The LSU track and field teams took home three individual titles in what was easily the biggest meet of the season as they competed in front of a record crowd of 54,310 at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia at the Penn Relays.LSU has been successful in the meet in the past, racking up 60 Championship of America relay titles and 58 individual titles all-time in the 116-year history of the event.Most of the crowd was on hand to see the world’s fastest man, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, competing in a relay.But the Tigers had their own star athlete on display for the record crowd. Junior All-American Walter Henning was named the Penn Relays’ Collegiate Men’s Athlete of the Meet after he easily dispatched the field in the hammer throw by 22 feet.”It means a lot for me to come here and defend my title,” Henning said in a news release. “This is such a great meet, and I love competing in a meet with this kind of history behind it.”Henning’s victory marked the third-consecutive year an LSU thrower took home the individual title in the hammer throw at the Penn Relays. Henning won it in 2009, and former Tiger Rabun Fox won in 2008.”We had some outstanding individual performances today. I’m proud of our kids who showed up ready to get something done in their last opportunity to compete before championship season,” LSU coach Dennis Shaver said in a news release. “We needed to take a step forward and improve today, and we accomplished that in some areas.”Sophomore All-American hurdler Barrett Nugent and senior pole vaulter Josh Dominguez also took home individual titles for the Tigers.Nugent set a personal record with a time of 13.58 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, beating his previous best by .08 seconds. Nugent’s efforts made him the first Tiger to win the event in the meet’s history.”I felt good throughout the race, and I am very happy with coming out with a win today,” Nugent said in a news release. “It’s the best field that I’ve run against outdoors this year, and I bet there are probably three or four guys in that race that will be in the NCAA final.”Nugent’s 13.58-second 110-meter hurdle effort ranks No. 3 in the country this season and the No. 4 time on LSU’s all-time performance list. Nugent is just .08 seconds behind Eric Reid’s school record.Dominguez also set a new personal record clearing 17 feet, 8 1/2 inches to win the pole vault. Dominguez became the fourth Tiger to win the event at the Penn Relays.The Lady Tigers took home the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay title Friday as senior Samantha Henry, freshman Kimberlyn Duncan, sophomore Cassandra Tate and senior LaTavia Thomas ran the distance in 3 minutes, 48.36 seconds, four seconds faster than runner-up Cornell.Thomas capped off her brilliant career by running the anchor leg of the winning relay team in her hometown.”It’s only fitting that Thomas run anchor for us on the women’s relay,” Shaver said. “She’s from West Catholic High right here in Philadelphia and has had a tremendous career for us as a Lady Tiger. I’m proud of her and of our teams.”The victory marked the fourth time Thomas ran the anchor leg on a winning relay team at her hometown meet and the first time a female athlete has accomplished the feat in the storied history of the Penn Relays.The Penn Relays marked the end of regular season competition for LSU, who will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Southeastern Conference Championships on May 13-16.
 
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