In a crowded competition field comprised of more than 100 collegiate track and field programs, the LSU women’s track and field team bested them all.
Led by star senior sprinter Kimberlyn Duncan, the No. 5-ranked Lady Tigers nabbed the team championship at the annual Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York for the sixth time in its 13-year history.
Duncan, who already holds the NCAA’s best time this season in the 200-meter, established herself as the top runner in another event.
With a 60-meter time of 7.16 seconds, Duncan edged out Clemson’s Dezerea Bryant — the NCAA leader coming into the meet — establishing herself as the top 60-meter performer in the nation this season.
Duncan’s benchmark performance also notched her name in the record books again, as the Bowerman Award winner eclipsed the 60-meter meet record of 7.17 previously held by former LSU sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste.
“For me to be up here with people like that, it just motivates me to try to achieve some of the things they did while they were here at LSU,” Duncan said in a news release.
In addition to Duncan, the Lady Tigers collected a pair of event championships from senior distance runners Charlene Lipsey and Laura Carleton en route to their 4-point team victory against second-place Clemson.
The pair swept Friday’s distance events, winning the 1000-meter and 5000-meter events.
For the men, who placed second in the team competition behind Texas A&M, senior Damar Forbes made his season debut in the long jump, taking first place with an opening jump of 25 feet, 10 1/4 inches.
Defending his long jump title from the Armory Invitational last year, Forbes established himself as an NCAA long-jump title contender after winning silver medals in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2012.
Sophomore sprinter Aaron Ernest added the final event championship of the weekend for LSU on Saturday, taking the 200-meter title for the fourth consecutive meet.
“I think both our teams made a great showing here this weekend,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “I’m very proud of how we competed, more than anything. We did some great things that I know will put our teams in a position to succeed at the NCAA meet.”
