NEW YORK - While junior Zedric Thomas may have surprised everyone but himself with a season-opening jump of 26 feet, 3 inches in the long jump at the Purple Tiger Invitational on Jan. 22, he surprised no one on Friday night at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as he matched that performance to run away with his second long jump crown of the 2010 season.
Thomas, who entered the season with an overall personal record of 24-10 in the event, is a strong national title contender with the level of consistency he has already shown through three meets this season.
What was most impressive about Thomas' performance on Friday night was a series in which he recorded four consecutive jumps of 25 feet or more. After taking the lead with a jump of 25-4 on his second attempt, Thomas recorded marks of 25-9 ½ on his third attempt, 25-9 ¾ on his fourth attempt and 26-3 on his fifth attempt to finish ahead of 2004 Olympian Kafetien Gomis of France (25-9 ¼).
Thomas returned to the site where his 2009 indoor season came to an end as he tore the medial meniscus in his knee while competing in the triple jump at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational a year ago. This season, he emerged as a true NCAA title threat with his second jump of 26-3 in as many competitions.
This marks the second year in a row in which an LSU Tiger has captured the long jump title at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as senior Will Coppage jumped 25-7 ¼ to win the event crown a year ago.
"I've worked really hard in training to get to this level after what happened last year. I'm just motivated to perform at my best each meet," Thomas said. "I also think staying focused and preparing myself mentally has been a key for me. Things like always knowing where I am in the competition and what jump I've got to have has helped me focus on every jump I take.
"I'm just going to keep working hard. My main focus is to stay consistent and improve on each jump. I'm really focused on helping the team as much as I can at nationals."
Sophomore All-American Barrett Nugent was also impressive for the Tigers on Friday with his runner-up performance in the final of the men's 60-meter hurdles.
After recording the second-fastest qualifying time of 7.77 seconds in the preliminary round, Nugent raced to the finish line with a seasonal-best and personal-best time of 7.71 in the final, finishing only behind the NCAA-leading time of 7.69 set in the race by Syracuse standout Jarrett Eaton.
Nugent showed just why he is a legitimate All-America contender and NCAA title favorite as he finished ahead of defending NCAA champion Ronnie Ash of Oklahoma. Ash was the bronze medalist with a time of 7.74. With his effort, Nugent is just .01 seconds shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying standard.
"The thing I like about the way Barrett is performing right now is that he competes and he shows the kind of consistency that we look for from each one of our athletes," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "This is the fifth time in six races this season that Barrett has broken 7.80 in the sprint hurdles after not breaking 7.90 all of last season. The improvement he has made from his freshman season is tremendous.
"That just shows how hard he has worked to get to where he is right now. But there is still a lot of work to be done. It's important to build on this kind of performance as we continue to prepare for the postseason."
The Lady Tigers were also impressive during Friday's competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as five student- athletes either improved existing NCAA provisional qualifying performances or became an NCAA provisional qualifier for the first time during the 2010 indoor season.
Freshman sprinter Takeia Pinckney led the way for the women by clocking back-to-back personal bests to take third place in the final of the 60-meter dash. Pinckney crossed the finish line in 7.31 in both the preliminary round and the finals to improve her existing NCAA provisional qualifying time.
Pinckney was joined in the championship final of the 60-meter dash by senior Samantha Henry and juniorKenyanna Wilson. Wilson finished in fourth place behind Pinckney with a seasonal-best provisional time of 7.33, while Henry finished in seventh place in the final with a time of 7.36. Henry advanced to the final of the 60-meter dash with a seasonal-best time of 7.35 in the preliminary round.
The Lady Tigers added a fourth NCAA provisional qualifier in the 60-meter dash on the evening as seniorKristina Davis crossed the finish line with a new PR of 7.39 to finish runner-up in the consolation final.
In addition, junior Tenaya Jones became an NCAA qualifier for the first time this season in the 60 hurdles by clocking a seasonal-best time of 8.38 to finish seventh in the final.
"I thought we showed some competitiveness today. It's important for us to compete with the spirit here at The Armory tomorrow if we hope to perform the way we expect," Shaver said. "Today was another positive step forward for our team, and we need to take another big step tomorrow. That's our focus right now, improving as a team and developing consistency each time we compete."
Saturday's action at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational kicks off for LSU in the field events at 8:15 a.m. CT followed by the first events on the track at 10:23 a.m. Fans can follow along with live results and a live webcast on Saturday by logging on to the meet's official website at www.armorytrack.com.
