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INDIANAPOLIS -- LSU great Lolo Jones punched her ticket to this summer’s IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, as she earned a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday. Jones – the reigning U.S. Indoor champion in the 60 hurdles – crossed the finish line behind only Virginia Powell (12.63) and Michelle Perry (12.72) with a time of 12.79 seconds in the final. Jones is set to make her first career appearance at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which will be held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, from Aug. 25-Sept. 2. She was an 11-time All-American and three-time NCAA champion at LSU from 2001-04. “We’re happy for Lolo, and she continues to represent LSU well whenever she steps on the track,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “She’s blue-collar and works hard for everything she’s achieved. For her to make the World Championship team for the U.S. is tremendous and she has a great chance to medal because she’s used to competing against the best.” In addition, former Tiger Derrick Brew finished eighth in the final of the 400 meters, while past standouts Xavier Carter and Kelly Willie advanced to Sunday’s semifinal round of the 200-meter dash with identical times of 21.02 into a stiff headwind measuring 2.2 meters per second. Both Carter and Willie will battle many of the world’s premier 200-meter runners for the right to represent the United States at the World Championships as the defending U.S. champion Wallace Spearmon, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Crawford and the reigning U.S. 100-meter champion Tyson Gay will also line up in Sunday’s semifinal. The future of the LSU men’s track and field program was also on display Saturday at Carroll Stadium as incoming freshman Chris Ward of Kissimmee, Fla., clocked a new personal best of 46.65 to finish fifth in the 400 at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Ward is one of the nation’s top 400 runners for the Class of 2007 as he entered the meet with the fourth-fastest seed time in the field with a previous personal best of 46.81. He earned a runner-up finish in the event at the U.S. Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships a year ago. Fans across the country will have the opportunity to see Carter and Willie in action as NBC will broadcast Sunday’s competition live to a nationwide audience from 12-2 p.m. CDT. The final of the 200 meters is scheduled to run at 1:20 p.m., while former LSU national champion looks to defend his U.S. Outdoor triple jump title beginning at 11:30 a.m. |
