LSU re-established its track and field prominence in the sport’s second most prolific stage this weekend. The Tigers won six events in the second day of the Penn Relays–four of them courtesy of the Lady Tigers.
“We had a great, great day for LSU track and field here at Philadelphia,” coach Pat Henry said.
Lolo Jones, Monique Hall, Nadia Davy and Muna Lee successfully defended their 4×100-meter relay title with the second-fastest collegiate mark in Penn Relays history at 42.92 seconds. The victory brought LSU its seventh short relay title in the past 10 years.
Jones also took part in the women’s second consecutive shuttle hurdle relay title. Jones teamed with Brittany Littlejohn, Tiffany Robinson and RaNysha LeBlanc to clock the fourth-best time in meet history at 53.43 seconds.
LSU’s All-American 4×200 team of Stephanie Durst, Hazelann Regis, Nadia Davy and Monique Hall combined for the second fastest time in meet history at 1:30.42 to win their fourth consecutive Penn Relays title.
The women’s 4×400 relay team of Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Monique Hall, Tanya Osbourne and Hazel Ann Regis combined to finish second with a time of 3:30.21, the seventh-best time in school history.
In the women’s 4×800-meter relay, the Lady Tigers finished sixth overall, but one Lady Tiger had reason to celebrate. The performance was highlighted by senior All-American Neisha Bernard-Thomas, who turned in a time of 2:00.00, which is the fastest in Penn Relays history.
Not all Lady Tigers finished with results they expected.
Muna Lee placed third in the 100-meter dash. Lee fell two places short of an unprecedented fourth straight Penn Relays’ crown in the event.
Nicole Toney missed her third straight title in the women’s triple jump, earning runner-up honors with a distance of 43 feet 6 1/2 inches.
“I also thought Nicole [Toney] looked good in the triple jump,” Henry said. “She continues to get better and seems to be hitting her stride.”
RaNysha LeBlanc, Lolo Jones and Brittany Littlejohn qualified for the 100-meter hurdles. Jones won the event, with LeBlanc and Littlejohn finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.
The men’s only gold representative came from the field. Reigning indoor champion John Moffitt became the second Tiger athlete ever to win a Penn Relays crown in the long jump.
Moffitt, the reigning Southeastern Conference Field Athlete of the Week, recorded an outdoor PR of 26-5 3/4 to win the title. The NCAA-leading mark ranks as the fifth-best in Penn Relays’ history and ties as the third-best all-time at LSU.
“For John to win the long jump here is huge,” Henry said. “That’s one of the best jumps ever recorded at this meet and that’s a big accomplishment.”
Kelly Willie, Marvin Stevenson, Pete Coley and Bennie Brazell clocked the fastest qualifying time in the short relay at 39.41. They did not produce similar results in the final event, as they fell three-hundredths of a second behind TCU.
“We got beat in the exchanges today,” Henry said. “You have to be perfect in that race, and we weren’t able to do that.”
Willie, Coley and Brazell later teamed with Siraj Williams to clock 3:04.18 in the 4×400. The foursome finished second in their heat, again behind winner TCU who finished in 3:02.89.
All-American Daniel Trosclair became the second LSU athlete to ever win the pole vault at the Penn Relays, clearing 17-1 3/4.
Henry said he was satisfied with the Tigers’ performances.
“Overall, I think we had some really good things happen today,” Henry said. “I thought we looked good in many of the relays and for the conditions down on the field, with the wind later in the afternoon, I think we turned in some great times.”