FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Before sophomore John Kosgei stepped onto the track for the final of the 3,000-meter run at the 2008 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, no LSU athlete had ever been crowned champion in the 22-year history of the event.
But that all changed Saturday night at the Randal Tyson Track Center as Kosgei outlasted an elite field and crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 7 minutes, 57.76 seconds.
Kosgei finished more than two seconds ahead of his nearest competitor as Arkansas’ Tyler Hill was runner-up with a time of 7:59.81. The last time an LSU distance runner won an SEC Indoor title in an event of similar length was 28 years ago in 1980 when former Tiger Mike Quigley won the SEC title in the two-mile run with a time of 8:45.00.
“I was ready to win today, and I knew I would have to run fast to do it,” Kosgei said. “The pace progressed as the race went on, and I wanted to take over late with about three laps to go coming in. I was pushed, and I think that motivated me to run faster. I’m very happy to win the race.”
With the win, Kosgei scored 10 valuable points for the Tigers as LSU finished the second day of the competition in sole possession of sixth place in the team standings at 14 points.
Sophomore Will Coppage recorded a mark of 24 feet, 10 ½ inches to finish seventh and score two points in the long jump, while junior Rabun Fox added two points of his own after hitting a throw of 61-4 ¾ to finish in seventh place in the weight throw competition.
Like the Tigers, the top-ranked Lady Tigers also wrapped up Saturday’s action in sixth place with 14 points in the team standings. Sophomore Katelyn Rodrigue kicked off the afternoon by taking third place in the pole vault with a clearance of 12-4 ½, while junior Andrea Linton and freshman Melissa Ogbourne placed third and seventh, respectively, in the long jump.
Linton punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships with an automatic qualifying mark and new indoor personal best of 20-10 in the final of the event. Linton is now an automatic qualifier in both the long jump and triple jump for the NCAA meet.
“We had a few athletes who showed up at this track meet ready to compete, and they delivered with their performance today,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “John Kosgei has been a great addition to our team and is someone who we need to step it up and perform if the men are going to have success in the championship meets. I thought he ran a great race today.
“Andrea Linton is someone else who had a really great day for the women. The thing that has impressed me the most about her this season is the consistency she’s shown from meet to meet. She has only gotten stronger and has proven to be someone we can count on late in the season.”
Senior Kelly Baptiste highlighted LSU’s effort in the sprints during Saturday’s prelim action as she tied the school record in the 60-meter dash after crossing the finish line with a new personal best and the fifth-fastest time in the world this season at 7.15.
Baptiste, who entered the meet with a seasonal best time of 7.17 in the event, equaled the school record previously set by LSU great and 20-time All-American Muna Lee during the 2003 season.
In addition to improving upon her NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 60 meters, Baptiste also qualified automatically in the 200 meters for the first time this season with a new season best and the fourth-fastest time in the world this season at 23.07 in her preliminary heat.
“I’m not really that surprised with my performance today because I’ve run similar times in the past,” Baptiste said. “I was a little worried since I haven’t run many races this year, but I just focused on the process and what it would take for me to run fast in both races. I’m happy with my performance, but I feel even better that I have a chance to score points for my team tomorrow.”
Two Lady Tigers will join Baptiste in Sunday’s final of the 60 meters as sophomore Samantha Henry (7.24) and senior Juanita Broaddus (7.25) qualified second and third in the prelims.
The duo is also scheduled to line up alongside Baptiste in the final of the 200 meters as Henry crossed the finish line with a new personal best and the second-fastest time in the world at 23.01 and Broaddus improved her personal best NCAA provisional qualifying time at 23.61.
Other Lady Tigers advancing to Sunday’s finals include Nickiesha Wilson (8.21), Jessica Ohanaja (8.25) and Tenaya Jones (8.38) in the 60 hurdles; Brooklynn Morris (23.57) and Wilson (23.59) in the 200; Deonna Lawrence (53.99) in the 400; and Latavia Thomas (2:10.74), Kayann Thompson (2:10.15), Lindsay Day (2:10.28) and Kayann Thompson (2:11.04) in the 800.
The Tigers also enjoyed a successful day of qualifying as 10 athletes advanced to Sunday’s final-round action on the final day of competition at the SEC Indoor Championships.
Trindon Holliday (6.64) and Richard Thompson (6.67) qualified in the 60; Ryan Fontenot (7.85) qualified in the 60 hurdles Armanti Hayes advanced in both the 200 (21.16) and 400 (47.08); Elkana Kosgei (1:50.78), Reuben Twijukye (1:52.22) and Jamaal James (1:52.45) qualified in the 800; and John Kosgei (4:06.13) and Michael Hendry (4:09.10) advanced in the mile.
“I was really proud of the way our kids competed today and put themselves in a position to achieve great success tomorrow,” Shaver said. “We advanced everyone to the final rounds that were expected to qualify, and we’re in a great position to have success tomorrow.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers are gearing up for an exciting conclusion to the 2008 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships as the final day of the competition is set to get underway Sunday at 10 a.m. CT with the field events followed by the afternoon’s first running events at 12:35 p.m. The team champions will be crowned during an awards ceremony scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships Results
Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. (All race distances in meters)
Men’s
3,000
1. John Kosgei, LSU, 7:57.76; 2. Tyler Hill, Arkansas, 7:59.81; 3. Chris Barnicle, Arkansas, 8:03.29; 4. Tyson David, Alabama, 8:05.68; 5. Ian Burrell, Georgia, 8:06.61; 6. James Strang, Arkansas, 8:07.24; 7. Daniel LaCava, Arkansas, 8:13.72; 8. Emmanuel Bor, Alabama, 8:15.65.
High Jump
1. Eugene Martin, Florida, 7-0 ½; 2. Daniel Averso, Georgia, 6-11 ½; 3. Alain Bailey, Arkansas, 6-10 ¼; 4. Kevin Dickson, 6-9; 5. Brent Rosson, Arkansas, 6-8; 6. Tyler Boswell, Alabama, 6-8; 7. Antoine Fant, Alabama, 6-8; 8. Greg Wilson, Kentucky, 6-6 ¼.
Long Jump
1. Alain Bailey, Arkansas, 25-6 ¼; 2. Justin Gunn, Ole Miss, 25-6; 3. Derrick Locke, Kentucky, 25-5 ¼; 4. Wondy Pierre-Louis, Florida, 25-1 ¾; 5. Mychael Stewart, Arkansas, 24-11 ¾; 6. Daniel Quinn, Arkansas, 24-11 ¾; 7. Will Coppage, LSU, 24-10 ½; 8. Michael Nichols, Alabama, 24-7.
Weight Throw
1. Jacob Dunkleberger, Auburn, 71-4 ¼; 2. Rashaud Scott, Kentucky, 64-10 ½; 3. Andy Fryman, Kentucky, 63-10 ½; 4. Mike Zajac, South Carolina, 63-3 ¼; 5. James Maloney, Ole Miss, 63-2; 6. Richard Wooten, Tennessee, 62-4; 7. Rabun Fox, LSU, 61-4 ¾; 8. John Freeman, Georgia, 59-11 ¼.
Heptathlon
1. Jangy Addy, Tennessee, 5,836; 2. Mike Morrison, Florida, 5,704; 3. Michael Ayers, Tennessee, 5,286; 4. Kurt Lee, Florida, 5,123; 5. Tommy Barrineau, Georgia, 5,024; 6. Scott Pierce, South Carolina, 4,937; 7. Curt McGill, South Carolina, 4,845; 8. Corry Harris, Georgia, 4,837.
TEAM STANDINGS (5 events scored)
1. Arkansas, 46; 2. Florida, 28; 3. Georgia, 23; 4. Kentucky, 21; 5. Tennessee, 19; 6. LSU, 14; t7. Ole Miss, 12; t7. Alabama, 12; t9. Auburn, 10; t9. South Carolina, 10.
Women’s
3,000
1. Sarah Bowman, Tennessee, 9:28.29; 2. Catherine White, Arkansas, 9:32.01; 3. Katie Van Horn, 9:33.09; 4. Christine Kalmer, Arkansas, 9:35.22; 5. Lindsay Sundell, Florida, 9:35.84; 6. Rebecca Lowe, Florida, 9:37.23; 7. Dacia Barr, Arkansas, 9:41.89; 8. Katherine Peterson, Kentucky, 9:47.71.
Pole Vault
1. Katie Stripling, Arkansas, 13-6 ½; 2. Tara Diebold, Arkansas, 13-6 ½; 3. Katelyn Rodrigue, LSU, 13-4 ½; 4. Stephanie Irwin, Arkansas, 13-4 ½; 5. Lynda Cooper, Alabama, 12-10 ¼; 6. Alicia Essex, Tennessee, 12-10 ¼; 7. Kristen Keith, Arkansas, 12-10 ¼; 8. Mary Dunham, Kentucky, 12-6 ¼.
Long Jump
1. Brittney Reese, Ole Miss, 22-6 ½; 2. Shara Proctor, Florida, 21-4; 3. Andrea Linton, LSU, 20-10; 4. Peter-Gaye Beckford, Arkansas, 20-7; 5. Marrissa Harris, Mississippi State, 20-2 ¼; 6. Lynne Layne, Tennessee, 20-1 ½; 7. Melissa Ogbourne, LSU, 19-11 ¾; 8. Brittney James, South Carolina, 19-10 ¼.
Shot Put
1. Annie Alexander, Tennessee, 57-2; 2. 2. Mariam Kevkhishvili, Florida, 56-5 ¼; 3. Ashley Muffet, Kentucky, 51-9; 4. Davina Orieukwu, Ole Miss, 50-6; 5. Keely Medeiros, Florida, 49-8 ½; 6. Emilee Strot, Kentucky, 49-7 ¼; 7. Angelica Howard, Alabama, 48-9 ½; 8. Jennifer Svoboda, Kentucky, 47-11 ¼.
Pentathlon
1. Etienne Chaplin, Arkansas, 4,095; 2. Marrissa Harris, Mississippi State, 4,044; 3. Chealsea Taylor, Alabama, 3,920; 4. Ashley Trimble, Kentucky, 3,858; 5. Danielle Sampley, Kentucky, 3,704; 6. Peter-Gaye Beckford, Arkansas, 3,550; 7. Francis Vital, Ole Miss, 3,540; 8. Rachel Robbs, Alabama, 3,512.
TEAM STANDINGS (5 events scored)
1. Arkansas, 58; 2. Tennessee, 32; 3. Florida, 27; 4. Kentucky, 21; 5. Ole Miss, 17; 6. LSU, 14; 7. Alabama, 13; 8. Mississippi State, 12; 9. South Carolina, 1.