ssand
03-14-2004, 12:34 AM
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- LSU's track and field program added another brilliant chapter to its already storied history Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Championships, becoming the first school in NCAA history to ever sweep both the men's and women's national titles at the indoor meet.
LSU has swept team gold twice before, doing so in both 1989 and 1990 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Lady Tigers won their third straight indoor crown, and their 11th overall, sliding past runner-up Florida in the final event of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay. LSU entered the race three points behind the Gators and need a strong showing in the final event to take the lead.
The determined foursome of Hazelann Regis, Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Monique Hall and Nadia Davy clocked a school record 3:30.14 to finish second while Florida followed in fifth as the Lady Tigers squeaked out the, 52-51, victory.
The Tigers would also use the 4x400 to clinch its second indoor national title. Entering the final event with a seven and a half point lead over Florida, the Tigers needed to simply finish the race and have the Gators place second or lower.
The quarter of Robert Parham, Pete Coley, Bennie Brazell and Kelly Willie clocked a solid 3:04.69 to finish in fifth, while Florida placed fourth (3:04.49), securing the national title for the Tigers.
The two NCAA crowns brings LSU's national championship count to 30, including an astounding 27 titles under the direction of head coach Pat Henry.
"This was pretty amazing," said Henry. "We came in here with an experienced group of athletes. They know who to win and they came here to win a track meet.
"This is a good group of kids that really pulls for each other. This week you could see them looking into each others eyes with the trust and understanding that if everyone performed to the best of their ability they could come out on top."
LSU has swept team gold twice before, doing so in both 1989 and 1990 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The Lady Tigers won their third straight indoor crown, and their 11th overall, sliding past runner-up Florida in the final event of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay. LSU entered the race three points behind the Gators and need a strong showing in the final event to take the lead.
The determined foursome of Hazelann Regis, Neisha Bernard-Thomas, Monique Hall and Nadia Davy clocked a school record 3:30.14 to finish second while Florida followed in fifth as the Lady Tigers squeaked out the, 52-51, victory.
The Tigers would also use the 4x400 to clinch its second indoor national title. Entering the final event with a seven and a half point lead over Florida, the Tigers needed to simply finish the race and have the Gators place second or lower.
The quarter of Robert Parham, Pete Coley, Bennie Brazell and Kelly Willie clocked a solid 3:04.69 to finish in fifth, while Florida placed fourth (3:04.49), securing the national title for the Tigers.
The two NCAA crowns brings LSU's national championship count to 30, including an astounding 27 titles under the direction of head coach Pat Henry.
"This was pretty amazing," said Henry. "We came in here with an experienced group of athletes. They know who to win and they came here to win a track meet.
"This is a good group of kids that really pulls for each other. This week you could see them looking into each others eyes with the trust and understanding that if everyone performed to the best of their ability they could come out on top."