DURHAM, N.C. — The LSU track and field team worked out for two hours Tuesday afternoon here at Wallace Wade Stadium on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C., in its final practice before the NCAA Outdoor Championships get underway on Wednesday.
Ten years later, LSU returns to the site of one of its greatest triumphs. It was here 10 years ago that the Tigers and Lady Tigers swept the team titles for the second consecutive year. LSU is still the only school to ever accomplish the feat and enters this weekend in the hunt for both titles once again.
The Tigers enter the meet ranked third in the nation, while the Lady Tigers are projected to score more points, but are ranked fifth in the women’s poll.
“We’ve got a total of 25 athletes here in Durham between the men’s and women’s teams and a lot of those athletes have an opportunity to do something special this weekend,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “It’s going to be a tremendous competition on both sides, there’s absolutely no margin for error. We’ve got to do everything we’ve done to this point this season and just a little bit more this weekend.”
Marcus Thomas will look to get the Tigers off on the right foot in the men’s competition, as the long jump final will be contested on Wednesday afternoon. Thomas finished fourth in the long jump indoors, and combined with his ability to score in Friday’s triple jump as well, Thomas will be critical to the Tigers’ success this weekend.
Loren Leaverton will open the heptathlon on Wednesday afternoon, concluding on Thursday. Leaverton finished fifth at the recent SEC Championships and qualified for heptathlon at the NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho a year ago, but did not finish the competition.
Preliminary rounds of both the 4×100-meter relays and the 200-meter dash will take place on Wednesday. LSU will compete in both short relays, while Peta-Gaye Dowdie, Valma Bass and Myra Combs will all compete in the 200-meter field on Wednesday night.
Additional prelims continue on Thursday, while Russ Buller will also compete in an LSU uniform for the final time, looking for his first NCAA outdoor pole vault title. The long jump, featuring NCAA Indoor runner-up Monique Freeman and SEC Outdoor runner-up Keisha Spencer will take place as well.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will run through Saturday evening. The Lady Tigers have won 11 of the last 13 titles and finished fifth in Boise a year ago. The Tigers have been in the top 10 at 12 of the last 13 NCAA Outdoor meets and finished tied for ninth a year ago.