The LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams started the 2016 outdoor season on a fast track and the hard work paid off.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers ended the season with a few title wins at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 8-11.
The teams hoped to continue their early-season dominance after winning 19 events and setting 22 personal-best times at the Hurricane Twilight in Miami’s Cobb Stadium on March 25, the first meet of the outdoor season.
LSU coach Dennis Shaver switched athletes throughout the season to work out strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately created title winning relay teams.
The teams competed in the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the Mike A. Myers Stadium from March 31 to April 2, where they gained an advantage in rankings.
The Tigers placed fifth among the top 10 rankings of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Rankings.
The Tigers made the rankings with a nation-leading time in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:01.83. The Lady Tigers finished with two sprint relay wins in the 4×100-meter at second place with a time 43.25 seconds and the 4×200-meter relays with a NCAA-leading time of 1:31.30.
Junior LaMar Bruton, senior Fitzroy Dunkley, senior Cyril Grayson and junior Michael Cherry made up the men’s 4×400-meter relay team.
Not even a week later, LSU’s track and field teams conquered the top 10 national rankings when five athletes made the cut after competing in their first home meet at the Battle of the Bayou on April 9, giving the Tigers and Lady Tigers the home advantage they needed to keep their momentum.
At the meet, the Tigers and Lady Tigers set 19 personal-best times and earned four event wins to spearhead the SEC.
Senior Chanice Chase, an All-American, ran two of the fastest hurdle times in the nation with a time of 13.04 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles to finish second. The Canada-native also took third nationally when she set a season-best of 56.66 seconds to win the women’s 400-meter hurdles event.
Sophomore Kymber Payne also made the top 10 in the 400-meter hurdles when she ran a career-best 57.33 seconds to tie for the No. 6 spot in the NCAA’s rankings.
Despite Shaver’s constant switching, his practice rituals and training methods led LSU to hold a No. 10 spot in the SEC and NCAA rankings.
LSU’s track and field teams continued to climb up the ranks and improve in the 2016 outdoor track season to put it all on the line later at the NCAA Championships.
The Lady Tigers won the 4×100-meter relay title at the Nationals’ finale on June 11 after qualifying second in the preliminary round on June 8. The winning time of 42.65 seconds was run by sophomore Mikiah Brisco, freshman Kortnei Johnson, and juniors Jada Martin and Rushell Harvey.
The LSU men’s track and field team did not lack either.
At the NCAA men’s final on June 10, the Tigers gained wins in both the 4×100-meter relay and 4×400 meter relay.
Freshman Jaron Flournoy joined juniors Renard Howell, Tremayne Acy and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake to make up the 4×100 relay team.
The victory added to LSU’s overall score, but Mitchell-Blake ended the relay with a cramp in his hamstring. He finished the 100-meter race in eighth place with a time of 12.05 seconds but later was scratched from the men’s 200-meter final as a result of his injury.
Despite the minor setback, Bruton, Cherry, Grayson and Dunkley moved forward and placed first in the 4×400-meter final relay to win in 3 minutes and 0.69 seconds.
Cherry and Dunkley also earned silver and bronze medal finishes in the 400-meter dash final. Dunkley placed second with a time of 45.06 seconds, and Cherry finished third with a time of 45.11 seconds.