LSU Athletes to Run in Caribbean Meets

Jun 21, 2007

Courtesy: www.LSUsports.net

Release: 06/21/2007

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Courtesy: Bryan Wayne

NCAA champion Isa Phillips

BATON ROUGE -- In addition to those who will be competing at the USA Championships in Indianapolis this weekend, LSU will also be well represented by its current and former track and field athletes participating in national meets across the Caribbean beginning Friday.

The Jamaican National Junior and Senior Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Kingston, while the National Open Championships in Trinidad and Tobago will be held at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain through Sunday.

Jamaican standouts Nickiesha Wilson and Isa Phillips are two of LSU’s current athletes who hope to represent their country at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, this summer as they are set to run the 400-meter hurdles this weekend.

Phillips became the first LSU Tiger in 43 years to win a national title in the event as he shattered his previous personal best by .8 seconds with a time of 48.51 in the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships two weeks ago. Wilson, who finished as the NCAA runner-up in the event, boasts a seasonal best time of 55.20.

In addition, LSU will be represented by four former NCAA champions at the Jamaican National Senior Championships as Peta-Gaye Dowdie is slated to double in the 100 meters and 200 meters with Pete Coley, Nadia Davy and Ronetta Smith each competing in the 400 meters.

Headlining the list of LSU athletes competing at the National Open Championships in Trinidad and Tobago is junior All-American and 100-meter star Richard Thompson, who earned a pair of All-America honors at this year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. Thompson finished fifth in the 100 while also running the second leg on LSU’s national runner-up 4x100-meter relay team.

Freshman sprint sensation Samantha Henry and freshman middle distance standout Jamaal James will also be in action this weekend as they are looking to represent their respective countries at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil, from July 6-8.

Henry is set to run the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican National Junior Championships, while James is the favorite to win Trinidad’s junior title in the 800 meters this weekend. In fact, James is the national junior record holder in the event after winning this year’s SEC outdoor title in May with a lifetime best of 1 minute, 47 seconds.