Caribbean LSU Athletes Advance to World Championships

BATON ROUGE -- The LSU track and field program has not only enjoyed great success at the USA Championships this weekend, but four of its Caribbean athletes are now set to compete at this year’s IAAF World Championships after their outstanding performances Saturday.

After making his first career appearance in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships two weeks ago, junior Richard Thompson is set to compete for the first time at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, from Aug. 25-Sept. 2.

Thompson, who earned his first career individual All-America honor with a fifth-place finish in the 100 at the NCAA meet on June 8, won a silver medal at the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Mount Hope native sizzled in the final as he crossed the finish line in a windy 9.95 seconds with a tailwind measuring 3.0 meters per second. He finished runner-up to Jamaican-based 22-year-old Darrel Brown (9.88) after winning his semifinal heat with a new personal best and wind-legal time of 10.09.

“Richard has stepped it up throughout the postseason and has progressed really well,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “He’s a completely different athlete than he was a year ago, and now he’s going to get the chance to represent his country in the 100 at the World Championships.”

Thompson has taken his performance to another level since the NCAA Championships two weeks ago as he followed a then personal best of 10.23 in the semifinal round with a 10.24 in the final to finish fifth in the 100-meter dash. He also ran on LSU’s 4x100-meter relay team that finished as this year’s national runner-up with a seasonal best time of 38.85.

While Thompson will be representing Trinidad and Tobago at the World Championships, senior Isa Phillips and sophomore Nickiesha Wilson will be competing for Jamaica as the duo qualified in the 400-meter hurdles at the Jamaican National Senior Championships on Saturday.

Phillips – the reigning NCAA champion in the 400 hurdles – won a silver medal after racing around the track at the National Stadium in Kingston in a time of 49.23. He became the first LSU athlete in 43 years to win a national title in the event after clocking the eighth-fastest time in the world this season at 48.51 in the final at the NCAA Championships.

Wilson crossed the finish line in 55.72 to finish third in Saturday’s final in the 400 hurdles as she is also set to make her first career appearance at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

Wilson was one of the top newcomers to Division I track and field in 2007 as she earned five All-America honors in her first season with the Lady Tigers, including a national runner-up finish in the 400 hurdles and leading LSU’s 4x400 relay team to a national title during the outdoor season.

“It’s a great tribute to both Isa and Nickiesha that they’ve prepared themselves to compete at this level,” Shaver said. “Now, it’s important for us to prepare them the best we can to succeed on the international stage because they have a great chance to make the final in Osaka. They continue to represent LSU every time they step on the track.”

Freshman sprinter Samantha Henry also enjoyed a successful weekend as she captured 100-meter and 200-meter titles in the Under-20 division at the Jamaican National Junior Championships. She is now set to lead the Jamaican contingent at 2007 the Pan American Junior Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil, from July 6-8.

Henry, who will make the trip to the World Championships as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100-meter relay pool, clocked back-to-back personal bests of 11.44 in the semifinal and 11.21 in the final to win gold in the 100, while she also won gold in the 200 with a time of 22.94.

Fellow freshman Jamaal James is also set to make an appearance at the Pan American Junior Championships in two weeks as he won the junior title in the 800 meters at the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships with a time of 1 minute, 47.85 seconds in Sunday’s final.

“Our athletes showed a lot of pride in the way they represented LSU this weekend,” Shaver said. “We have a lot of kids who had personal best performances and will now get the chance compete at the World Championships for the first time. I know they’re excited about the opportunity that they have and will prepare themselves to perform at their very best.”