April 28, 2011

Complete Release in PDF Format

RUSTON, La. -

Louisiana Tech enters its final meet of the regular season with the prestigious Drake Relays rounding out the 2011 regular season schedule. Tech will face off against some of the nation's and world's best competition in Des Moines, Iowa.

Last Time Out

New Orleans native Chelsea Hayes recorded the second-fastest time in the 100m dash and recorded the second-best long jump in school history as Louisiana Tech's track and field programs made a strong showing at the LSU Alumni Gold. Hayes ran 11.18 in the 100m dash, only five-hundredths of a second from tying a Western Athletic Conference and school record, and currently ranks her 11th in the nation. Hayes also ran on the 4x100m relay team that placed fourth with a time of 45.27. The New Orleans native jumped 20-8.5 in the long jump invitational to place second overall, the second longest jump in school history. 

On the men's side, Matt Wolfe won the 1,500m run with a personal record time of 3:53.58 while Billy Ray Walker won the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.06 while Kendall Hayes finished fifth with a time of 14.52. 

Chelsea Hayes Makes WAC History

Louisiana Tech's Chelsea Hayes has been named the Verizon WAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week for April 18-24. The New Orleans native is the first athlete in WAC history - male or female - to sweep the WAC honors in a single week.

A senior from New Orleans (Butler CC), she recorded a time of 11.18 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the LSU Alumni Gold Meet last Saturday. Her time was just five-hundredths of a second shy of tying the WAC and school record of 11.13 set by Latonia Wilson in 2007. It was 0.12 seconds better than her previous season best and currently ranks her 11th in the nation and 19th in the world. Hayes also led off the 4x100m relay that placed fourth in a time of 45.27. In the long jump, she placed second with a mark of 20-8.5 (6.31m), the second longest jump in school history, behind only her record-setting distance achieved earlier this month which currently ranks eighth in the nation and 23rd in the world.

Hayes is the first student-athlete, male or female, to sweep the WAC's weekly awards. The league has been doling out separate awards for track athletes and field athletes since 2008.

Chelsea Hayes Long Jump Mark Second in Nation, Fourth in World

Chelsea Hayes set a school and facility record in the long jump on April 2 at the Jim Mize Invitational in Ruston with a jump of 20-11.25. That mark rankead second in the nation and fourth in the world for the 2011 season that week. Hayes shattered the previous facility record of 20-5 set by Boise State's Elaine Kafaou last year at the WAC Championships. As of April 13, her mark ranked fifth in the nation and 22nd in the world.