Two-time junior college men’s indoor weight throw national champion Johnnie Jackson made statement in his LSU debut.
The LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams combined for nine personal-best performances in the Purple Tiger Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Friday.
Jackson set a personal best with a weight throw of 67 feet, 2 3/4 inches taking second place in the men’s weight throw. The junior moved into the No. 5 spot on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list with his record-breaking throw.
“I came into the meet trying to personal record, that’s pretty much a goal in every meet,” Jackson said in a news release. “When I got into the ring and started throwing, it just seemed to click….I opened up right under my personal record and then beat it with my second throw. I was just trying to go out there and do what I know I can do and make sure I really hit the ending.”
Jackson wasn’t the only Tiger debuting their talent at the Invitational. Freshman pole vaulter Amy Stelly cleared the bar at 11 feet, 9 inches, earning her a fifth-place finish in the women’s pole vault competition. The Washington, Louisiana, native’s height tied the No. 6 spot on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list in women’s event.
Junior sprinter Nataliyah Friar won the women’s 60-meter dash final with a time of 7.44, after setting her personal best of 7.43 in the qualifying round.
LSU senior sprinter Kiersten Duncan came in second behind Friar in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.58. Freshman sprinter Shayna Yon took fourth place with a time of 7.64.
The personal bests continued to roll in. Sophomore sprinter Danielle Phillips notched LSU’s fourth personal-best performance. Phillips set a new personal at best of 8.67 in the qualifying round of the women’s 60-meter hurdles before breaking her own record with a time of 8.59 in the final. She finished sixth-place in the event.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will host the Bayou Bengal Invitational at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
“I’m just going to try to continue to do as I have, but maybe push myself a little bit harder to get to where I want to be,” Jackson said in a news release. “I’m going to try to really do the small things that I know I’ve been lacking to get better. Thankfully, being able to open up at a good mark is exactly where I wanted to be to start out.”