HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Ruston native Larry Jones was forced to compete in both the javelin and shot put at the same time - despite the events being 150 yards away from each other - but overcame that obstacle to post a pair of top three finishes and score 14 points for the Bulldogs as the third day of the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships wrapped up late Thursday.
Jones ended the day scoring 14 points for Louisiana Tech as his shot put throw of 57-5.75 (17.52m) placed him second overall. The Ruston High School product then threw 204-1 (62.21m) in the javelin to place third and claiming his second all-WAC first team honor of the day.
Micarra Vassell continued the stellar field performances for Louisiana Tech in the women's discus, setting a personal record by eight inches. Her throw of 158-8 (48.36m) scored eight points for the Lady Techsters as she finished second, her best-ever finish at a WAC Championship meet.
Chelsea Hayes also added to a strong field performance for LA Tech as she won the long jump with a mark of 20-10 (6.35m), the second-best mark in school history. Hayes hit her winning mark in the prelims and then passed on all three finals attempts in order to warm up for the 100m dash prelims. Hayes was followed by Tiana Davis, who jumped 19-11 (6.07m) to finish second.
Davis also posted the fastest 100m hurdles prelim time with a mark of 13.69. She, along with Jesseka Jones (14.06) and Kim Francis (14.09) all advanced to Friday's 100m hurdles finals.
In the 100m dash prelims, Hayes ran 11.34 to race past the rest of the field by almost half a second to claim a prime spot in Friday's finals. Almost two hours later Hayes ran the field's fastest 200m time to advance to the finals in that event as well, setting her up for a potential four finals races on Friday (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and a possible 4x400m relay).
Teammate Chasidee Lewis-Baker also advanced to the finals in the 100m dash with a prelim time of 11.77 while Francis fell just short of advancing, running 12.16. In the 200m dash, Monique Wright advanced with Hayes to the finals after a prelim time of 24.44 while Stacia Hanneman's time of 24.77 fell one spot out of the finals qualifying. Wright was the only Lady Techster to advance to the 400m finals, running a season-best 54.79 in the prelims.
On the men's side, Justin Terry posted a personal record in the 400m prelims by almost three seconds to advance to the finals alongside Trey Hadnot (47.45) and Josh Goree (48.82). Hadnot also advanced to the finals in the 200m, posting a field-best 20.89 time in the prelims.
Joining Hadnot in the 200m finals will be Kevin Stewart (21.54) and Dennis Richardson (21.63). Richardson posted the fastest 100m dash prelim time with a mark of 10.49 while Stewart's 100m prelim time of 10.57 sent both athletes to the finals.
The final day of competition at the 2011 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is set for Friday with field events beginning at 1:30 p.m. HT/6:30 p.m. CT while running events start at 5 p.m. HT/10 p.m. CT.
For complete coverage of Tech Track and Field, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.
