The LSU track and field teams conquered the top 10 national rankings when five athletes made the list after competing at the Battle of the Bayou at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers earned 19 personal-best scores and four event wins, spearheading the SEC against teams in Saturday’s competition in Baton Rouge.
“It’s always fun to be a part of a meet like this where you have a smaller field with five or six teams like we had here today and score it out conference against conference,” said coach Dennis Shaver in a news release on Saturday.
LSU senior Chanice Chase, junior Morgan Schuetz, junior Jada Martin, junior Tinashe Mutanga and sophomore Kymber Payne headlined the invitational.
In her season opener, Schuetz competed in both the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races. She clocked in the NCAA’s top five in the 800 meters with a time of 2:04.33 to finish third overall after winning her heat. Before her performance in the 800-meter race, Schuetz finished the 1,500 meter race in 4:24.14.
Martin posted a time of 23.06 seconds for a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash, which levels her in the national rankings.
Chase, an All-American, accomplished two of the fastest hurdle times in the nation in 13.04 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and finished in second place. The Canada native moved into the third spot, when she accomplished a season-best time of 56.66 seconds to win the women’s 400 hurdles event.
Payne, too, cracked the top 10 in the 400-meter hurdles when she ran a career-best of 57.33 seconds to tie for the No. 6 spot in the NCAA’s rankings on the event.
Other Lady Tigers to leave the invitational with personal-bests were freshman Rachel Misher (23.17), junior Rushell Harvey (23.21), junior Kiersten Duncan (23.28) and sophomore Mikiah Brisco (23,52)—all in the 200-meter dash.
Harvey also achieved a personal-best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.33 seconds.
The Lady Tiger 4×100-meter relay team of freshman Kortnei Johnson, Harvey, Martin and Brisco walked away in second place with a time of 43.89 seconds.
The women’s 4×400 relay team, with junior Travia Jones, Martin, Misher and Chase, won in 3:33.84.
“It was a great meet today,” Shaver said.
The Tigers placed second in the 4×100-meter relay when Mutanga, junior Jordan Moore, freshman Jaron Flournoy and junior Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake anchored and crossed the finish line in 39.59 seconds.
Mutanga also achieved a personal-best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.29 seconds, making the Top 10 NCAA rankings in the event. He placed third in the event.
Moore finished second overall in the men’s 110-meter hurdles in 13.82 seconds and junior Blair Henderson placed second in the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:48.35.
Senior Fitzroy Dunkley achieved a career-best in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.94, and senior Cyril Grayson opened the season in the 400 meter event with a time of 46.70 seconds to take third.
Freshman Dajour Braxton had his first collegiate victory in the men’s 1,500-meter event with a personal best of 3:48.74.
“We’re starting to build a little bit of momentum, ourselves, this outdoor season, and today really showed that with the way our athletes performed,” Shaver said.