GREENSBORO, N.C. - The LSU track and field teams put an exclamation point onto the end of an outstanding weekend of qualifying at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds as the Tigers and Lady Tigers combined for 12 more qualifiers into the national semifinals during Saturday's action at Irwin Belk Track.
All athletes with a top-12 finish this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds earn a berth into the semifinal and final rounds of the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon from June 9-12. LSU emerged from the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 32 entries making the trip to Eugene for the national semifinals, including 17 for the women and 15 for the men. Video Highlights on LSU's Blog "I don't think we made one mistake in the meet this weekend that will cost us anything in Eugene. The bottom line is that we haven't done anything to beat ourselves to this point," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "But our athletes need to realize that we haven't scored one point at the NCAA Championships in any event. We need to follow that up with an even better weekend in two weeks. "This was the third of seven one-day track meets. That's how we treated each day here in Greensboro this weekend. We have to keep that mindset two weeks from now when we arrive in Eugene." After becoming the first Lady Tiger to win the SEC discus crown since the great Danyel Mitchell in 1994, sophomore cjoined Mitchell as an NCAA semifinalist with her outstanding effort in setting a new personal best on her first attempt of Saturday's qualifying competition. Stokes set the ring on fire as she unleashed a throw of 177 feet, 11 inches on her very first mark following the warm-ups to clinch a spot in the semifinal at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Stokes shattered her previous personal record by nearly 10 feet as she entered the meet with a top mark of 168-5 that she set while being crowned this year's SEC champion. She also catapulted herself into the No. 2 spot on LSU's all-time outdoor performance list in the event en route to a fifth-place finish Saturday. "I've been working all week on my (turn) drills. Coach (Derek) Yush just told me to rest mentally during the week. He kept saying, 'You look good. You're ready,'" Stokes said. "I was nervous going into it, but I held my composure and it was good. I felt really good and all my energy was released. I had support from my teammates and friend. I'm very happy and blessed to be here." The Tigers have been outstanding in the jumps all weekend long, and junior Zedric Thomas and freshmanDamar Forbes continued the momentum in LSU's first event Saturday afternoon. After earning a trip to Eugene with top-12 finishes in the long jump on Thursday, the duo advanced in the men's triple jump on Saturday afternoon as Forbes finished seventh with a wind-aided jump of 51 feet, 7 ¾ inches and Thomas finished ninth with a wind-aided mark of 51-5 ½. Forbes passed his last two jumps, while Thomas passed his final attempt after securing a top-12 finish. The Lady Tigers added an national semifinalist of their own in the triple jump as junior Melissa Ogbourne was the fifth-place finisher in Saturday's competition with a top wind-aided leap of 43-7 ¾. Her top wind-legal jump of the afternoon came on her second attempt with a mark of 42-8 ¼. LSU fired out of the blocks in the evening's first events on the track by qualifying both 4x100-meter relay teams into the national semifinals with a pair of victories in their respective heats. The Tigers were the first to step on the track and cruised to victory in the first of three quarterfinals with a seasonal-best time of 39.00 seconds. Sophomore Barrett Nugent, senior Will Coppage, senior Armanti Hayes and junior Gabriel Mvumvure lowered their previous seasonal best from 39.34 as they defeated the NCAA's second-fastest team this outdoor season in Florida State (39.33). The Lady Tigers followed with a victory in the first quarterfinal heat of the women's 4x100 meter relay as senior Samantha Henry, freshman Kimberlyn Duncan, freshman Takeia Pinckney and junior Kenyanna Wilson got the stick around the track with the third-fastest qualifying time of the evening at 43.98. Henry, Duncan and Pinckney all returned to the track within 90 minutes of their appearance in the relay to run in the quarterfinal round of the 200-meter dash. Duncan won her heat with the fifth-fastest time of the quarterfinals at 23.11, while Henry placed third in her heat with the fourth-fastest qualifying time at 23.10 and Pinckney finished fourth in the same heat with the ninth-fastest qualifying time at 23.32. Both Henry and Pinckney already punched their ticket to Eugene for the semifinal round of the 100-meter dash during Friday's action at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. Nugent was the only Tiger to advance individually on the track on the final day of competition at Irwin Belk Track as he finished runner-up in his quarterfinals heat and fourth overall in the 110-meter hurdles at 13.67. With his trip to Eugene, Nugent will make his second career appearance in the national semifinals. Like the its performance in the 4x100 relay earlier in the day, LSU wrapped up the week in the final event on the track by winning both of its quarterfinal heats with seasonal bests in the 4x400-meter relay. Running with a team of sophomore Robert Simmons, freshman Caleb Williams, sophomore Ade Alleyne-Forte and Hayes, the Tigers ran past South Carolina (3:04.76) in the third quarterfinal heat with a seasonal best of 3 minutes, 4.10 seconds, eclipsing their top time of 3:04.92 entering the meet. Their time ranked in fourth place overall among the three races in the quarterfinal round. Simmons led off the mile relay with a split of 46.82 seconds before handing off to Williams for a fast split of 46.09 on the second leg. Alleyne-Forte (45.72) and Hayes (45.47) then followed with a pair of back-to-back sub 46-second splits to lead the Tigers into the national semifinals. The Lady Tigers followed by running the fastest time of the women's quarterfinals round to win their heat as freshman Latoya McDermott (54.12), sophomore Cassandra Tate (52.10), senior Kayann Thompson (52.38) and senior LaTavia Thomas (52.41) carried the stick around the track with a time of 3:31.01. "I like to see consistency in performances across the board in the championship meets," Shaver said. "We are now in a situation going to Eugene where we will have to perform at our very best if we hope to make it to the next round. The fields in each event will be cut by two-thirds in the next round. Our athletes have to understand that it's going to take a performance at their seasonal best to advance. "They've got to be ready to compete from the first moment they step on the track or on the runway or into the circle, and we as coaches will work to get them ready and prepare them to perform at their best." LSU's Qualifiers for the NCAA Championships Semifinals in Eugene, Ore. Tigers Lady Tigers
Note: All marks and places were achieved this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds
Name, Event, Time/Mark (Place)
Will Coppage, Long Jump, 24-9 ¼ (11)
Josh Dominguez, Pole Vault, 17-2 ¾ (T9)
Damar Forbes, Long Jump, 25-8 (3)
Damar Forbes, Triple Jump, 51-7 ¾w (7)
Armanti Hayes, 400 meters, 45.74 (11)
Jerel Hill, 100 meters, 10.22 (7)
Walter Henning, Hammer Throw, 222-2 (3)
Richard Jones, 800 meters, 1:46.42 (2)
Michael Lauro, Hammer Throw, 211-6 (6)
Barrett Nugent, 110 hurdles, 13.67 (4)
Zedric Thomas, Long Jump, 25-0 ½ (6)
Zedric Thomas, Triple Jump, 57-5 ½w (9)
Sadiki White, 800 meters, 1:47.57 (8)
Nugent, Coppage, Hayes, Mvumvure; 4x100 Relay; 39.00 (2)
Simmons, Williams, Alleyne-Forte, Hayes; 4x400 Relay; 3:04.10 (4)
Name, Event, Time/Mark (Place)
Brittani Carter, High Jump, 5-11 ¼ (6)
Kimberlyn Duncan, 200 meters, 23.11 (5)
Samantha Henry, 100 meters, 11.18 (1)
Samantha Henry, 200 meters, 23.10 (4)
Rachel Laurent, Pole Vault, 12-11 ½ (8)
Charlene Lipsey, 800 meters, 2:05.34 (10)
Melissa Ogbourne, Triple Jump, 43-7 ¾w (5)
Takeia Pinckney, 100 meters, 11.26 (3)
Takeia Pinckney, 200 meters, 23.32 (9)
Samia Stokes, Discus Throw, 177-11 (4)
Cassandra Tate, 400 hurdles, 56.87 (7)
LaTavia Thomas, 800 meters, 2:03.51 (4)
Kayann Thompson, 800 meters, 2:03.58 (5)
Kim Williams, Hammer Throw, 187-4 (9)
Kenyanna Wilson, 100 meters, 11.22 (2)
Henry, Duncan, Pinckney, Wilson; 4x100 Relay; 43.98 (3)
McDermott, Tate, Thompson, Thomas; 4x400 Relay; 3:31.01 (1)