FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Freshman sprinter Caleb Williams led a group of four new NCAA provisional qualifiers during Saturday's action at the Randal Tyson Track Center as he has emerged as a potential star for the Tigers with his performance at this year's Tyson Invitational.
After setting a new indoor personal record in the 400-meter dash with an NCAA provisional time of 47.19 on Friday afternoon, Williams returned to the track Saturday for 200-meter dash and set a second PR in as many days with a 21.10 clocking to win his timed section. Williams' NCAA provisional qualifying performance in the 200 meters is the first for the Tigers this year in the event as he now ranks in a tie for the No. 7 spot on LSU's all-time indoor performance list. If that were not enough, Williams blistered the track with a 46.08-second split on the anchor leg of LSU's 4x400-meter relay that dropped its NCAA provisional qualifying time to 3 minutes, 7.22 seconds. Williams combined with senior Armanti Hayes, sophomore Robert Simmons and junior Richard Jones for a third-place finish behind Florida (3:05.52) and Baylor (3:06.77) in the meet's final event. A trio of Lady Tigers also enjoyed NCAA provisional qualifying performances during Saturday's heats of the 200-meter dash as they are one step closer to the postseason. Senior All-American Samantha Henry, who was the seventh-place finisher in the event at the NCAA meet a season ago, recorded a seasonal-best time of 23.76 to lead the way. Sophomore Cassandra Tate recorded a new indoor personal best with a 23.82 clocking, while freshman Kimberlyn Duncan finished with a new indoor PR of her own with a provisional qualifying time of 23.86. Like their male counterparts, the Lady Tigers also dropped their NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 4x400-meter relay with a third-place finish in the final event of this year's Tyson Invitational. Tate led off a relay team consisting of senior Kayann Thompson, junior Brittany Hall and senior LaTavia Thomas that carried the baton around the track in 3:34.11 to finish the day ranked No. 3 in the NCAA this season. Only Arkansas (3:32.87) and Oregon (3:33.31) have run faster than the Lady Tigers in 2010. "The Tyson Invitational is always a turning point for both of our teams during the indoor season since we will now make the transition to the championship season," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "In many ways, we took some positive steps forward as we prepare to come back to Fayetteville for the SEC Indoor Championships in two weeks. That will be our focus in training these next couple of weeks." The Tigers and Lady Tigers have one final opportunity to prepare for the championship season when they return home next weekend to play host to the LSU Twilight on Friday at the Carl Maddox Field House. LSU will then return to the Randal Tyson Track Center for the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 26-28. The University of Arkansas will also play host to the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships at the facility on March 12-13