After 19 event wins and 22 personal-best times at the Hurricane Twilight in Miami’s Cobb Stadium on March 25, the LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams hope to continue their early-season dominance.
Both of LSU’s teams are set to compete at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Thursday through Saturday at the Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas.
“Typically, we would have already had a couple of meets under our belts in the past when we go to Texas,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “But I liked what I saw from both our teams our first time going outdoors in Miami last weekend.”
LSU featured efforts from senior sprinter and hurdler Chanice Chase, junior sprinter Tinashe Mutanga and freshman sprinter Kortnei Johnson, all of whom had national-leading performances on the first day of the meet.
Johnson won the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.27 seconds, Chase took the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.08 seconds and Mutanga crossed the men’s 200-meter dash finish line first in 20.52 seconds.
The Lady Tigers won the women’s sprint relay with a time of 44.72 seconds, along with LSU junior Jordan Moore, freshman Jaron Flournoy, Mutanga and junior Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake showcasing a second-place finish, season-opening time of 39.33 in the men’s 4×100-meter relay.
Junior sprinter Rushell Harvey and Johnson were among the top NCAA-ranked times as Harvey ranked second nationally in her first-place finish with a time of 23.24 seconds and Johnson finished fourth with 23.26 seconds in the women’s 200-meter dash.
“I think we’re prepared for Texas Relays,” Harvey said. “We had a good opener last week, so we see where we are. We also had a good training session this week.”
The Tigers finished with 152 points and the Lady Tigers scored 161.5 points, both first-place finishes.
For Johnson, a Texas native, there is palpable pressure traveling back home and performing in front of family and friends, but that won’t faze her, she said.
“My main focus is to just go out there and be able to execute the start of the race to the finish,” Johnson said. “Once I’m able to do that then my time will be faster than what I opened up with. Plus, there’s a lot of competition ­— a lot of fast girls from across the nation. It should be a very competitive meet.”
The events in the Texas Relays will start with a decathlon and heptathlon on Thursday, and LSU will compete in multiple events.
On Friday, LSU will compete in more field and running events, and will close the meet with the 4×400 meter relay events on Saturday.
“This weekend will really be the true outdoor opener for many of our athletes in a lot of events,” Shaver said. “It’s alway a great opportunity for our teams to see where they are early in the season. We’ll see a great competition that always brings in many of the best teams in the country.”