The NCAA News - News and Features

June 16, 1997

LSU tops again in I women's track

Tigers prove doubters wrong, win 11th straight crown

BY STEPHEN R. HAGWELL
STAFF WRITER

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA -- Mission impossible. That's the phrase many observers used to assess LSU's chances to win an 11th consecutive Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships title.

They were wrong -- again.

LSU accomplished the impossible, amassing 43 points on the final day of competition to edge favorites Texas and UCLA and win the team championship June 4-7 at Indiana.

LSU is the only Division I women's program in any sport to win 11 consecutive titles and only the second Division I program to accomplish the feat. Arkansas' men's indoor track team won 12 consecutive titles from 1984 through 1995.

The Tigers, who trailed UCLA by 26 points with nine events remaining, finished with 63 points -- one more than runner-up Texas.

UCLA placed third with 56 points.

Southern Methodist placed fourth with 34 points, followed by South Carolina (30 points), which earned its highest finish ever.

"We knew that we had to absolutely be the best we could be today," said LSU coach Pat Henry following the last day of competition. "We couldn't afford one mistake, and we didn't make any. This is probably the best day we've ever had like that."

LSU's come-from-behind victory was bolstered by its sprints squad, which accounted for all 43 points on the final day, and 53 of 63 overall.

Astia Walker and LaTarsha Stroman led the way, claiming the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash titles, respectively. Walker also earned a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash.

"The mission was to win, and this shows that if you have leadership, confidence and faith, you can accomplish anything," said Walker, who contributed 18 individual and 10 relay points to the Tigers' cause.

Suzette Lee, Peta-Gaye Dowdie and Butler also were instrumental in guiding the Tigers to victory.

Lee registered 10 points by claiming her second consecutive triple-jump title, while Dowdie and Butler combined
for 15 points. Dowdie finished third in the 100-meter dash
and fifth in the 200-meter dash; Butler placed fourth in the 100.

Walker, Butler, Sadonna Thornton and Dowdie combined to win the 400-meter relay title, the Tigers' sixth consecutive win in that event and eighth in the last nine years.

"Our athletes know that points don't matter until the last relays," Henry said. "Emotionally, you have to keep them in the contest because the points aren't that important until it gets right down to the end.

"This was an outstanding year for us. We knew we had the character...to come back and win this year."

Texas finished second for the second consecutive year and fourth time overall.

Dana Riley highlighted the Longhorns' effort, winning the 800-meter run and combining with Donna Howard, Toya Brown and Suziann Reid to secure the squad's second consecutive 1,600-meter relay crown.

Sabrina Kelly (100-meter dash), Reid (400-meter dash) and Anjanette Kirkland (100-meter hurdles) each earned runner-up finishes in their respective events. Texas also placed second in the 400-meter relay.

"LSU just had a better day than we did," said Texas coach Bev Kearney. "We knew it was going to be a tossup, and you had three teams that could have won. LSU doesn't do anything magical, they just get out and compete better."

Individually, several athletes enjoyed outstanding championships.

Sevatheda Fynes of Michigan State and Arizona's Amy Skieresz each claimed two individual titles. Fynes won the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while Skieresz became the third athlete to win the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs in the same year.

Nebraska's Tressa Thompson and Ryan Tolbert of Vanderbilt smashed championships records in claiming the shot-put and 400-meter hurdles titles, respectively. Thompson became the first shot-put competitor to eclipse the 60-foot barrier in the championships, while Tolbert gave Vanderbilt its first individual title in any sport, smashing the meet record set by Tonya Williams of Illinois in 1996.

Wisconsin's Kathy Butler won her third straight 3,000-meter run crown to join Vicki Huber of Villanova (1987 through 1989) as the only athletes to win three consecutive titles.

Windy Dean of Southern Methodist (javelin throw) and Dawn Ellerbe of South Carolina (hammer throw) also successfully defended their championships.

Trecia Smith of Pittsburgh won the long-jump crown, the school's first individual title.

Division I women's outdoor track and field

TEAM RESULTS

1. LSU, 63; 2. Texas, 62; 3. UCLA, 56; 4. Southern Methodist, 34; 5. South Caro., 30; 6. Florida, 29; 7. Arizona, 26; 8. Brigham Young, 25; 9. Michigan St., 24; 10. Wisconsin, 22.

11. Villanova, 19; 12. (tie) George Mason and Stanford, 18; 14. (tie) Colorado, Southern Cal and Vanderbilt, 17; 17. Florida Int'l, 16; 18. (tie) Pittsburgh and Tennessee, 14; 20. (tie) Kansas St. and Northern Ariz., 13.

22. (tie) Texas A&M and UTEP, 12; 24. North Caro., 11; 25. (tie) Florida St., Kent, Nebraska, Rice and West Va., 10; 30. (tie) Ark.-Little Rock, Auburn, Baylor, California and Cal St. Sacramento, 8.

35. Georgetown, 7; 36. (tie) Michigan and UNLV, 6; 38. (tie) Arkansas, Clemson, Iowa, Ohio St., Oklahoma St., Utah St. and Washington St., 5.

45. (tie) Boise St., Boston College, Illinois, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Oregon and Penn St., 4; 52. (tie) Connecticut, Illinois St., Providence and Virginia, 3.

56. (tie) Bowling Green, Cal St. Northridge, Georgia, Indiana and Seton Hall, 2; 61. (tie) Notre Dame, Ohio and Oklahoma, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

100-meter dash: 1. Sevatheda Fynes, Michigan St., 11.04; 2. Sabrina Kelly, Texas, 11.26; 3. Peta-Gaye Dowdie, LSU, 11.43; 4. Kwajalein Butler, LSU, 11.45; 5. Kelli White, Tennessee, 11.46; 6. LaKisha Jett, Florida, 11.47; 7. Benita Kelley, Illinois, 11.54; 8. LaKeisha Backus, Texas, 11.60.

200-meter dash: 1. Sevatheda Fynes, Michigan St., 22.61; 2. Astia Walker, LSU, 22.87; 3. Nanceen Perry, Texas, 23.32; 4. Angie Vaughn, Texas, 23.34; 5. Peta-Gaye Dowdie, LSU, 23.43; 6. Tracyan Baker, Oklahoma St., 23.48; 7. Hydiane Harper, UNLV, 23.54; 8. LaKisha Jett, Florida, 23.57.

400-meter dash: 1. LaTarsha Stroman, LSU, 50.60; 2. Suziann Reid, Texas, 50.95; 3. Ryan Tolbert, Vanderbilt, 51.14; 4. LaDonna Antoine, Utah St., 51.91; 5. Monique Hennagan, North Caro., 52.04; 6. Nadia Graham, Florida, 52.12; 7. Beverly Pierre, Seton Hall, 52.20; 8. Toya Brown, Texas, 52.44.

800-meter run: 1. Dana Riley, Texas, 2:02.89; 2. Dawn Williams-Sewer, Ark.-Little Rock, 2:03.51; 3. Jeanette Castro, UTEP, 2:04.64; 4. Michelle Ballentine, George Mason, 2:04.94; 5. Jurga Marcinkeviciute, Villanova, 2:05.68; 6. Kaarin Knudson, Oregon, 2:06.93; 7. Charmaine Howell, South Caro., 2:09.45; 8. Miesha Marzell, Georgetown, 2:11.55.

1,500-meter run: 1. Becki Wells, Florida, 4:12.84; 2. Kelly Smith, Colorado, 4:13.88; 3. Kathy Butler, Wisconsin, 4:15.33; 4. Grazyna Penc, Southern Cal, 4:17.51; 5. Krestena Sullivan, Villanova, 4:17.71; 6. Carrie Tollefson, Villanova, 4:18.02; 7. Kim McGreevy, Penn St., 4:18.12; 8. Miesha Marzell, Georgetown, 4:18.48.

3,000-meter run: 1. Kathy Butler, Wisconsin, 9:01.23; 2. Kristine Jost, Villanova, 9:05.04; 3. Shayne Wille, Colorado, 9:06.86; 4. Emabet Shiferaw, Southern Cal, 9:11.78; 5. Angela Graham, Boston College, 9:14.39; 6. Maggie Chan, Brigham Young, 9:14.94; 7. Jenny Framme, Oklahoma St., 9:16.80; 8. Marie Davis, Oregon, 9:18.98.

5,000-meter run: 1. Amy Skieresz, Arizona, 15:46.76; 2. Mary Cobb, Stanford, 16:04.53; 3. Magdalena Lewy, California, 16:04.86; 4. Amy Yoder, Arkansas, 16:08.08; 5. Sarna Renfro, Stanford, 16:09.13; 6. Marie McMahon, Providence, 16:12.54; 7. Erin Jones, Georgia, 16:13.96; 8. Katie McGregor, Michigan, 16:16.05.

10,000-meter run: 1. Amy Skieresz, Arizona, 33:14.22; 2. Marisa Avendano, Cal St. Sacramento, 34:17.61; 3. Angie Kujak, Wisconsin, 34:21.53; 4. Regina Gonzales, Georgetown, 34:22.38; 5. Stephanie Dueringer, Michigan St., 34:31.71; 6. Sue Daggett, Illinois St., 34:32.92; 7. Donna Fidler, Penn St., 34:41.18; 8. Jackie Conrad, Ohio, 34:41.95.

100-meter hurdles: 1. Astia Walker, LSU, 12.85; 2. Anjanette Kirkland, Texas A&M, 12.92; 3. Tiffany Lott, Brigham Young, 12.97; 4. Shandi Boyd-Pleasant, Ohio St., 13.03; 5. Yolanda McCray, Miami (Fla.), 13.08; 6. Lacena Golding, Auburn, 13.25; 7. Angie Vaughn, Texas, 13.26; 8. Dominque Calloway, Notre Dame, 13.28.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Ryan Tolbert, Vanderbilt, 54.54 (meet record; old record, 54.56, Tonya Williams, Illinois, 1996); 2. Andrea Blackett, Rice, 54.78; 3. Saidat Onanuga, UTEP, 56.10; 4. Wynsome Cole, Iowa, 57.24; 5. Rebecca Williams, Miami (Ohio), 57.25; 6. Angela Lee, Virginia, 57.80; 7. Joanna Hayes, UCLA, 57.92; 8. Amanda Helberg, Vanderbilt, 57.99.

400-meter relay: 1. LSU (Astia Walker, Kwajalein Butler, Sadonna Thornton, Peta-Gaye Dowdie), 43.17; 2. Texas, 43.42; 3. Tennessee, 44.07; 4. Florida, 44.55; 5. UNLV, 44.70; 6. UCLA, 44.76; 7. Florida St., 44.89; Texas Christian and Baylor, did not finish.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Texas (Dana Riley, Donna Howard, Toya Brown, Suziann Reid), 3:28.43; 2. Florida St., 3:30.17; 3. Florida, 3:30.53; 4. Clemson, 3:32.18; 5. Tennessee, 3:32.42; 6. Baylor, 3:32.64; 7. Rice, 3:32.68; 8. Oklahoma, 3:33.46.

High jump: 1. Kajsa Bergqvist, Southern Methodist, 1.93 (6-4); 2. Amy Acuff, UCLA, 1.90 (6-23/4); 3. Erin Aldrich, Arizona, 1.87 (6-11/2); 4. Nicole Forrester, Michigan, 1.84 (6-01/2); 5. Emelie Fardiah, Southern Cal, 1.84 (6-01/2); 6. Wanita Dykstra, Kansas St., 1.84 (6-01/2); 7. Stacy Grant, Illinois, 1.81 (5-111/4); 8. Nathalie Belfort, Indiana, 1.81 (5-111/4).

Long jump: 1. Trecia Smith, Pittsburgh, 6.65 (21-10); 2. Shonda Swift, Florida Int'l, 6.47 (21-23/4); 3. Pat Itanyi, West Va., 6.41 (21-01/2); 4. Lacena Golding, Auburn, 6.38 (20-111/4); 5. Adrian Sawyer, Texas A&M, 6.33 (20-91/4); 6. Pam Simpson, Southern Cal, 6.23 (20-51/4); 7. Nicole Devonish, Texas, 6.22 (20-5); 8. Kim McGruder, Texas, 6.17 (20-3).

Triple jump (w indicates wind-aided): 1. Suzette Lee, LSU, 13.92 (45-8); 2. Shonda Swift, Florida Int'l, 13.82 (45-41/4); 3. Vanitta Kinard, Kansas St., 13.76 (45-13/4); 4. Stacey Bowers, Baylor, 13.66w (44-93/4); 5. Trecia Smith, Pittsburgh, 13.65 (44-91/2); 6. Nicole Gamble, North Caro., 13.47 (44-21/2); 7. Amy Littlepage, California, 13.42 (44-01/2); 8. Abigail Ferguson, Boise St., 13.23 (43-5).

Shot put: 1. Tressa Thompson, Nebraska, 18.50 (60-81/2) [meet record; old record, 18.28 (59-113/4), Valeyta Althouse, UCLA, 1995]; 2. Marika Tuliniemi, Southern Methodist, 17.85 (58-63/4); 3. Seilala Sua, UCLA, 16.97 (55-81/4); 4. Nada Kawar, UCLA, 16.87 (55-41/4); 5. Dawn Ellerbe, South Caro., 16.70 (54-91/2); 6. Crystal Brownlee, South Caro., 16.61 (54-6); 7. Anna Soderberg, Northern Ariz., 16.04 (52-71/2); 8. Lisa Misipeka, South Caro., 16.02 (52-63/4).

Discus throw: 1. Seilala Sua, UCLA, 61.12 (200-6); 2. Suzy Powell, UCLA, 60.54 (198-7); 3. Anna Soderberg, Northern Ariz., 59.70 (195-10); 4. Aretha Hill, Washington, 58.10 (190-7); 5. Roberta Collins, Kent, 54.14 (177-7); 6. Nada Kawar, UCLA, 54.04 (177-3); 7. Cheree Hicks, Cal St. Northridge, 53.44 (175-4); 8. Rachelle Noble, UCLA, 52.42 (172-0).

Hammer throw: 1. Dawn Ellerbe, South Caro., 63.20 (207-4); 2. Lisa Misipeka, South Caro., 61.62 (202-2); 3. Windy Dean, Southern Methodist, 61.20 (200-9); 4. Tamika Powell, George Mason, 59.84 (196-4); 5. Renetta Seiler, Kansas St., 59.72 (195-11); 6. Wendy Berutto, Connecticut, 57.40 (188-4); 7. Rachelle Noble, UCLA, 57.40 (188-4); 8. Joyce Owes, Florida, 55.20 (181-1).

Javelin throw: 1. Windy Dean, Southern Methodist, 58.28 (191-2); 2. Suzy Powell, UCLA, 54.62 (179-2); 3. Kim Kreiner, Kent, 54.08 (177-5); 4. Tiffany Lott, Brigham Young, 53.44 (175-4); 5. Emily Carlsten, North Caro., 53.40 (175-2); 6. Casey Fischer, Boise St., 50.46 (165-7); 7. Emily Cokinos, Bowling Green, 49.74 (163-2); 8. Mateja Bezjak, Indiana, 49.22 (161-6).

Heptathlon: 1. Tiffany Lott, Brigham Young, 6,211; 2. Lisa Wright, George Mason, 5,869; 3. Tracye Lawyer, Stanford, 5,680; 4. Sabine Krieger, Northern Ariz., 5,670; 5. Pat Itanyi, West Va., 5,647; 6. Heather Sterlin, Colorado, 5,445; 7. Erin Narzinski, South Caro., 5,442; 8. Shauna Rohbock, Brigham Young, 5,404.