LSU women’s 4×100 relay team, Alia Armstrong easily advance to NCAA finals

The LSU women’s track and field team set the table well in the NCAA championships Thursday night with the sprint relay team leading the way through the semifinals.

While LSU continued to add qualifiers late into the night at Michael A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, the Tigers did what they had to do early on.

The 4×100-meter relay team of Alia Armstrong, Favour Ofili, Brianna Lyston and Thelma Davies started it all by taking second in its semifinals heat with a time of 42.84 seconds.

That turned out to be the fourth-fastest time of the day.

Less than an hour later, Armstrong coasted to a win in her heat of the 100-meter hurdles.

Armstrong’s time of 12.54 seconds in the third and last semifinal was the fastest of the evening as she just edged Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, who claimed the first heat in 12.55 seconds.

Armstrong is the defending champion in the event, having won last June with a time of 12.57 seconds. She’ll get the chance to make it two in a row Saturday night.

Among the LSU athletes still competing Thursday night were Michaela Rose and Cindy Bourdier in the 800 meters. Rose has posted the fastest time in the nation this season at 1 minute, 59.08 seconds.

Also, Shani’a Bellamy was in the 400-meter hurdles, Ofili and Lyston were in the open 100, Morgan Smalls lined up in the long jump, and the 4×400-meter relay team closed out the evening.

The LSU men will return to the track Friday night for their finals with live coverage beginning at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

LSU, which scored 15 points Wednesday to sit in fourth place in the team standings, will have a 4×100-meter relay team and four individuals vying for national honors.

The relay team of Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming and Godson Oghenebrume, which set the collegiate record of 37.90 seconds last month, will try to take the national title.

Fleming and Oghenebrume are also looking for high national honors in the open 100 meters, while Claudio Romero competes in the discus and Apalos Edwards goes in the triple jump.