Former LSU hurdlers Lolo Jones and Isa Phillips wanted to see their alma mater’s track and field teams compete in the Texas Relays on April 3-5. Neither of them could make it for several reasons. Jones decided not to attend because of recent fatigue. “I was supposed to go but because I traveled a lot [for indoor meets] I stayed [in Baton Rouge] to mellow out,” she said. Phillips said the main reason he didn’t go was because of his schedule. “I haven’t gone to see any yet because I’m still laying the foundation for the Olympics,” Phillips said. They now have a chance to not only see the teams this weekend but also compete against them. LSU hosts the Alumni Gold meet Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. More than 10 alumni will be back to compete at their old home stadium. Other alumni scheduled to appear include Olympic Gold medalist Derrick Brew and former world triple-jump champion Walter Davis. Brew won his gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He also won a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash at the same Olympiad. Davis won the triple jump at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships and is a two-time Olympian. For many of the alumni, including Jones and Phillips, the Alumni Gold meet will be their opener to the 2008 outdoor season. “For them to use the Alumni Gold meet here at LSU as the meet to open up their outdoor season … It says a lot about how they feel about what the program has done for them,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. Saturday marks the first time Phillips, who won the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2007, will compete in the event as an alumnus. “There’s nothing like your alma mater,” Phillips said. “We have choices to run at other meets, but we’ve chosen this one just to support [LSU].” Jones, who recently won the 60-meter hurdles at the 2008 World Indoor Championships on March 8, has competed in the Alumni Gold meet as an alumna since 2005. She said she is wary of competing against current LSU athletes because they have already had four meets this season. “I wouldn’t want to go out there and have them beat me and say ‘Wow she gets paid to do this, and I just beat her and I’m still in college running for free,'” Jones said. “But then you have to take into mind that they’re kind of a whole season ahead of us. They’ve already had [four] track meets under their belt, and this is my first time out of the gate.” Senior hurdler Jessica Ohanaja said she is excited to compete against the alumni but is not worried about trying to beat them. “If I win, I win. But at the same time [they’re] on a different level than us,” Ohanaja said. “But it’s going to be exciting for me because I have to compete against Lolo,” Ohanaja said. Senior hurdler Ryan Fontenot said competing against alumni who are now professionals helps the team discover the progress they’ve made so far in the season. “If we can really compete with them and run the kind of times that they’re running now, I think that’s good signs for the upcoming trials,” Fontenot said. The Alumni Gold meet is LSU’s final home meet of the season. The team will travel to Philadelphia for the 114th Penn Relays on April 24-26 before competing at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 15-18 in Auburn, Ala.
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]