\"Coming into this meet we trained really hard for three weeks,\" said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. \"Because of that we knew we would be a little bit tired, but I think this weekend we performed very well, and even showed some signs of greatness, but those were probably even tempered a little bit by the fatigue factor.\"
Not looking tired at all was senior Hazelann Regis who became the second LSU athlete, and first Lady Tiger of the season, to earn an automatic bid to the indoor national meet. In her first 400 meter race of the year, Regis clocked an impressive 52.02 to fend of the field, one that included Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell.
The other win for the Lady Tigers came from freshman Ashley Owens in the 60-meter dash. Currently undefeated this season, with two straight wins in the event, Owens turned in the sixth-best time in school history and an improved provisional mark of 7.32 in the finals.
Just off Owens pace was freshman Kelly Baptiste who placed third with a time of 7.50 in her Lady Tiger debut.
Senior RaNysha LeBlanc also reached provisional standards, finishing second in the 60-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.34.
In the middle distances, sophomore Tanya Osbourne and senior Ruth Nanyinza also posted runner-up efforts. Osbourne\'s time of 2:09.74 in the 800 meters ranks 10th all-time in Lady Tiger history, while Nanyinza\'s 5:00.21 in the mile comes in as the ninth-best in school history.
On the men\'s side, Pete Coley won the 400 meters with a provisional mark of 47.11. He later helped Marvin Stevenson, Reginald Dardar and Kelly Willie to another provisional standard in the 4x400 relay, as the quartet clocked 3:08.07 to take home first-place honors.
Freshman Xavier Carter continued to improve, posting a season-best time of 6.75 in the finals of the 60-meter dash. The time, which earned him a second-place finish, ranks as the fourth fastest in Tiger history.
Also landing in the record books was sophomore Alleyne Lett. Lett won the 60 hurdles and finished among the top six in the pole vault and 1,000 meters to finish second in the heptathlon with a school record 5,033 points.
\"Overall, I feel this was a great competition,\" said Shaver. \"Now we are looking forward to coming back home and getting some things done there.\"
The Tigers and Lady Tigers return to action Friday when they play host to the Bayou Bengal Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.