Lsu Women Flash To Best Relay Mark

LSU’s women speedsters put on a dazzling show in the NCAA outdoor track championships Friday night, winning the 400-meter relay in 43.10 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year.

The Tigers, favored to win a record ninth consecutive team title, showed their awesome strength, beating runner-up Tennessee by 6 meters.

Freshmen Marita Hunt and Kwajalein Butler ran the first two legs, followed by senior Zundra Feagin and junior D’Andre Hill. The handoffs on the final two legs appeared perfect. Feagin put LSU in control.

The time also broke the Tom Black Track record of 43.45 set by a national team in 1982, but was short of the collegiate record of 42.50 by LSU in the 1989 NCAA meet.

“Our best race of the year,” Butler said. “We ran for the goal and achieved it.”

After eight women’s events, UCLA led with 24 points, followed by Illinois with 20, Southern Methodist with 18 and LSU with 16.

Arkansas, favored to win its fourth consecutive men’s title, hiked its point total to 43 1/2 after 13 events as Brandon Rock won the 800 in 1:46.37.

Tennessee was second with 31 points and USC third with 26.

LSU just missed a sweep of the relays as Texas Christian edged the Tigers by .01 seconds in the men’s event. TCU’s Donovan Powell, Brashant Carter, Lloyd Edwards and Hosia Abdallah opened an early lead before LSU’s Rohsaan Griffin ran a brilliant anchor leg to just miss.

TCU’s time of 38.63 was fastest by a college team this year and second in the world, behind the 38.43 by the Santa Monica Track Club. It also was a track record, breaking the mark of 39.12 by Mississippi State in 1986.

Meanwhile, Jim Svenoy of Texas-El Paso clocked the fastest time in the U.S. this year and set a Norwegian record in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning for the second year in a row at 8:21.48.

“I wanted to break 8:30,” he said.

Tonya Williams of Illinois outdueled Lade Akinremi of Arizona State to win the women’s 400 hurdles in 55.19, a 1995 college best.

The men’s 400 hurdles final was similar to the women’s, as Ken Harnden of North Carolina overtook defending champion Octavius Terry of Georgia Tech and won in 48.72, another 1995 college best.

“In high school, I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and two doctors told me I would never run again,” said Harnden, a native of Zimbabwe. “I walked out of both their offices and told them they were wrong.”

Inez Turner of Southwest Texas also ran a 1995 college best, winning the women’s 800 for the second consecutive year at 2:00.27. Turner broke the stadium record of 2:00.39 by Joetta Clark in 1986.

Tennessee’s Lawrence Johnson won the pole vault at a 1995 collegiate best of 18 feet, 8 1/4 inches, then missed once at a meet-record 19-0 3/4, before passing twice.

Pac-10 champion Greg Johnson of UCLA won the men’s javelin with a heave of 244-3 on the final throw of the competition. At that point, Nils Fearnley of Southern Cal was leading at 238-8, also on his final attempt.

“It was wild,” Johnson said.”I have to admit I was panicking a little. He said you can do this and I didn’t hear one bit of panic in his voice and that made me feel so good, I just did the job.”

However, UCLA’s chance to win the team title suffered a major blow when Ato Boldon, the Pac-10 champion and collegiate leader in the 100, was disqualified for a false start in the semifinals. Boldon came back and won his 200 semifinal heat.

Other winners were Ndabe Mdhlongwa of Southwestern Louisiana in the men’s triple jump at 55-4 3/4, Kathy Butler of Wisconsin in the women’s 3,000 at 9:09.02, and Katie Swords of SMU in the women’s 10,000 at 34:28.46.