KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Andrea Linton, Jeremy Hicks and Shaunette Davidson all punched their tickets to the national meet, posting a trio of a top-five finishes to kick off action for the LSU track and field team at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships on Friday.
Hicks and Linton advanced in the men's and women's long jump, respectively, as Hicks turned in a fourth-place showing with a leap of 25-0 and Linton earning runner-up honors with a personal-best effort of 20-10 1/2. Linton's mark was nearly five inches better than her previous best and rests just one quarter of an inch outside the Lady Tigers' all-time top 10.
Davidson cleared 5-9 ¾ in the high jump to finish tied for third with Mississippi State's Carmia Carroll. The jump marked her second best of the season as she only bettered the effort at the Texas Relays (5-10).
"In some ways I feel like we did even better than I had expected today," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver on his three national qualifiers. "I think we had a whole lot more positives than we did negatives."
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NCAA Mideast Regional Day 1
Time
Event
Athlete
Finish
Time
Mark
10 a.m.
Hammer Flight 2 (M)
Rabun Fox
--
FOUL
10 a.m.
High Jump Final (W)
Shaunette Davidson
t3
5-9 1/4
3 p.m.
4x100 Relay Heat 3 (W)
LSU \'A\'
1
44.28
3:15 p.m.
4x100 Relay Heat 4 (M)
LSU \'A\'
1
39.71
4 p.m.
1500 (M)
Patrick Gavin
9
3:56.20
4:25 p.m.
100 Hurdles Heat 1 (W)
Megan Akre
6
14.12
100 Hurdles Heat 2 (W)
Angel Boyd
1
13.04
100 Hurdles Heat 4 (W)
Jessica Ohanaja
1
13.15
4:50 p.m.
110 Hurdles Heat 4 (M)
Ryan Fontenot
5
14.32
5 p.m.
Long Jump (M)
Jeremy Hicks
4
25-0
5 p.m.
Long Jump (W)
Andrea Linton
2
20-10 1/2
Long Jump (W)
Kathy Coleman
15
19-6 14
5:10 p.m.
800 Heat 2 (W)
Tanya Osbourne
6
2:22.66
800 Heat 4 (W)
Meisue Francis
1
2:06.69
5:25 p.m.
800 Heat 3 (M)
Michael Hendry
5
1:52.05
5:40 p.m.
100 Heat 2 (W)
Juanita Broaddus
5
11.54
100 Heat 3 (W)
Brooklynn Morris
1
11.49
100 Heat 4 (W)
Sherry Fletcher
2
11.40
100 Heat 5 (W)
Kelly Baptiste
1
11.16
5:45 p.m.
Javelin Flight 2 (W)
Anna Lyons
10
122-0
6 p.m.
100 Heat 1 (M)
Kelly Willie
1
10.04
100 Heat 3 (M)
Xavier Carter
1
10.08
100 Heat 3 (M)
Richard Thompson
3
10.34
6:40 p.m.
400 Hurdles Heat 2 (M)
Isa Phillips
1
10.61
7 p.m.
400 Heat 1 (M)
Reggie Dardar
1
46.08
400 Heat 2 (M)
Siraj Williams
3
47.13
400 Heat 2 (M)
Austin Benton
4
48.02
400 Heat 4 (M)
Melville Rogers
1
46.31
400 Heat 6 (M)
Xavier Carter
1
46.60
7:20 p.m.
400 Heat 1 (W)
Carliesa Meakes
--
DNF
400 Heat 3 (W)
Deonna Lawrence
1
52.26
400 Heat 5 (W)
Cynetheia Rooks
1
53.06
7:40 p.m.
200 Heat 1 (W)
Kelly Baptiste
1
22.93
200 Heat 2 (W)
Brooklynn Morris
1
23.19
200 Heat 4 (W)
Sherry Fletcher
2
23.61
8 p.m.
200 Heat 1 (M)
Kelly Willie
1
20.64
200 Heat 1 (M)
Amel Alexander
3
21.10
200 Heat 3 (M)
Marvin Stevenson
3
21.01
LSU also turned in a successful day of qualifying round competition advancing both its men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams as well as another 12 athletes into Saturday's finals.
The Tigers' short relay, who entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the country, cruised into the finals after Richard Thompson, Xavier Carter, Marvin Stevenson and Kelly Willie combined to post the fastest time of the day, 39.71, in winning their prelim heat.
The Lady Tiger foursome of Sherry Fletcher, Brooklynn Morris, Jessica Ohanaja and Kelly Baptiste also finished first in their preliminary round heat, recording the second best time of the day at 44.28 seconds.
Individually, LSU will also be well represented in the sprint and hurdle finals.
Coming off his anchor leg performance in the 4x100 relay, Willie was exceptional in the 100-meter prelims, turning in a season-best wind-aided effort of 10.04 to handily win his heat. The time, the second fastest in the NCAA this season, would have been a new school record had the wind reading not been over the legal allowable limits of 2.0 mps.
Willie then later advanced to the 200 final, after again winning his prelim heat with a time of 20.21 seconds.
Carter was also impressive in the men's 100 meters. The six-time All-American won his heat with a season-best and wind-aided time of 10.08 seconds. He then tacked on a heat victory in the 400 meters to move on in that event as well (46.60).
Joining Carter in the open quarter finals will be junior Melville Rogers and sophomore Reggie Dardar. The pair also won their qualifying round heats to automatically advance with times of 46.08 and 46.31, respectively.
In the women's short sprints, LSU qualified three athletes into both the 100 and 200-meter finals. Sophomores Kelly Baptiste and Brooklynn Morris earned automatic bids in the two events, claiming heat victories in the 100 with times of 11.16 and 11.48, respectively, and in the 200 with times of 22.93 and 23.19..
Junior Sherry Fletcher will join the pair in both finals, advancing on time with marks of 11.40 and 23.61.
In the women's 100 hurdles, Lady Tigers Angel Boyd (13.04) and Jessica Ohanaja (13.15) each earned automatic bids to the finals after winning their respective heats.
On the men's side, junior Isa Phillips moved on to second-day action in the 400-meter hurdles. The Kingston, Jamaica, native crossed the finish line in 50.61 seconds to come out on top with the fastest time of the day.
In addition, half-miler Meisue Francis turned in an exceptional effort in advancing to the finals. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native clocked a personal-best 2:06.69 in winning her heat. The time, which bettered her previous PR by nearly one full second, was also the second fastest on the day.
Also notching a PR was sophomore Deonna Lawrence in the 400 meters. The four-time All-American broke the tape in a meet-best 52.26 seconds, a time that ranks as the 10th fastest time in Lady Tiger history.
In addition, junior Cynetheia Rooks matched her PR in the open quarter, posting a time of 53.05 to advance to the final.
"I honestly can't think of anyone that didn't advance that should of," said Shaver. "But today is just one day, tomorrow we have to line up and do it again."
Action from Tennessee's Tom Black Track and the Mideast Regional wraps up tomorrow evening. Competition will get underway at 10 a.m. with the field events. Running events will follow at 3 p.m.