With 25 national titles under coach Pat Henry, the LSU track and field team is recognized as one of the best athletic programs in the entire country.
Apparently the rest of the world is starting to take notice as well.
Track senior Hazelann Regis was recently named Grenada’s Women’s Sports Personality of the Year following a very successful 2003 season.
Regis, a native of St. Andrews Grenada, anchored the LSU women’s 4×400-meter relay team to a school record at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and placed fifth at the national championships in the 400.
Regis is joined by former LSU track star Alleyne Francique, who was named Grenada’s Men’s Sports Personality of the Year for the third year in a row.
While at LSU Francique was a six-time All-American and was a member of the national championship men’s 1600-meter relay team in 2001, also winning the national championship in the 400 in 2002.
Francique and Regis also had successful seasons in their home country. Regis was the Grenada National Champion in the 400 while Francique won national titles in the 200 and 400.
Former LSU track champion Marian Burnett was also honored by her home country for the 2003 season. Burnett was named Guyana’s Sportswoman of the Year, following a successful season in which she helped the Lady Tigers capture their second consecutive NCAA Indoor Championship.
Henry said he was not surprised by the success of LSU’s international track and field members.
“Normally an international athlete who’s here is an impact athlete,” Henry said. “Normally the ones that do come here that are international athletes that are recruited by us, they’re very good athletes, so you’re going to hear about them right away.”
Henry also said LSU’s track and field program is very attractive to international recruits.
“I think that we have an environment that is conducive to being successful long term. Any time you have a good quarter-miler, normally another quarter-miler would like to train with that quarter-miler, so it kind of snowballs from that sometimes.”
“We have a good environment as far as weather conditions here at LSU,” Henry said. “We have good facilities, and I think those things attract athletes.”
Five-time All-American and national champion Pete Coley said the international presence on LSU’s track and field team influenced his decision to come to Baton Rouge.
“At that time on the track team there were five or six athletes from Jamaica already on the team, so that kind of helped with my decision,” said the junior from St. Elizabeth Jamaica.
Coley also said that the success of international athletes at LSU means a lot to the people back home.
“They look up to us,” Coley said. “They see that we can make it, so they work hard to make it over there.”
Henry said he agreed with Coley that the success of LSU’s international athletes is admired by citizens of their home countries.
“I think there’s a young person in Grenada probably wondering about Alleyne Francique and how he progressed,” Henry said. “He went to the United States and went home and he was successful. And he went to LSU.”