Last Ditch meet equals last chance for athletes
Each year, the LSU Last Ditch changes the shape of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships as desperate athletes get their last chance to qualify for Nationals.
“That’s why you have this meet, maybe one of these athletes alters the outcome next weekend now,” said LSU head track and field coach Pat Henry. “It was one last opportunity to get on the track, and a chance for three or four more people to get qualified.”
Henry said both the men’s and the women’s team were in good shape headed into the Last Ditch, but anything gained from it can help the team take that next step at the National meet.
All-American senior Claston Bernard finished first among collegiate athletes in the high jump with a personal best jump of 7 feet 1 3/4 inches. That jump ties the tenth-best jump in the country this season. Bernard won the pentathlon at the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago.
Former Tiger J.J. Barton won the high jump with a leap of 7 feet 4 1/4 inches.
Sophomore Zamyal Jackson improved her chances of reaching the NCAA Indoor Championships by finishing second in the 60-meter hurdles with the 16th-best time in the country this season (8.34 seconds) putting her on the bubble.
The top-ranked women’s team has automatically qualified in seven events for Nationals and has a chance for a total of 21 as they have provisionally qualified in 14 events.
The third-ranked men’s team has a chance to qualify in 11 events, they have five automatic qualifiers and six provisional qualifiers.
Henry does not know how that ranks among other teams in the country, but he thinks they are in striking distance to win in both the men’s and the women’s titles. He also said things could change at any moment, because injuries are always a problem in track and field.
“The elite of the world is at this meet,” Henry said of the NCAA Championships. “The tenth-best mile run in the country this year is a four-minute flat. Ten years ago that would have easily put you on top. That just shows you the level of competition this year, every event is like that.”
Senior Alleyene Francique set a NCAA record in the 400-meter dash at the SEC Championships and is the world leader in the event, and both the men’s and the women’s teams have combined to set five LSU records.
Continuing its dominance, the men’s 4-by-400 meter relay team of Francique, Pete Coley, Lueroy Colquhoun and Robert Parham leads the world in the event.
Sophomore sprinter Muna Lee leads the nation in the 60 and 200-meter dashes, setting a school record in the 60, and All-American senior Walter Davis leads the nation and set a school record in the triple jump and is second in the long jump behind Alabama’s Miguel Pate.
“This has been a very good indoor season, and we’ve been very productive,” Henry said. “We have a lot of underclassmen who have qualified. It’s a good, young group.”
The teams will continue practicing this week in preparation for the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend which will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., the same place where the SEC Championships were held.
The men won the National Indoor Championship last year, and the women have eight indoor championships, the last one coming in 1997.
Bryan Wideman