LSU track and field picks up two field-event wins in UF’s Tom Jones Memorial

The LSU track and field teams wrapped up the weekend with a pair of wins in meets held in Florida and California.

LSU throwers took titles in the men’s shot put and discus at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida, and the Tigers also had the top collegian finisher in another event at the Bryan Clay Invitational held in Azusa, California.

Claudio Romero won the men’s discus at the Tom Jones meet with a best of 197 feet, 1 inch. It was the second win in a row for the Virginia transfer after he claimed the title at the Texas Relays two weeks ago.

Romero’s win came after John Meyer took the shot put title Friday night with a throw of 66-6. The school record holder in the event, Meyer was making his outdoor debut after competing in the discus in two previous meets.

Of course, Michaela Rose had the top performance Friday when she posted the second-fastest 800 meters time in collegiate history in the Bryan Clay meet.

Her time of 1 minute, 59.08 seconds was good for a personal record and second place, but Rose was the first collegian across the finish line.

Rose took a sizable lead early in the race and maintained it until former Arkansas standout Nikki Hiltz slipped through on the rail in the closing strides to grab the victory with a 1:59.03.

They were the third- and fourth-fastest times run in the world so far this season.

Back in Florida, LSU’s Alia Armstrong posted the fastest time of the prelims in the 100-meter hurdles prelims at 12.90 seconds, but did not line up in the final.

LSU’s men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relay teams both finished fourth. The men came in at 38.67 seconds, just off their seasonal best of 38.53, and the women clocked a 43.72.

Also, Cade Martin finished third in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:11.06.

Late Friday, Ji’eem Bullock took second in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 25-2 and Jackson Rimes was third in the javelin with a throw of 214-0.