NEW YORK -- The LSU track and field teams enjoyed a successful first day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday at the Armory Track and Field Center as a total of 13 athletes advanced to Saturday's final in their respective specialty event.
"We had a good number of our athletes do what they needed to do today to advance to the next round and the final tomorrow," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "That's what you have to do in meets like this with this kind of competition. It's all about getting to the finals, and things will heat up in the Armory tomorrow with a tremendous atmosphere."
LSU's top-ranked women's squad stole the show in both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles as all eight Lady Tigers who took to the track on Friday advanced to the final day of competition.
Junior All-American Brooklynn Morris clocked a season best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.37 to take first place in the preliminary round of the 60 meters as she crossed the finish line ahead of fellow All-American Sherry Fletcher's second-place effort of 7.39.
Freshman Samantha Henry enters the final day of competition among the favorites to win the event title as she stopped the clock in 7.43 for a fourth-place finish, while freshman Kristina Davis and sophomore Monique Cabral also earned a spot in finals. The first of two final heats of the women's 60-meter dash is scheduled to begin at 11:35 a.m. CST.
A trio of Lady Tigers also advanced to the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles as senior standout Angel Boyd led the way with a third-place finish in the preliminaries with a provisional qualifying time of 8.30. Junior Jessica Ohanaja and sophomore Nickiesha Wilson will also challenge for the event crown as the final heats prelude the women's 60 meters at 11:21 a.m.
"It says a lot about the depth of our sprints and hurdles group that everybody that competed advanced to the final," Shaver said. "The hurdlers looked sharp tonight and they'll get a chance to do it again, and it's the same thing with our sprinters. They're gaining a lot of confidence as a group, and they did what they needed to do today."
Junior Deonna Lawrence, who is the nation's fourth-ranked athlete in the women's 400 meters in the latest Trackwire Dandy Dozen, clocked an NCAA provisional qualifying time of her own in her season debut in the event by taking fourth place in the preliminary round with a time of 54.02.
The Lady Tigers were also represented well in the distance events with three athletes clocking indoor personal best times in their respective specialty events. Junior Rachael Graham shaved nearly 30 seconds off of her previous best time in the 5,000 meters as posted the fifth-fastest indoor time in Lady Tiger history at 17:51.08.
Fellow junior Kate Accardo posted a Top 10 time of her own in the 5,000 meters with a personal best mark of 18:44.67 to rank No. 7 on the school's all-time indoor performance list, while sophomore Lindsay Day clocked a PR in the 800 meters after crossing the finish line in 2:14.36.
"It was just a great day overall for the women," Shaver said. "Deonna did well to move on in her first 400 of the season, and we had a couple of distance runners who ran exceptionally well. Rachael Graham and Kate Accardo both ran about a 30-second personal best. They showed some mental toughness tonight and that was good to see out of that group."
On the men's side, junior All-American Richard Thompson is looking to win his second 60-meter crown of the season after posting a 6.70 to qualify provisionally for the NCAA meet, and junior Ryan Fontenot will join his counterparts in the 60-meter hurdles after clocking a season best time of 8.00 for a seventh-place finish in the preliminaries.
A pair of Tiger All-Americans will compete for the men's title in the 400 meters as junior Reggie Dardar and senior Marvin Stevenson qualified for Saturday's final following their first 400-meter race of the season. Dardar stopped the clock with an indoor personal best and a provisional qualifying time of 47.36 to edge Stevenson's effort of 47.64.
The finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles are scheduled to get underway at 11:29 a.m. followed by the finals of the 60-meter dash at 11:41 a.m. and the 400 meters at 2:18 p.m.
"I thought that the men really showed some good things today, and I'm looking forward to them getting back on the track in a good, competitive environment tomorrow," Shaver said. "Richard continues to make strides as a sprinter, and both Reggie and Marvin showed where they're at right now despite running the 400 for just the first time this season."
In addition to their participation in the New Balance Invitational, six of LSU's athletes were invited to compete in the 100th Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Millrose Games is the oldest and most prestigious indoor track and field invitational with a history that dates back to 1908.
Ohanaja, Wilson and Boyd finished 1-2-3 in the college division of the women's 60-meter hurdles, while junior Kelly Baptiste took home the college crown in the 60-meter dash with fellow junior Brooklynn Morris finishing fourth in the event. Thompson also took fourth in the men's 60 meters with Fontenot representing the Tigers in the 60-meter hurdles.
"This was a great experience for these athletes to get into some real good competition in this kind of environment," Shaver said. "We're going to really be counting on each of them as the season moves along and we get closer to the NCAA Championships, and it was good to see them succeed at an event like the Millrose Games."
Shaver said he is looking forward to the second day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as both the men's and women's squads are in contention to bring a team championship home to Baton Rouge in perhaps the most prestigious indoor meet of the season.
"Of course our athletes in the finals will be ready, and we're also looking forward to the relays and seeing if we can get some things done in the triple jump and events like that," Shaver said. "The 200 meters will be a big race for us, and we're fortunate to sneak a few people through in the 400 that haven't raced in that event this year. Those are the things I'm looking forward to."
The second day of competition is slated to begin with the field events at 7:45 a.m. CST with the meet's opening ceremonies scheduled for noon. The Tigers and Lady Tigers follow their trip to New York by traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., next week to compete in the Tyson Invitational at the Randall Tyson Track Complex on Feb. 9-10.
NEW YORK -- The LSU track and field teams enjoyed a successful first day of competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday at the Armory Track and Field Center as a total of 13 athletes advanced to Saturday's final in their respective specialty event.
"We had a good number of our athletes do what they needed to do today to advance to the next round and the final tomorrow," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "That's what you have to do in meets like this with this kind of competition. It's all about getting to the finals, and things will heat up in the Armory tomorrow with a tremendous atmosphere."