Davidson Wins Pentathlon at SEC Indoors

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- LSU senior Shaunette Davidson captured the SEC women’s pentathlon crown at the SEC Indoor Championships on Friday as she single handedly put the Lady Tigers in first place in the team standings after the first day of competition at the Nutter Field House.

Davidson becomes the fifth Lady Tiger in program history to win the SEC pentathlon title and the second in a row as former multi-events standout Megan Akre captured the event title at last year’s conference championship.

The native of Manchester, Jamaica, strengthens her NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a new personal best as she scored a total of 3,896 points on Friday night, moving her into the sixth spot on the school’s all-time indoor performance list. Davidson improves upon her point total of 3,705 scored at the LSU Combined Events on Jan. 25.

“I came into the meet looking to qualify automatically for NCAAs, and I went out there tonight and gave it everything I had,” Davidson said. “I got off to a good start in the hurdles and that paved the way for me to have a good score in the end. I didn’t score as many points as I know I can, but I’m proud to be an SEC champion and get our team off to a good start in the meet.”

Davidson took first place in a pair of events on the night as she posted a season best mark in her specialty event by clearing a height of 5-9 ¼ in the high jump followed by a first-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 19-7 ½. She recorded season bests in the 60-meter hurdles (8.67), the shot put (34 feet) and the 800 meters (2:38.32) to clinch the first SEC title of her LSU career.

Davidson’s effort puts the Lady Tigers in first place after the first day of competition with a total of 10 points in the team standings. The Arkansas Lady Razorbacks follow closely behind with eight points after junior Etienne Chaplin earned all-conference honors by finishing second in the pentathlon with an NCAA provisional qualifying score of her own at 3,865 points.

“I’m proud of what Shaunette was able to do tonight, and she really got our women’s team off to a good start with her performance,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We would have liked to see her score some more points to put herself in a better position to make it to the NCAA meet, but what else can you say about someone who wins an SEC championship? We’re all excited for her and what she accomplished tonight.”

Junior Gavin Fleming finished the first day of the men’s heptathlon competition in 10th place as he scored 2,504 points in four events, posting marks of 7.52 in the 60 meters, 21-2 ¾ in the long jump, 34-4 ¼ in the shot put and 5-9 ¼ in the high jump. Freshman Eric Radecker was forced to pull out of the competition after suffering a sprained ankle in the high jump.

The heptathlon competition continues Saturday with the first heat of the 60-meter hurdles beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST. The open field events are scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. with the women’s weight throw competition followed by the meet’s first open running events slated to begin at 1:10 p.m. with the preliminary round of the men’s 60-meter hurdles.