BATON ROUGE- The LSU women’s track and field team held on to the No. 1 spot in the Trackwire Top 25 national poll, however, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA all closed the gap. At the same time, the Tigers jumped to a season-high seventh in the men’s top 25.
The Lady Tigers enter this week’s poll with 59 points, while South Carolina and Texas share the second spot with 47 points. UCLA holds the fourth spot followed by Arkansas.
The Lady Tigers held a 23-point advantage in the poll a week ago and had their lead reduced nearly in half.
In the men’s poll, the Tigers jumped from No. 11 to the seventh spot due to a strong showing from its 4×400-meter relay team that made its move into the national spotlight. The Tigers ran their fastest time since 1996 in the mile relay, registering the second fastest time in the nation this year on Sunday at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
Arkansas continues to hold the top spot in the nation in the men’s poll, followed by Stanford, Florida, Auburn and Clemson. LSU is tied for the seventh spot with Texas and South Alabama.
LSU will return to action on Friday with a bulk of its team going to Nebraska for the Frank Sevigne Invitational in Lincoln, while the quarter milers and distance runners will go to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Track Classic.
Trackwire National Rankings (Top 10)
| Women’s Poll | |
| 1. LSU | 59 |
| 2. (tie) Texas | 47 |
| South Carolina | 47 |
| 4. UCLA | 41 |
| 5. Arkansas | 28 |
| 6. Georgia | 24 |
| 7. Villanova | 23 |
| 8. Florida | 22 |
| 9. (tie) Nebraska | 20 |
| Stanford | 20 |
| North Carolina | 20 |
| Auburn | 20 |
| Men’s Poll | |
| 1. Arkansas | 59 |
| 2. Stanford | 54 |
| 3. Florida | 41 |
| 4. Auburn | 36 |
| 5. Clemson | 32 |
| 6. SMU | 28 |
| 7. LSU | 20 |
| Texas | 20 |
| South Alabama | 20 |
| 10. Baylor | 18 |