McGill-Toolen's junior vaulter Rhiannon Jaet bettered her meet-record setting performance by eight inches, clearing 11' 00" this year to
defend her championship for the second year in a row. Jaet now has a first-place finish for every year the LSU Classic has
contested the women's pole vault, 2001 (10'), 2002 (10' 4"), and 2003 (11'), each setting a meet record.
The difference this year, however, is that Jaet has to share the top spot with another competitor. Mountain Brook junior
Mary Kathryn Harbert was Jaet's equal on the day, also clearing 11' and with no tie-breaker on scratches.
Also representing the state well on Friday was Saint Paul's junior John Brigham, who opened his 2003 track campaign with the
first sub-9:40 3200m race of his already accomplished career. Brigham took first in the event with a time of 9:39.31. Junior
5A rival Will McGee of Scottsboro was third in 9:42.86, also a personal best.
In the girls 3200, 4A-5A cross country runner-up Jennifer Thompson of Arab took second in 11:48.71. This is the first year the
LSU meet has held races of 1600 and 3200 meters after contesting the international and collegiate standard distances of 1500 and
3000 meters.
In the 800m, Chris Patrick, a junior from Smith's Station High School, followed his win at the Early
Bird Invitational last week with a second-place performance at LSU, crossing in 1:59.93. Patrick was one of only two athletes in the field to crack
the two-minute barrier. He has accomplished the feat in both of his 800m races this season.
In the 800m on the girls' side, Mountain Brook junior standout Sarah Doss Yarbrough, last week's winner in the event,
was the state's top performer with a time of 2:23.00, good enough for third.
Central-Tuscaloosa's Brandon Hamilton, the defending 6A state champion shot putter and the winner of last week's Early Bird
meet by more than six feet, qualified third in the event at LSU with a mark of 56' 4". He will compete in the finals for the
event tomorrow.
For complete Friday results, including performances from the rest of the state, click
here.
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