LSU track and field picked up where it left off last weekend, automatically qualifying its third athlete to the NCAA Championships.
All-American Nicole Toney automatically qualified for nationals with a triple jump mark of 43 feet 8 1/2 inches in Saturday’s Purple Tiger Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
Toney, the 2003 long jump indoor national champion, said qualifying early in the season relieves a lot of pressure and should give her more time to rest throughout the season.
Toney, long jumper LeJuan Simon and sprinter Kelly Willie are the first three LSU athletes to qualify for nationals this season.
LSU also provisionally qualified three athletes at Saturday’s meet. Hurdler RaNysha LeBlanc provisionally qualified in the 60-meter with a time of 8.43 seconds, while thrower Mallory McDonald provisionally qualified with a weight throw of 63-7 34.
LeBlanc said the ability to focus is key to a successful early season meet.
“I have to focus and know what I have to come out here and do because every meet you have to run like it is a [national] meet,” LeBlanc said. “Even though we do not have a lot of competition out here, every meet has to be run like it is a national or conference meet.”
On the men’s side, Simon provisionally qualified in the long jump with a mark of 25-7/2. Simon earned an automatic qualifying mark last week in the triple jump.
“We took one more step today, and we are a little closer to the top (nationals),” said coach Pat Henry. “I thought the competitiveness was real good tonight. I think that we got on the track and people were trying to do some things. And in the events that this facility is suited for, we did very well.”
Because the Maddox Fieldhouse does not yield fast times on races beyond 60-meters, Henry said earlier in the week that he would hold out some of his athletes who regularly compete in those long distance events.
Due to Henry’s decision, four freshmen ran the mile relay event and posted a time of 3:17.88 to edge out South Alabama for the first place finish.
“There are a lot of young people in there that you don’t see that are surprises for us and one day we will see them because they will be up in the lead,” Henry said.
All-American Lolo Jones had a strong showing in the 60-meter dash. Jones won the finals race, but fell one-hundredth of a second short (7.45) of a provisional mark in the prelims.
Other LSU event titles included Katie McKeever in the shot put (49-4 14), Nadia Davy in the 200 meters (24.31) and the men’s distance medley relay team (10:12.21).
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers escaped Saturday’s meet without any major injuries, Henry said.
“This is the bump and bruise time of year,” Henry said. “This is the time of year where you have to tolerate little hurts and have to put up with some of those things.”
LSU track and field returns to action Friday as it hosts the Bayou Bengal Invitational in the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.