LSU'S POWELL IN FIFTH IN DECATHLON AT NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After five events and one day of competition senior Darion Powell sits in fifth place in the decathlon as action from the NCAA Outdoor Championships got underway for the LSU track and field team Wednesday at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. Powell who tallied a season-best 3,894 first-day points did so behind season-bests in three of the five events. He topped all competitors in the shot put, throwing for a personal-best distance of 49-7 1/4. He added a second-place finish in the 100 meters (11.20), a fourth-place showing in the long jump (23-5 1/4) and marks of 6-0 in the high jump and 50.75 in the 400 meters to close out the day. "I was real pleased with Darions performance today," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "He was real consistent and had at least a couple of season bests. He came in and took care of business." Also competing in the decathlon was Edwin Billot. The senior stands in 20th after the first day with 3,484 points. In qualifying round action, LSU advanced both its mens and womens 4x100 meter relays into Fridays final. The Tiger foursome of Richard Thompson, Xavier Carter, Marvin Stevenson and Kelly Willie continued to impress, posting the fastest time in the NCAA this season, 38.87, to win their heat and automatically move on. The Lady Tigers also earned an automatic spot into the finals after Sherry Fletcher, Brooklynn Morris, Jessica Ohanaja and Kelly Baptiste combined to post a season-best 43.47 in winning their heat. Individually, Morris and Baptiste went on to qualify to the semifinals in the 200 meters. Baptiste advanced by virtue of winning her heat and posting the second-fastest time of the day (22.85). Morris qualified on time, finishing third in her heat with a time of 23.14. In the 400 meters, Deonna Lawrence and Cynetheia Rooks each moved on for the Lady Tigers. Lawrence finished second in her heat to earn the automatic bid (52.58), while Rooks advanced on time (53.22). The Tigers also got two athletes, in sophomores Xavier Carter and Reggie Dardar, into the semifinals in the 400 meters. Carter turned in the second fastest time of the day (45.51) in easily winning his heat, while Dardar advanced on time clocking 46.41. "Overall, I thought that everyone we thought had the possibility to advance is getting a chance to run again. That means we arent beating ourselves," said Shaver. "Tomorrow is new day and another track meet." Action from the NCAA Outdoor Championships continues tomorrow afternoon. Competition will begin at noon (CT) with the conclusion of the decathlon. Field events start at 1 p.m. and running events will follow at 5:30 p.m.