint medley by nine seconds.
The Lady Tiger jumpers also completed a clean sweep. Junior Melissa Ogbourne won both the triple jump and long jump, and All-Americans sophomore Rachel Laurent and junior Brittani Carter won the pole vault and the high jump competitions, respectively.
“I just thought this was a great meet overall,” Shaver said. “We had a chance to put many of our athletes in a competitive situation that is going to pay dividends as we head to Texas next weekend.”
Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]