CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Sophomore Xavier Carter\'s dominance on the track continued Saturday at Miami\'s Cobb Stadium as he posted a world-leading time of 20.13 in the 200 meters in leading the LSU track and field team in a solid day of competition at the Miami Elite Invitational.
Carter, running in his first 200-meter race of the outdoor season, flew by the competition en route to shattering the meet and stadium records in the event.
\"Xavier has been running the 400 meters so has a little more strength at the end of his race,\" said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. \"He ran the race he was supposed to. He was quite a bit faster in his second 100 so I was real pleased with his effort.\"
Also turning in an impressive performance on the track was senior Kelly Willie. The 16-time All-American handily won the meet\'s 400-meter title, crossing the finish line in 45.42 seconds. The time, which broke the previous meet and stadium records set by Willie in 2004, also ranks as the fastest run by an American this season.
\"Kelly ran faster than anyone ever has on this track and I think that says something,\" said Shaver. \"That was the best, maybe not the fastest, but the best quarter I have seen him run in a long time. I was really pleased with his performance.\"
Earlier in the day, both Carter and Willie helped the Tigers\' 4x100-meter relay team to additional meet and stadium records as the pair joined with Richard Thompson and Marvin Stevenson to clock a NCAA-leading time of 38.89 to help home gold in the event.
Stevenson then teamed with Siraj Williams, Reggie Dardar and Melville Rogers to complete the sweep of the men\'s relay titles as the foursome glided to a 3:05.41 finish in garnering first-place accolades.
The Tigers picked up an additional pair of wins from senior Patrick Gavin and junior Isa Phillips.
Gavin paced the field in the 1,500 meters clocking a regional qualifying and season best time of 3:47.70.
Phillips picked up his third victory of the season in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 50.91 seconds.
Not to be overlooked were Tiger field event competitors Chad Radgowski and Ricky Jean-Francois.
Radgowski, a freshman from Liberty, Pa., surpassed the regional qualifying standard in the javelin for the first time this season, finishing third in the final standings with a LSU season-best of 206-7.
Jean-Francois posted personal records in both the shot put and discus competitions, recordings distances of 59-3 and 154-10, respectively.
Also notching a new personal best in the discus was senior Jon Chretien. The Fresno, Calif., native recorded a heave of 159-11.
On the women\'s side, the Lady Tigers qualified a trio of athletes, in Deonna Lawrence, Cynetheia Rooks and Meisue Francis, to the regional championships in the 400 meters. All three notched personal bests, crossing the line with times of 52.45, 53.05 and 54.54, respectively.
Sophomores Brooklynn Morris and Kelly Baptiste turned in a pair of regional qualifying marks in the 200 meters behind a 4-5 finish in the event. Morris, running in her first 200 race of the outdoor season, recorded a time of 23.31. Baptiste was just off her pace, finishing in 23.33.
Morris and Baptiste also helped the Lady Tigers\' 4x100-relay team to runner-up honors earlier in the day. The duo paired with Sherry Fletcher and Jessica Ohanaja to post the fastest time among collegiate competitors (43.96). Their mark was bettered only by the club team of South Florida Elite who finished with a meet and stadium record time of 42.78.
The Lady Tigers wrapped up the meet with an easy victory in the 4x400 relay as the foursome of Rooks, Baptiste, Francis and Lawrence combined for the victory in 3:33.50.
Highlights from the field came in the women\'s long jump as Andrea Linton and Tina Harris finished 305 in the event with season-best distances of 20-5 ¾ and 20-0 ¼.
\"As a team I feel we made a little more progress tonight,\" said Shaver. \"We asked people to do things that they are not used to and they responded to that.
\"I know now we are looking forward to getting back home and running on our own track.\"
The Tigers and Lady Tigers wrap up their home schedule Sat., April 22, when they host the LSU Alumni Gold at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.