Botched handoff sinks Lady Tigers

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jun 13, 2009

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—The LSU Lady Tigers went into the third day of the NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday night looking for their 13th national title in the 4 x 100-meter relay.

But No. 13 proved to be unlucky.

The Lady Tigers, who produced the second-fastest time in the nation at 43.20 seconds in the semifinals on Wednesday night, were expected to give top-ranked Texas A&M a strong run for their money.

But the duel never materialized when LSU botched the first handoff between leadoff runner Monique Cabral and Samantha Henry and did not finish the race. Henry, who usually runs the third leg, was moved to the second spot because Cassandra Tate was sidelined with an injury.

To add insult to injury, Texas A&M went on to win the race in 42.36 seconds. That time shattered the 20-year-old NCAA meet and collegiate records of 42.50 seconds that was set by LSU’s team of Tananjalyn Stanley, Dawn Sowell, Cinnamon Sheffield and Esther Jones in Provo, Utah.

Rain delay

NCAA officials were barely a half-hour into the third day of the meet Friday morning when a wave of severe thunderstorms blew, forcing a suspension of the competition with the women’s hammer just under way.

Torrential rain and dangerous lightning strikes shut things down for more than three hours and pushed back the day’s entire schedule in the field. Also, the track events were moved back just more than an hour to a 7:10 p.m. start.

Louisiana connection

There was just one athlete from a state school other than LSU in action Friday night, but Northwestern State’s Cody Fillinich had to wait a little longer to compete in the javelin.

The rain and lightning delay forced the javelin final to be pushed back to 9:45 p.m. Fillinich made the final when he placed 11th in the qualifying on Wednesday night. Also throwing in the final was Georgia’s Chris Hill, a Sulphur native, who was second in qualifying.

Late Thursday night, Southeastern’s Cory Roberts completed the two-day, 10-event decathlon in 19th place with 7,255 points.

Double-dipping