Day 2 

EUGENE, Ore. - Lady Tiger senior Kenyanna Wilsonmissed earning a berth into the final round of the women's 100-meter dash by the slimmest of margins during Friday's semifinal at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, despite setting a new personal record with a time of 11.19 seconds for the eighth-fastest time in qualifying at historic Hayward Field.

Wilson sprinted to a fourth-place finish in the first semifinal heat with the eighth-fastest semifinal time of 11.19, but came up just short in her bid to advance to the 100-meter final based on advancement rules.

In order to advance to the 100-meter dash final held Friday night at Oregon's Hayward Field, the sprinters in the field needed to either finish in the top two spots in one of three semifinal heats or finish with one of the two fastest times outside of those finishing in the top two of their heats.

By running her personal best of 11.19, Wilson finished the semifinal round with the third-fastest clocking among sprinters finishing in either third, fourth or fifth place in the heats. She was just .02 seconds behind LaShaunte'a Moore, who earned the eighth and final qualifying spot with a time of 11.17.

Despite coming up short of her first career finals appearance at the USA Championships, Friday's run is a fitting end to an outstanding senior season with the Lady Tigers in 2011.

Wilson, a native of Glendale, Ariz., earned three All-America honors at the NCAA Championships during the 2011 season as she followed a third-place finish in the 60-meter final at the NCAA Indoor meet with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter final on June 10 at the NCAA Outdoor meet. Wilson also led off LSU's 4x100-meter relay team that captured its 13th NCAA title all-time with a time of 42.64.

Like Wilson, former LSU middle distance All-American Richard Jones fell victim to advancement policy despite running the fifth-fastest time of the semifinal round in the men's 800-meter run.

While running in the first of two semifinal heats, Jones finished the race in fifth place with his clocking of 1 minute, 46.51 seconds. Only the top-four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats qualified for a spot in Saturday's final. Despite finishing in fifth place in the first heat, Jones finished well in front of the time of 1:48.78 run by Khadevis Robinson of Nike to win the second semifinal heat.

Former Lady Tigers national champion LaTavia Thomas also saw her USA Championship run come to an end in the semifinal round of the women's 800-meter run as she clocked 2:04.12 to finish in seventh place in the second heat and in 13th place overall among the 16 women's semifinalists.

Former Tiger hurdler Ryan Fontenot earned a berth into the semifinals of the men's 110-meter hurdles, as he nearly set a new personal best of his own with a wind-legal time of 13.52 to take fourth place in the second first-round heat. That was the 16th-fastest time of the preliminary round as Fontenot earned a berth into the semifinal round. He owns a personal best of 13.48 that was set during the 2010 outdoor season.

Barrett Nugent, the reigning NCAA champion in the 110-meter hurdles, failed to advance to the semifinal after running 13.61 to finish in fifth place in the third prelim heat and in 20th place overall.

Friday also proved to be an impressive day of qualifying for many of LSU's recruits competing in Eugene this weekend as part of the 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Future Tiger sprint star Aaron Ernest of Homewood, Ala., finished in sixth place in his first career final in the U.S. Junior 100-meter dash as he crossed the finish line with a wind-aided 10.34, while running out of Lane 1. He qualified for the 100-meter final after clocking the sixth-fastest time of the qualifying round in a wind-aided 10.36 in a race that was held earlier in the afternoon.

Ernest is set to return to the track on Saturday afternoon as he competes in the U.S. Junior 200-meter dash with the qualifying round scheduled for 6:25 p.m. CDT followed by the final at 8:25 p.m.
 
Two future Lady Tigers from St. Louis also enjoyed a big day of qualifying at the USA Junior meet as the duo of Samantha Levin and Montenae Roye-Speight advanced to finals that will also be held Saturday.

Levin dominated the second qualifying heat in the girl's 800-meter run as she ran the second-fastest effort of the day at 2:08.57. She finished more than two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor in the heat with Georgia freshman Megan Malasartie finishing well back in second place with her time of 2:10.77.

Roye-Speight preceded Levin's performance with a second-place finish in the second 400-meter prelim as her time of 54.54 was the sixth-fastest in three heats of the qualifying round of the girl's 400 meters.

Levin will line up in the final round of the girl's 800-meter run at this week's USA Junior Championships on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. CDT. Roye-Speight will follow with her appearance in the girl's 400-meter dash final set for a 7:20 p.m. start at Hayward Field.

In her bid to retain her U.S. Junior championship in the girl's heptathlon, future Lady Tiger standoutAlex Gochenour bowed out of the competition following Saturday's long jump after aggravating an ankle injury that she suffered earlier this season. Gochenour stood in fourth place in the overall point standing at 3,806 points through five events, including 680 points with a mark of 17-9 ¾ in the long jump.

Gochenour, a native of Missouri Valley, Iowa, won the 2010 U.S. Junior gold medal with her PR score of 5,300 points. She will now prepare to join the Lady Tiger program during the fall semester.

Day 3

EUGENE, Ore. - With his performance during Saturday's long jump competition at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, former Tiger All-American Jeremy Hicks put himself in position to compete for Team USA at this summer's IAAF World Championships after claiming the bronze medal with his wind-aided jump of 26 feet, 7 inches for third place.

Hicks, the 2010 U.S. Indoor champion, moved into second place in the competition after jumping a series best of 26-7w on his third attempt, trailing only jumps of 26-10 ½w by Florida junior Will Claye and 26-9 by Texas sophomore Marquise Goodwin heading into the final round of jumps.

Hicks would go on to win the bronze medal with that performance, while Goodwin captured the gold over Claye with his winning jump of 27-4w in the fourth round.

In order to earn a spot on Team USA that will head to Daegu, South Korea, later this summer for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Hicks must meet the "A" qualifying standard of 26-11 during a sanctioned competition by the Aug. 8 deadline for acceptable marks into the meet.

Dwight Phillips is the defending World Champion and is automatically qualified to compete at the World Championships. While Goodwin has only met the "B" qualifying standard with his seasonal-best mark of 26-9 ¾ he will also compete as the U.S. Outdoor champion. Claye has already met the "A" standard in the 2011 season with his best mark of 27-2 ½ as he is also qualified for the World Championships.

That means Hicks must also meet the "A" qualifying standard of 26-11 by the Aug. 8 deadline if he hopes to compete at the World Championships as the bronze medalist at this year's USA Outdoor meet.

Hicks was not the only Tiger long jumper to compete Saturday as senior All-America Zedric Thomaswas the eighth-place finisher after posting a series-best wind-aided mark of 26-0 ¼ on his third jump during an exciting prelim. Thomas posted a top wind-legal mark Saturday of 25-11 ½ on his second attempt.

Thomas has enjoyed an outstanding weekend of competition at the USA Outdoor Championships after he earned a fifth-place finish in the triple jump on Thursday with a top wind-aided mark of 55-2 ¾.

In Saturday's semifinals, former Tiger hurdler Ryan Fontenot matched a personal record in the 110-meter hurdles as he finished in fifth place in the second semifinal heat with a time of 13.48 seconds. That equals his lifetime PR that he set during the 2010 outdoor season. Fontenot finished in 13th place overall with the men's semifinals as he came up short of earning a spot in the eight-man final.

A trio of Lady Tigers followed with an appearance for the first round of qualifying of the women's senior 100-meter hurdles as 2008 Olympian and the defending U.S. Outdoor champion Lolo Jones and freshman All-American Jasmin Stowers each advanced to the semifinal round from the same qualifying heat.

Jones won the second semifinal heat with her wind-aided time of 12.73 (+2.5) for the fourth-fastest on the afternoon, while Stowers followed in fourth place in the same heat as her time of 13.10w secured the final qualifying spot for the semifinal round with an 18th-place finish overall.

Lady Tiger senior Tenaya Jones also made her first career appearance at the USA Outdoor Championship on Saturday as her time of 13.41 earned a sixth-place finish in the fourth qualifying heat.

LSU sophomore and reigning NCAA champion Kimberlyn Duncan is certainly among the favorites vying for a spot on Team USA in the 200-meter dash as she entered Saturday's competition as the 2011 outdoor world leader in the event with her seasonal best wind-legal time of 22.24 recorded in winning the national title in the event at the NCAA Championships on June 11.

Duncan certainly made her presence known early in the competition as she cruised to a victory in the first preliminary heat with a wind-legal time of 22.54 (+1.1). Her time held up as the fourth-fastest Saturday as she easily advanced to the semifinal round that will be held Sunday afternoon.

Duncan actually finished ahead of former Lady Tiger star Stephanie Durst in the first heat as Durst earned a second-place finish in the heat with her semifinal qualifying time of 22.81.

One former Tiger sprint star will also compete in the men's semifinals of the 200-meter dash, with Xavier Carter taking second place in the third prelim heat with the 10th-fastest time of the day at 20.53w.

Two Lady Tigers came away from Saturday's competition at Hayward Field as medalist while competing as part of the 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships as freshman Karen Henning won a silver medal in the women's junior hammer throw and Class of 2011 recruit Samantha Levin captured the bronze medal in the women's junior 800-meter run with two outstanding performances.

Henning set a new personal record in the hammer throw with her series-best mark of 184-5 on her second throw of the afternoon as she eclipsed her previous best of 183-2 entering the competition. She also threw 184-4 on her fifth throw of the series for her best performance to date as a Lady Tiger.

Day 4

A native of Kings Park, N.Y., Henning finished exactly seven feet behind the 2011 U.S. Junior Champion in Atlanta's Shelby Ashe, who took home the gold medal with her winning throw of 191-5.

While emerging as one of the nation's premier young talents in the 800-meter run this year, Levin secured the U.S. Junior bronze medal during Saturday's championship action as she ran the second-fastest time of her prep career at 2 minutes, 7.35 seconds. Levin finished behind two college freshmen Kenyatta Iyevbele of NC State (2:06.37) and Chelsea Cox of Georgetown (2:06.71).

Levin owns a lifetime PR in the 800-meter run of 2:06.74 that was set in winning her third Missouri Class 4A state title in the event for the No. 5-ranked prep performance nationwide in 2011.

Fellow Lady Tiger Class of 2011 recruit and St. Louis native Montenae Roye-Speight followed with a PR in the girl's junior 400-meter final as she earned a fifth-place finish with a time of 53.73. That effort ranks No. 6 among prep quartermilers for the 2011 outdoor season and No. 4 among the Class of 2011.

EUGENE, Ore. - Lady Tiger sophomore and NCAA 200-meter champion Kimberlyn Duncan wrapped up a brilliant 2011 campaign Sunday afternoon at historic Hayward Field by earning a fifth-place finish in the her first career appearance in the 200-meter final at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

After winning the first of three semifinal heats in 22.80 seconds earlier in the day, Duncan drew Lane 3 in the final as a nationwide audience tuned in to NBC's broadcast of the championship finale.

Also on the line for Duncan was a spot on Team USA as the top three finishers in the women's 200-meter dash would earn the right to represent the United States at the 2011 IAAF World Championships later this summer as the meet will run from Aug. 27-Sept. 4 in Daegu, South Korea.

Duncan came up just .07 seconds short of qualifying for the World Championship team as she crossed the finish line with a wind-legal time of 22.35 (+1.0) for a fifth-place finish in Sunday's final.

Shalonda Solomon of Reebok took home the U.S. Outdoor title with a 2011 world-leading effort of 22.15, while Carmelita Jeter of Nike finished runner-up in 22.23 and Jeneba Tarmoh of Texas A&M placed third in 22.28 as each earned the right to compete at the World Championships for Team USA.

"This was a great experience for me being introduced to the level of competition that I saw this week here at the USA Championships," Duncan said. "This was a lot different from what I saw all year running in college, so it was big for me to be able to do something like this that I've never done before. This was big for me since I know I'll be coming back here next year for the Olympic Trials.

"That's the main thing competing this weekend has done for me. I'll know how to prepare and know what to expect for this level of competition when I come back for the Olympic Trials next summer."

Sunday's performance marks the end of one of the most prolific seasons in the storied history of the Lady Tiger program as Duncan has emerged as one of the world's leading talents in the 200-meter dash.

The 19-year-old sophomore from Katy, Texas, entered the USA Championships as the world leader in the 200-meter dash with her personal best of 22.24 set in winning the 2011 NCAA Outdoor championship for the Lady Tigers. She actually completed the season sweep of NCAA titles in the 200-meter dash after she was also crowned the NCAA Indoor champion during the 2011 indoor finale in March.

Duncan is the sixth sprinter in collegiate history to sweep NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor gold medals in the event and the first Lady Tiger since Dawn Sowell during the 1989 season.

She is the No. 3-ranked 200-meter sprinter in the history of collegiate track and field as her season best of 22.24 trails only Sowell's collegiate record of 22.04 and the 22.23 by Carol Rodriguez of USC in 2006.

That performance earned Duncan a selection as one of 10 semifinalists for The Bowerman this season that is collegiate track and field's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy and will be presented to the premier male and female athletes in the sport. The three finalists for the award will be selected on Thursday, July 14.

"I feel like I've grown a lot from where I was a year ago in my freshman year," Duncan said. "I know that I've been mentally and physically prepared to do some great things. Coach (Dennis) Shaver is really good with helping each of us get ready to compete. That's the big thing for me. My confidence level is so much higher this year, so I just knew I was better prepared this year."

Lady Tiger great Lolo Jones came up short in her U.S. Outdoor title defense in the 100-meter hurdles with a ninth-place finish in the semifinal round as she took third place in her heat with a time of 12.81.

After the first two semifinal heats went off without a hitch, it would take four attempts for Jones to race in the third and final heat after Southern California senior Nia Ali was twice warned for not properly coming set in the blocks and former Virginia Tech star Kristi Castlin committed a false start.

When crossing the finish line, Jones missed advancing to Sunday's championship final on time and was a ninth-place finisher overall with her 12.81 clocking. LSU freshman Jasmin Stowers took sixth place in the second semifinal heat and 15th place overall with her wind-aided time of 13.04.

"I've been struggling with my start all year. The problem is if I don't nail it, it throws my whole race off. That's exactly what happened," Jones said. "Because I had to play it cautious, with every one (start), I got a little more uneasy. It did throw it off, but I thought I would be able to rebound. I started to hit arms with the girl next to me and that was it. I tried to turn it over, but I just couldn't recover.

"I've had a lot of downs, but I've also had a lot of ups. The whole message I want to send is I love medals and all of that, but if I can inspire someone to keep on going when things look bad, I'll take that any day."

Former Tiger national champion Xavier Carter also just missed qualifying for Sunday's final in the men's 200-meter dash as he finished in fourth place in his heat with a time of 20.53. Despite clocking the eighth-fastest time of the semifinal round, Carter was left out of the final as only the top two in each heat and the next two fastest times not among the top two in the three heats advanced to the final.

Joining Duncan in the women's 200-meter dash final was Lady Tiger alum Stephanie Durst, who finished in second place in the third semifinal heat and in sixth place overall in the semifinal round with the time at 22.82. Durst was then disqualified in the final after running on the line on the turn.