Tag: LSU track and field

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The LSU women’s track and field team closed out their final day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Saturday at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Live Results | Results (PDF)

Over the two days of competition for the women, the team solidified 11 spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin. Tigers with multiple entries (including relays) for the championships are Alia Armstrong (2), Favour Ofili (2), Brianna Lyston (2), Michaela Rose (2), and Morgan Smalls (2).

Starting the day off for LSU was Smalls clearing a height of 1.77 meters (5’ 9.75”) in high jump. Heading into the NCAA Championships, she holds a season and personal-best height of 1.86 meters (6’ 1.25”) in high jump. The Morrisville, N.C., native also punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships in long jump on Wednesday.

The 4×100 team punched their ticket to Austin with a heat-winning time of 43.54 seconds. The team consists of an all-star cast that includes Armstrong, Ofili, Lyston, and Thelma Davies.

Armstrong led the way for the Tigers in the 100-meter hurdles as usual. The New Orleans native ran the fastest-legal time of the day with 12.59 seconds (+2.0 m/s) in the second heat. This was Alia’s second ticket punched on Saturday after producing a heat win in the 4×100 to start the afternoon. In heat one, Leah Phillips was also able to qualify with 12.86 seconds (+4.4 m/s).

Two Tigers punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships in the women’s 800 meter. Rose led the East with the only sub-2:03 in the 2:02.01, winning her heat by over two seconds. In heat two, Cindy Bourdier qualified for her first NCAA Championship with a time of 2:04.70, good enough for second in the heat.

Shani’a Bellamy punched her ticket to Austin in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.48 in the second heat. This will be Bellamy’s second trip to the NCAA Championships, punching her first ticket last year before transferring to LSU.

LSU was able to get two more sprinters to the national stage, after Ofili and Lyston were both able to punch their second ticket of the day in the 200 meter. Ofili was able to auto-qualify after taking third in heat one with a time of 22.77 seconds (+2.1 m/s). Lyston was right behind her in fourth with 22.92 seconds (+2.1 m/s), which qualified her by time in the 12^th and final spot of the East.

To close out the night for LSU, the women’s 4×400-meter relay team consisting of Ella Onojuvwevwo, Rose, Garriel White, and Hannah Douglas won the third heat with a time of 3:31.51. The time shaved .23 seconds off of their season best from the SEC Championships two weeks ago.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The LSU men’s track and field team closed out their final day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Friday at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Live Results | Results (PDF)

Over the two days of competition for the men, the team solidified 13 spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin. Tigers with multiple entries (including relays) for the championships are Brandon Hicklin (3), Dorian Camel (3), Da’Marcus Fleming (2), Godson Oghenebrume (2), and Sean Burrell (2).

Starting the day off for LSU was Claudio Romero hitting a distance of 60.01 meters (196′ 10″) on his first discus throw of the afternoon. Romero entered his first season with LSU as the reigning national champion in discus, is will now be on the way to his third outdoor NCAA Championship in-a-row. This season he has reached a mark of 61.30 meters (201’ 1”) twice and is still looking to reach his PR of 67.02 meters (219’ 10”) that he reached at last year’s Penn Relays.

The LSU men’s 4×100-meter relay took first in the third and final heat with a time of 39.09 to auto-qualify for the NCAA Championships. The squad of Hicklin, Fleming, Camel, and Oghenebrume currently hold the collegiate record of 37.90 from the SEC Championships two weeks ago, and will look to rewrite that record in Austin.

The men’s 100 meter saw a lot of wind and a lot of speed for the Tigers. Fleming led the way with the fastest time of the day coming in at 9.85 seconds (+5.5 m/s). His time is the fastest all-conditions time in NCAA East Prelims history. Not far behind was Oghenebrume with a time of 9.94 seconds (+2.7 m/s), a new all-conditions best. And right behind Godson was Hicklin with his first ever all-conditions sub-10 at 9.96 seconds (+4.4 m/s). LSU is the only team in the East advancing more than two runners in the 100.

An hour after the 100, Camel qualified in the men’s 200 meter. Camel clocked a time of 20.23 seconds (+5.2 m/s) to punch his second ticket of the weekend (200, 4×100).

The Squirrel World Tour continues as Burrell punched his ticket to Austin in the 400-meter hurdles. Burrell clocked a time of 50.29 seconds in the first heat to auto-qualify for the next round. The junior will be looking to claim his third NCAA title in the 400mH event after claiming the last two in 2021 and 2022.

Apalos Edwards punched his ticket in triple jump on his first leap of the night. Edwards went 15.83 meters (51’ 11.25”) to qualify for the NCAA Championships, and went 15.38 meters (50’ 5.5”) on his final jump which also would’ve qualified him. This will be his fourth NCAA Championship appearance since the 2022 indoor season.

In his first season with the Tigers, freshman Matthew Sophia was able to qualify by time in the 110-meter hurdles. His time of 13.69 seconds (+5.8 m/s) was the 10^th fastest time of the afternoon in Jacksonville.

To close out the night, the men’s 4×400-meter relay team consisting of Camel, Ashton Hicks, Shakeem McKay, and Burrell were able to get the big Q. The team clocked a time of 3:06.23 to take second in their heat and fourth overall in the East.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The LSU women’s track and field team closed out their first day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Thursday. The Tigers had one student-athlete punch their ticket to Austin, while 12 new spots have been reserved in the NCAA East quarterfinals for LSU.

Live Results | Results (PDF)

Morgan Smalls was the lone Tiger competing for a spot in the NCAA Championships on Thursday.  She reached a distance of 6.27 meters (20′ 7″) on her third and final attempt of the night to take 7th in the NCAA East Prelims, punching her ticket for Austin. Smalls will compete again in the high jump on Saturday, looking to go two-for-two this weekend.

Three Tigers qualified for the 100-meter hurdle quarterfinals, tied for the most among schools advancing from the first round. Alia Armstrong led the way cruising to first in her heat with a time of 12.62 (+2.7 m/s). In heat four, Shani’a Bellamy qualified for her third-place finish with a time of 12.98 (+1.9 m/s), while Leah Phillips qualified by time with 13.07 (+1.9 m/s). The women’s 100mH quarterfinals are set to start at 5:15 p.m. CT on Saturday.

The second event of the day for the Tigers was the women’s 1500 meter, which saw Lorena Rangel-Batres advance to her first ever NCAA East quarterfinals. Rangel-Batres clocked a time of 4:22.22 in heat four, giving her a fourth-place finish and the much sought-after Q.

It has been an exciting season to watch senior Thelma Davies go to work in the sprints. The Tiger auto-qualified for the 100-meter quarterfinals after clocking a heat-winning time of 11.21 seconds (+2.1 m/s). Davies also qualified for the 200-meter quarterfinals later in the night, coming in at 22.99 seconds (+3.2 m/s) in the fifth heat. Also qualifying alongside Davies for the 200m quarterfinals was Favour Ofili and Brianna Lyston with times of 22.69 (+3.7 m/s) and 22.75 (+3.2 m/s) respectively.

Additional Women’s Quarterfinal Qualifiers

Michaela Rose – 800m

Cindy Bourdier – 800m

Shani’a Bellamy – 400mH

Garriel White – 400mH

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field team closed out the SEC Outdoor Championship on Saturday at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. The Tigers finished with five running titles, including sweeping both 4×100 relays.

Live Results | Results (PDF) | Team Standings

After three days of action in Baton Rouge, the LSU men finished as runners-up with 89 total points. The men’s team was led by the senior Dorian Camel and sophomore Godson Oghenebrume who both tallied 12.5 points on Saturday. The women finished in seventh with a total of 53 points, being led by Alia Armstrong who tallied 20 points.

The highlight of the weekend was the LSU men’s 4×100-meter relay team consisting of Brandon Hicklin, Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming, and Oghenebrume defending their home track with a new collegiate record. The team clocked the second ever sub-38 second relay in collegiate history with a time of 37.90 seconds. Their time ranks second in the world behind Canada athletics’ team, whom they’ve beaten twice this season already in head-to-head races. The collegiate record shaved .34 seconds off of the previous LSU record that was set in 1998, and is the third top-10 time in LSU history produced by the squad.

“This is what we work for,” said Fleming. “All year we just been getting the stick around the track and getting faster and faster every week, so it feels good to have that number (37.90) up there right now. Brandon always catches the guy in front of him, Dorian just get the stick and open it up, I put at least two more meters ahead, and Godson closes it and brings it home.”

Just minutes later after the men got their win, the women’s team consisting of Armstrong, Favour Ofili, Brianna Lyston, and Thelma Davies completed the 4×100 sweep. The race was extremely close but a great anchor by Davies helped the Tigers clock a time of 42.92 seconds. The time ranks fourth in the nation, in-which is their third meet passing the baton together this season.

A day after running the fastest all-conditions 100-meter hurdle time in collegiate history of 12.31 seconds, Armstrong followed it up with an outstanding time of 12.40. Her time gives her the LSU record, improving on Tonea Marshall’s 12.44 which was set in 2021. Heading into the weekend, Alia’s previous legal PR came in at a time of 12.55, which ranked second in LSU history. Her time of 12.40 ranks third in NCAA history, is an SEC meet record, and also the new Bernie Moore Track Stadium record.

“My main goal is that I knew there were two very-talented ladies (Masai Russel and Ackera Nugent) next to me, so I just knew not to count anyone out, remain humble, and just do the best I could,” said Armstrong. “The World Championships kind of prepared me for this moment in particular… so I know how to stay composed and to keep my calm when there’s someone next to me, because I’m in my own lane… they don’t control me.”

As many expected, Michaela Rose won the 800-meter title on Saturday in what was a very competitive field. Not only did Rose make a time of 1:59.73 look incredibly easy, she won the race by over four seconds. Her time broke the oldest SEC-running record of 2:01.00 set by Tiffany McWilliams of Texas A&M in 2004 when Rose was less than a year old. Rose’s time ranks eighth in NCAA performance list history and is the new Bernie Moore record. She still holds the nation-leading time of 1:59.08, and is still in pursuit of beating the only time ahead of her in the collegiate record book: 1:57.73.

“I wanted to get out more aggressive, but coach (Houston Franks) wanted told me to go for a different gameplan just to secure the win,” said Rose. “The plan was to be in front of everybody the whole time. I just came here to win, but beating the meet record is a blessing and I thank God for it.”

Oghenebrume earned his second SEC title of the day with a win in the 100-meter final. The Ughelli, Nigeria, native clocked a legal personal-best time of 10.04 seconds. Although he holds a slightly-wind aided time of 9.97 seconds that ranks him third in the nation, many overlooked him heading into the race. His new PR of 10.04 puts him at fourth on the all-time LSU performance list, jumping ahead of Terrance Laird, Fleming, Xavier Carter, and Camel.

“I just executed, doing what my coach asked me to do, and staid patient and just enjoy the race,” said Oghenebrume. “I fixed my start from yesterday. My coach (Dennis Shaver) told me to stay patient and I did that, and it just got better.”

LSU’s best miler in school history, Lorena Rangel-Batres, took silver with a time of 4:17.91 in the 1500 meter on Saturday also to score eight points for LSU.

Up next, the Tigers who are qualified and declared will travel to the University of North Florida for the NCAA East Regional, held May 24-27 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Final Men’s Team Scores

1. #1 Arkansas – 149
2. #6 LSU – 89
3. #5 Tennessee – 87
4. #16 Georgia – 75
5. Texas A&M – 73
6. #3 Florida – 70
t7. Ole Miss – 58
t7. #4 Alabama – 58
9. #24 Auburn – 41
10. Kentucky – 35
11. Mississippi State – 34
12. South Carolina – 32
13. Missouri – 18

Final Women’s Team Scores

1. #3 Arkansas – 134
2. #2 Florida – 112
3. #7 Texas A&M – 86
4. #10 Ole Miss – 73.5
5. #20 Tennessee – 67
6. #8 Georgia – 57
7. #6 LSU – 53
t8. #18 Alabama – 50
t8. #9 Kentucky – 50
10. Missouri – 45
11. Vanderbilt – 39
12. Auburn – 25
13. South Carolina – 19
14. Mississippi State – 8.5

Additional Point Scorers

Dorian Camel – 3^rd place (6 points) – 100 Meter
Claudio Romero – 4^th place (5 points) – Discus Throw
Sean Burrell – 4^th place (5 points) – 400-Meter Hurdles
Davis Bove – 5^th place (4 points) – 1500 Meter
Men’s 4×400 – 5^th place (4 points)
Matthew Sophia – 5^th place (4 points) – 110-Meter Hurdles
Apalos Edwards – 5^th place (4 points) Triple Jump
Favour Ofili – 5^th place (4 points) – 100 Meter
Alex Selles – 5^th place (4 points) – 800 Meter
Beau Domingue – 6^th place (3 points) – Pole Vault
Da’Marcus Fleming – 6^th place (3 points) – 100 Meter
Dorian Camel – 6^th place (3 points) – 200 Meter
Favour Ofili – 6^th place (3 points) – 200 Meter
Women’s 4×400 – 7^th place (2 points)
Shani’a Bellamy – 8^th place (1 point) – 400-Meter Hurdles
Da’Marcus Fleming – 8^th place (1 point) – 200 Meter
Jaden James – 8^th place (1 point) – Discus Throw

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field team closed out day one of the SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium. The Tigers had three total scorers and qualified eight athletes for their respective-event finals later this weekend.

Live Results | Results (PDF) | Team Standings

Day one saw two men (Tzuriel Pedigo and Jackson Rimes) score a total of 10 points for their side, and Gwyneth Hughes score a point for the women’s side. The men sit in seventh currently early on, while the women sit in ninth. The men have 35 more scoring chances this weekend and the women have 29 more chances.

Point Scorers

Tzuriel Pedigo was the first Tiger to score points in this year’s outdoor conference championships. Pedigo tallied eight points after taking silver in the javelin throw. He landed a season-best throw of 78.34 meters (257’ 0”), which would rank sixth in the nation heading into the weekend. Freshman Jackson Rimes took seventh overall in his first SEC Championship competition with a throw of 64.79 meters (212’ 6”), scoring two points for LSU.

On the women’s side to close out day one of the meet, Gwyneth Hughes recorded a time of 35:59.43 in her first career 10,000-meter race. Her time ranks fifth in LSU history and earned her an eighth-place finish. Her finish scored one point for the women’s side.

Finals’ Qualifiers

To no one’s surprise, Michaela Rose auto-qualified for the 800-meter final after coasting to a first-place finish in the preliminaries. She was the lone runner to go sub-2:04 in the prelims with a time of 2:03.33. Just outside the bubble was Cindy Bourdier with a time of 2:06.38 in 11^th place.

In her first 200 meter of the season, Favour Ofili took first from lane nine of the final heat. She recorded a time of 22.58 seconds, which ranks eight in the nation. Also qualifying along side her in the 200 was Thelma Davies who recorded a time of 23.14 seconds. In her first collegiate 200, freshman Brianna Lyston recorded the ninth fastest time of the afternoon with 23.05, just missing out on making the final later this weekend.

Additional Qualifiers

Alex Selles – 800 meter – 1:48.69
Dorian Camel – 200 meter – 20.41
Da’Marcus Fleming – 200 meter – 20.38
Sean Burrell – 400-meter hurdles – 50.32
Shani’a Bellamy – 400-meter hurdles – 56.69

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field program begins its 2023 outdoor postseason action this weekend as they host the SEC Championships May 11-13 at the Bernie Moore Track & Field Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Live Results | Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets

LSU has 54 athletes (29 men, 25 women) entered to compete over the three days of the SEC Championships. The meet begins on Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT and concludes on Saturday at around 7:50 p.m. All three days of the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+ (links directly below), while Saturday night’s stream at 5:00 p.m. will be airing on the SEC Network. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O’Brien, John Anderson, and Larra Overton.

SECN+: Thursday 12 p.m. | Thursday 5:30 p.m. | Friday 11:30 a.m. | Friday 5 p.m. | Saturday 2 p.m.

SECN: Saturday 5 p.m.

The women and men enter the SEC Outdoor Championships both ranked No. 6 in the nation in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Ratings Index. In the latest SEC ratings index, the LSU women are projected to finish sixth, while the men are slated to finish in second.

LSU’s women are projected to score 76 points this weekend based on their conference rankings heading into the championships. They enter this year’s meet with a league-leading 13 SEC women’s titles.

Leading the charge for the Lady Tigers is Michaela Rose, who is projected to score 18 points. Rose currently ranks first in the nation and the SEC in the 800 meter with a time of 1:59.08. She is the only runner in the nation to go sub-two minutes, doing so at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 13. Rose also is projected to score points in the 1500 meter and the 4×400-meter relay.

Also projected to score double-digit points are Lorena Rangel-Batres and Alia Armstrong. Rangel-Batres ranks second in the SEC for the 1500 meter with a time of 4:11.61, and also is projected to score for the Tigers in the 800. Armstrong, one of the best hurdlers in the nation, currently ranks third in the SEC with a time of 12.56. Armstrong has come back hot from a nagging injury that kept her out a majority of the indoor season, and will also look to score for LSU in the women’s 4x100xmeter relay.

A couple of names to lookout for this weekend that have been out most of the outdoor season are Favour Ofili and Brianna Lyston. Both runners will be back on the 4×100 team for the weekend and will get cracks on a couple of their first few individual-event races this season. Ofili, the 2022 outdoor SEC 100, 200, and 4×100 champion, will individually run in the 100 and 200. Lyston is expected to run in the 200 alongside Favour, which would be her first career outdoor-individual event. She currently holds a PR of 22.53 in the event from before her collegiate career started, which would rank top-10 in the nation.

LSU’s men are projected to score 79 points this weekend based on their conference rankings heading into the championships.

All eyes will be on the men’s 4×100 team that holds the nation-leading time of 38.26 seconds from the last home meet of the season. The team consisting of Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming, and Godson Oghenebrume are projected to score 10 points in the relay and 27 points in all other events combined.

Fleming is projected to lead the scoring charge for the Tigers, running in the 100 (8 points), 200 (5 points), and 4×100 (10 points). His time of 10.06 seconds from earlier this season ranks second in the SEC behind Oghenebrume. He also holds a time of 20.26 seconds to lead LSU in the 200, which ranks fourth in the SEC.

Oghenebrume is projected to score 20 points as he leads the SEC in the 100 with a time of 9.97 seconds and also anchors the nation’s-best 4×100. The Ughelli, Nigeria, native will also be expected to run in the 200, which could raise his score total throughout the weekend.

In order to score at the SEC meet, an athlete must finish in the top eight of their respective event. First Team All-Conference goes to event winners, while Second Team will go to those that finish in second or third place. Entering the weekend, LSU holds 34 spots in the SEC’s top eight rankings.

Women’s SEC Top-Eight Marks (16)

Michaela Rose – No. 1 – 800m – 1:59.08#
Lorena Rangel-Batres – No. 2 – 1500m – 4:11.61
Alia Armstrong – No. 3 – 100mH – 12.56
Michaela Rose – No. 3 – 1500m – 4:11.98
Shani’a Bellamy – No. 3 – 400mH – 55.96
Morgan Smalls – No. 3 – HJ – 1.86m (6’ 1.25”)
Lorena Rangel-Batres – No. 4 – 800m – 2:03.53
LSU A – No. 4 – 4x100mR – 43.27
Leah Phillips – No. 5 – 400mH – 56.56
Thelma Davies – No. 5 – 200m – 22.64
Morgan Smalls – No. 5 – LJ – 6.30m (20’ 8”)
Ella Chesnut – No. 6 – 3000mS – 10:34.02
Leah Phillips – No. 6 – 100mH – 12.89
Shani’a Bellamy – No. 7 – 100mH – 13.08
Cindy Bourdier – No. 7 – 800m – 2:04.01
LSU A – No. 7 – 4x400mR – 3:31.80

# represents nation-leading time

Men’s SEC Top-Eight Marks (18)

Godson Oghenebrume – No. 1 – 100m – 9.97
LSU A – No. 1 – 4x100mR – 38.26 #
John Meyer – No. 1 – SP – 20.42m (67’ 0”)
Apalos Edwards – No. 2 – TJ – 16.28m (53’ 5”)
Da’Marcus Fleming – No. 2 – 100m – 10.06
Claudio Romero – No. 3 – DT – 61.30m (201’ 1”)
Tzuriel Pedigo – No. 3 – JT – 77.61m (254’ 7”)
Da’Marcus Fleming – No. 4 – 200m – 20.22
Alex Selles – No. 5 – 800m – 1:47.68
Davis Bove – No. 5 – 1500m – 3:39.42
Jaden James – No. 6 – DT – 55.97m (183’ 7”)
Jackson Martingayle – No. 7 – 3000mS – 9:10.32
Brandon Hicklin – No. 7 – LJ – 7.95m (26’ 1”)
Brandon Hicklin – No. 8 – 100m – 10.15
Sean Burrell – No. 8 – 400mH – 50.26
Beau Domingue – No. 8 – PV – 5.15m (16’ 10.75”)
LSU A – No. 8 – 4x400mR – 3:03.69
Jackson Rimes – No. 8 – JT – 69.16m (226’ 11”)

# represents nation-leading time

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.