BATON ROUGE -- Sophomore standout Katelyn Rodrigue broke her own school record in the pole vault and three more LSU athletes posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks to highlight Friday’s action at the Bayou Bengal Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
Rodrigue, who set the previous record with a provisional mark of 12 feet, 11 ½ inches at the Purple Tiger Classic on Jan. 19, became the first Lady Tiger in school history to crack the 13-foot barrier indoors with a winning clearance of 13-1 ½.
With her effort, Rodrigue is now in position to become the first Lady Tiger in the program’s storied history to compete at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
“Katelyn is just a great competitor and has been since she joined our program a year ago,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “She’s shown a steady progression over the last year or so in an event where we’ve never really had anyone make a big contribution in the past. She can really help us in the championship meets if she continues to show that kind of consistency.”
Two-sport star Trindon Holliday kicked off his season with a bang on Friday night as he clocked a strong NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 60-meter dash in his season debut in the event.
Holliday, who saw his first action on the track this season after helping lead the LSU football team to a 38-24 victory over Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans on Jan. 7, scorched the track in a time 6.67 seconds to win the event title after opening with a provisional qualifying time of 6.72 in the prelims.
Holliday is closing in on his personal best of 6.64 in the event as he is now the third-fastest man to ever run the 60-meter dash in an LSU uniform.
“I’m pretty happy with the way I ran today, but there are a lot of things I need to improve on the next time I race,” Holliday said. “Basically, my plan today was to relax and run my race. It’s always tough the first meet back after practicing for football for so long.
“I’ve only been training for a couple of weeks now, and there are a lot of things I need to work on to get better. I didn’t get off to a very good start in either race and the execution just wasn’t where it needed to be. That’s something I’ll work on in practice over the next few weeks. I’ll work hard this week and see where I am the next time I run.”
Senior hurdler Ryan Fontenot and freshman sprinter Kenyanna Wilson also clocked NCAA provisional qualifying times in their specialty events for the first time this season as Fontenot took top honors in the 60-meter hurdles in 7.81 and Wilson won the 60-meter dash title in 7.42.
Fontenot’s new personal best in the 60 hurdles moves him into the No. 3 spot on the school’s all-time performance list, while Wilson’s effort was a new personal best of her own.
“I was really impressed with what Kenyanna Wilson was able to do tonight,” Shaver said. “She maybe didn’t perform as well as she would have liked in our first two meets and showed up ready to run tonight. It was the same with Ryan. That was a big PR for him and a time that could get him into the NCAA meet, but he’ll keep improving like he has in his four years here.”
Holliday was not the only LSU football player to make his season debut in track and field as junior thrower Ricky Jean-Francois stepped into the shot put circle for the first time since the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in 2006.
Jean-Francois finished runner-up in the event after uncorking a throw of 57-4 ¾ on his third attempt of the afternoon to secure his spot in the finals.
The Miami native said now that he has gotten his first taste of competition in nearly two years, he will be looking to improve with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the event when the team travels to New York next weekend for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. The NCAA provisional qualifying standard in the shot put is 58-3 while the automatic standard is 63-4.
“It felt good to get out there and compete again after not throwing for so long,” Jean-Francois said. “I didn’t really have any expectations to be honest. Today was about shaking the rust off a little bit and getting that taste of competition. I was pretty nervous to start, about as nervous as I get before a football game. It just fell really good to get in the circle again.
“I’ll be happy with a provisional mark next week, but definitely not satisfied. I’d like to throw about 60 feet if I can. I’m really just looking to keep improving from here on out.”
Four other LSU athletes recorded new indoor personal bests on Friday night, including a pair of pole vaulters as sophomore Josh Dominguez cleared 16-8 ¾ to win the men’s pole vault competition and freshman Lauren Saucier posted a top mark of 11-3 ¾ on the women’s side.
Sophomore sprinter Armanti Hayes qualified for the final heat of the 60-meter dash with a new personal best time of 6.84, while junior distance runner Christina Porter finished third in the 3,000 meters with a personal best time of 11 minutes, 1.86 seconds.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will be on the road next weekend as they make their annual trip to New York to compete in the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational at The Armory Track and Field Center beginning Feb. 8. LSU will be one of more than 100 universities at the meet as it is arguably the strongest field it will face during the regular season.