BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - On the strength of an outstanding weekend of qualifying at the 2011 NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, the LSU track and field teams have put themselves in a position to compete for a pair of national championships after combining for 28 qualifiers into national semifinals in three days of prelim action at Indiana's E.C. Billy Hayes Track in Bloomington.
The semifinal and final rounds for the 2011 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set to run June 8-11 at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Lady Tigers are actually set to return to the site of their last national championship won outdoors in 2008.
All athletes earning a top-12 finish in their respective events this weekend for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds have received a berth into the national semifinals to be held in two weeks.
LSU emerged from the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 28 entries making the trip to Drake University, including 15 entries for the women and 13 entries for the men.
"We came here and did about all we could do to put ourselves in a position to compete when we make our trip to Des Moines," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "I thought our kids overcame some adversity at times and competed very well all weekend long to maximize our opportunities to score when we line it up again in two weeks. That's what you have to do in this meet. It's all about surviving and advancing.
"Not having Jasmin Stowers in the hurdles is a blow to our women's team, but these ladies have shown us that they know how to compete and will give it everything they've got in two weeks. Our men have really been very competitive in their own right. They understand that this is what they prepare for all year long."
The Lady Tigers were dominant in the sprints and relays during Saturday's quarterfinal action at the track as they added five NCAA semifinalists between the 200-meter dash, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay.
The women opened with a dominating victory in the third quarterfinal heat of the 4x100-meter relay, after senior Kenyanna Wilson, junior Semoy Hackett, junior Rebecca Alexander and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan posted the fastest qualifying time of the afternoon in 43.60 seconds, finishing well ahead of 44.25 by runner-up Florida State in the heat. Central Florida clocked the second-fastest time of the day at 43.63.
After running on the top qualifying team in the sprint relay, three Lady Tigers returned to the track for the 200-meter quarterfinals and punched their ticket to Des Moines.
Duncan, the reigning NCAA Indoor champion, cruised to an easy victory in the third heat of the day when she clocked the fastest time of the quarterfinal round at 23.04 into a strong headwind of 1.3 meters per second. Hackett was the winner of the second quarterfinal heat with the second-fastest time at 23.22 while Alexander (23.82) advanced to the national semifinals on time with an 11th-place finish overall.
"I wanted to go out there and run the fastest time so I could get the best lane possible in Des Moines. That is all we wanted to do coming here this weekend," Duncan said. "We feel really good about where we are. We just have to go on to Des Moines and build on what we were able to do here this weekend."
Like the Lady Tigers, the Tigers were also impressive with Saturday's quarterfinals in the sprints, hurdles and relays as they added five semifinalists of their own during the competition.
Junior Horatio Williams led the way in qualifying to the NCAA semifinals as he won the first quarterfinal heat of the 200-meter dash with the second fastest time of the day at 20.91 (-1.2). Williams already earned a spot in the national semifinals in the 100-meter dash with his performance on Friday night. Junior Keyth Talley(21.16) will join Williams in the 200 semifinals after placing second in his quarterfinal heat.
Two-time NCAA runner-up Barrett Nugent will also have the opportunity to compete for his first national championship in the men's 110-meter hurdles after advancing to the semifinal round with second place in the second of three heats on Saturday. His time of 13.75 was the sixth-fastest of the afternoon.
The trio also combined to run the seventh-fastest 4x100-meter relay time of the quarterfinals at 39.96 with Nugent, Williams, Talley and junior Riker Hylton finishing in third place in their heat.
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers wrapped up this year's NCAA East Preliminary Rounds with wins in the qualifying heats of the 4x400-meter relay and easily advance to the NCAA semifinals in Des Moines.
The Lady Tigers were the first to step on the track as Alexander, junior Cassandra Tate, sophomore Latoya McDermott and junior Jonique Day ran a 2011 seasonal-best effort of 3 minutes, 32.09 seconds en route to the win in the second of three qualifying heats. Their time was the second-fastest of the qualifiers.
The Tigers followed running the second-fastest time in the men's quarterfinals as junior Robert Simmons, junior Ade Alleyne-Forte, sophomore Caleb Williams and Hylton also won the second of three qualifying heats with a time of 3:03.95. The Tigers trailed only Mississippi State (3:03.23) in men's qualifying.
"I'm proud of each one of our athletes who represented this program this weekend," Shaver said. "For the most part, we did about all we could do in this meet to put ourselves in a position to finish this season like we want to when we get to Des Moines. Our preparation these next 10 days will certainly be a key for our teams as we try to win a championship. That's the standard that we try to meet each time we compete."
The Lady Tigers suffered a hiccup in the quarterfinal round of the women's 100-meter hurdles with seniorTenaya Jones and freshman Jasmin Stowers were both unable to qualify for the national semifinals.
While running in the first quarterfinal heat, Jones crossed the finish line in sixth place in the race with her time of 13.65 that ranked as the 15th-fastest of the quarterfinals. Stowers, reigning SEC champion, clipped the first two hurdles of the race before losing her rhythm and crashing over the fifth hurdle to the track on the backstretch. Stowers ranked No. 4 nationally in the event entering this weekend's competition.
"I don't know what happened. I tried to get out, but hit the first two hurdles," Stowers said. "I stumbled in the beginning. I tried to get my rhythm back, but I guess I was trying too hard and I stumbled again."
With the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds now in the books, the Lady Tigers will compete in 10 events in the national semifinals when they travel to Des Moines in just two weeks. The Tigers will compete with a semifinalist in nine different events in the next round of this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.
LSU's Qualifiers for the NCAA Championships Semifinals in Des Moines, Iowa
Note: All marks and places were achieved this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds
Tigers (13)
Name, Event, Time/Mark (Place)
Kyron Blaise, Triple Jump, 51-2 ¾ (10)
Damar Forbes, Long Jump, 25-8 ¼ (2)
Walter Henning, Hammer Throw, 226-8 (3)
Riker Hylton, 400 meters, 45.85 (4)
Michael Lauro, Hammer Throw, 217-9 (4)
Barrett Nugent, 110 hurdles, 13.75 (6)
Keyth Talley, 200 meters, 21.16 (7)
Zedric Thomas, Long Jump, 24-7 (12)
Zedric Thomas, Triple Jump, 51-9 ¾ (4)
Horatio Williams, 100 meters, 10.31 (7)
Horatio Williams, 200 meters, 20.91 (2)
Nugent, H. Williams, Talley, Hylton; 4x100 relay; 39.96 (7)
Simmons, Alleyne-Forte, C. Williams, Hylton; 4x400 relay; 3:03.95 (2)
Lady Tigers (15)
Name, Event, Time/Mark (Place)
Rebecca Alexander, 200 meters, 23.83 (11)
Brittani Carter, High Jump, 5-11 ¼ (T1)
Kimberlyn Duncan, 100 meters, 11.43 (6)
Kimberlyn Duncan, 200 meters, 23.04 (1)
Semoy Hackett, 100 meters, 11.32 (4)
Semoy Hackett, 200 meters, 23.22 (2)
Brieanna Kennedy, Hammer Throw, 191-3 (12)
Rachel Laurent, Pole Vault, 13-1 ½ (8)
Charlene Lipsey, 800 meters, 2:05.63 (6)
Melissa Ogbourne, Triple Jump, 42-8 ¼ (4)
Toshika Sylvester, 100 meters, 11.55 (11)
Cassandra Tate, 400 hurdles, 56.36 (1)
Kenyanna Wilson, 100 meters, 11.33 (2)
Wilson, Hackett, Alexander, Duncan; 4x100 relay; 43.60 (1)
Alexander, Tate, McDermott, Day; 4x400 relay; 3:32.09 (2)