Seminoles, LSU claim national titles

Dix won his third consecutive 200-meter title and led the Seminoles to their third straight men's team crown Saturday at the NCAA track & field championships.

"We came out and gave a great effort," Dix said. "Three-peat — I'm proud of that."

The LSU women edged defending champion Arizona State for the women's championship, a race that came down to the meet's final event, the 1,600 relay.

The two teams entered the race tied. LSU finished second for eight points, Arizona State fifth for four points.

LSU won its 25th women's track title, 14th outdoors, but its first since Dennis Shaver replaced Pat Henry as coach in 2005.

"This is one where we came out on top," said Shaver, an assistant at LSU for nine years before taking over the program. "In the last four years, our teams have been second six times. It's about our turn, I guess."

The Tigers didn't win an event Saturday but won the team crown with exceptional depth. LSU had 67 points to ASU's 63. Texas A&M was third (48).

The final day of the meet was held under partly cloudy skies in front of a crowd of 11,410 at Drake Stadium, where 19 stadium records fell in the four days of competition.

Dix, in his final race as a collegian, built a big lead coming off the turn, then held off 100 champion Richard Thompson of LSU to win in 20.40 seconds. Thompson was second at 20.44.

"It's time to move on," said Dix, who got his degree in social science in April. "It was fun, but I'm excited to move on to the pro level."

For the 5-foot-8-inch cannonball of a sprinter, who is coming off a hamstring injury, it was his eighth NCAA championship, sixth outdoors.

"He's meant everything," Seminoles coach Bob Braman said. "Even the year we won by 16, Walt scored 17."

Florida State finished with 52 points. LSU and Auburn tied for second with 44.

Jacquelyn Johnson of ASU became the fourth woman ever to win four NCAA championships in a single event when she captured the heptathlon.

The UA's Shevell Quinley finished 12th in the heptathlon.

Arizona State piled up 23 points in the first two events Saturday to take a 28-point lead over LSU (59-31), but the deep, talented Tigers roared back.

The Tigers scored 11 points in the 100 hurdles, nine in the 200 and eight in the 800 to tie the race at 59-59 entering the relay finale.

Arizona placed three men in the top 10 of the shot put. Zack Lloyd placed fourth (63-7 3/4), Shawn Best was fifth (60-9 1/4), and Jarred Sola finished seventh (60-7 1/4).

The UA women tied Miami for 20th place in the team standings, while the Arizona men tied Washington State for 23rd.