The LSU women’s track and field team broke the school record in the 4×800 relay during the 119th Penn Relays at Penn State this weekend.
The team of sophomore Samantha Levin, junior Natoya Goule, junior Nikita Tracey and senior Charlene Lipsey finished third with a time of 8 minutes, 19.43 seconds.
“I was shocked when our time came up. It was totally unexpected,” Lipsey said in a news release. “Not everybody on our team runs the 800 meters, so we were just trying to do our best. … We just didn’t know what to expect.”
LSU senior Damar Forbes won the long jump with a season-best jump of 25 feet and 11 inches. Forbes said winning the event meant a lot because it was his last time competing for LSU, but also said performing well in the jump is important for the remainder of the season.
“We’ve been working on my technique a lot these last few weeks,” Forbes said. “My technique is so much better now, even when I was jumping my best marks. I know I’ll be jumping my best at SECs and NCAAs.”
The Lady Tigers won the sprint medley relay with a team of senior Latoya McDermott, senior Kimberlyn Duncan, Tracey and Goule. LSU coach Dennis Shaver said he was satisfied with the results and the team’s continued improvement.
“I was pleased by the way we ran the sprint relays.” Shaver said. “We still have some things to clean up, but we continue to improve each chance we have to run.”
With the victory in the sprint relays, LSU has now won at least one Championship of America relay title in 23-straight seasons at the Relays.
“Twenty-three years is quite a long time of sustained success here at Penn, and we’re very proud of that,” Shaver said.
Tigers sophomore Rodney Brown won the college division of the shot put and finished second in the discus. Brown is now ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in the discus. Freshman Fitzroy Dunkley finished third in the high jump.
The 4×100 team of McDermott, Duncan, junior Takeia Pinckney and junior Toshika Sylvester finished third.
The track and field teams have two weeks off until the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 9. Shaver said now that the regular season meets are over, the focus is shifted for his athletes.
“We’re looking forward to the next two weeks of preparation as we get ready for the most important part of our season,” he said. “We came here and did some good things as a team, but I know our athletes are most focused on what is to come in the championship season. That’s what our program is most known for.”
