A sweep of the 200-meter dash events and Barrett Nugent’s swift hurdles effort led the LSU track teams to a pair of runner-up finishes Saturday at the LSU Invitational.
The No. 3 Lady Tigers lost a close meet to rival Texas A&M by just 3 1/2 points after racking up 245 total points for the meet.
The fifth-ranked men’s squad made it a close contest late, but ultimately settled for second to No. 2 Texas A&M as well by a total of 190-172.
Nugent spurred the Tigers early by clipping his rival, Illinois’ Andrew Riley — who has defeated Nugent at the past two NCAA Championships — with a time of 13.58 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to register the third-fastest time in the country this season and claim the event crown.
“Me and Andrew have been going back and forth all year, and we’re pretty even, but I had a little extra out there today,” Nugent said.
Nugent credited his performance in part to the newly installed Mondo surface at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
“The track is so fast, and I think we’re all finally getting used to it, but it’s a really great surface to compete on,” Nugent said.
Sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan, who won the 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month, set a new personal record in the event on Saturday by posting a time of 22.76 seconds to win the race.
Duncan also finished third in the women’s 100-meter dash while junior Semoy Hackett claimed the event title with a time of 11.23 seconds.
In the men’s 200 meters, junior All-American Horatio Williams began his outdoor season with a time of 20.67 seconds to complete the LSU sweep of the 200-meter sprints.
The Lady Tigers also received key contributions from senior Brittany Hall and sophomore Charlene Lipsey, who finished first and second in the women’s 800-meter run with the two fastest times in the country so far this outdoor season.
Bowerman Award candidate Walter Henning won his 18th-straight event against collegiate competition by throwing for a mark of 216-9 to win the men’s hammer throw.
Overall, LSU athletes accounted for 14 event victories and 17 personal records on the new track at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
After a two-week homestand, the track teams will travel to the University of Texas to compete in the Texas Relays from Wednesday to Saturday. 
 
 
 
____
contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]