The LSU track and field teams’ season-long assault of the record books continued on Saturday at the Penn Relays as the Tigers became the second program in the meet’s 112-year history to record five relay titles.
The Tigers finished first in the men’s 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400-meter relay races, while the women captured titles in the shuttle hurdle relay and the 4 x 200.
With the five relay titles in their last regular-season meet, LSU coach Dennis Shaver said the Tigers’ performance shows what shape they will be in to enter the postseason.
“I think it shows we are healthy and have nice depth,” Shaver said. “I was pleased that everyone on this team came into the weekend and accepted and took care of their roles and responsibilities. It’s not easy to run in the prelims and then not be able to lineup in the finals. To me, that’s a sign of people that want to win and do what is best for the team and that is what is going to be important heading into the championship season.”
After being edged by Marshevet Hooker from Texas earlier in the season at the Texas Relays, Lady Tiger sophomore Kelly Baptiste finished ahead of Hooker in the 100-meter dash, making up for her only loss of the season in the event.
A crowd of 49,771 watched Baptiste run a personal-best time of 11.10 seconds in the race, which was the fastest in the NCAA this season.
It propelled the three-time All-American to win the Individual College Women’s Athlete of the Meet award.
“Marshevet has always lined up and won,” Shaver said. “So I think that win was big for Kelly, a real big move for her.”
Baptiste, along with Sherry Fletcher, Deona Lawrence and Brooklynn Morris, combined for the women’s 4 x 200-meter relay title in 1 minute, 31.65 seconds, while the men’s foursome of Melville Rogers, Xavier Carter, Marvin Stevenson and Kelly Willie won the men’s event with a time of 1:21.31.
Earlier in the day, Carter, Stevenson and Willie were joined by Richard Thompson as they won their second consecutive Penn title in the 4 x 100-meter relay with a time of 39.22.
The Tigers concluded the highly anticipated sweep of the sprint relays after Reggie Dardar, Rogers, Carter and Willie finished first in the 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 3:02.21.
The group finished more than 3 seconds ahead of the second-place foursome from Texas Christian, and the time ranked sixth fastest in Penn history along with being the fifth fastest in LSU history.
The Tigers will begin the postseason quest for outdoor titles next weekend. The Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships will be held from May 11 to May 14 in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
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