BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field team will send 16 athletes to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., head coach Pat Henry learned Tuesday after final declarations.
The No. 2-ranked Lady Tigers will send nine athletes to the NCAA Championships while the fifth-ranked Tigers will send seven. 10 of the 16 athletes competing for LSU this weekend will be competing in their first NCAA Championship.
“It’s a pretty indicative group of what we’ve been able to send in the past,” said Henry. “We’ve got a good contingency travelling with us, but a lot of inexperience too. This is a very young group that will be put to the test this weekend.”
LSU boasts a number of athletes and relays ranked in the top 10 in the nation heading into this weekend, as well as two national leaders.
Walter Davis leads the nation in the triple jump and ranks second in the long jump, while Marcus Thomas ranks fourth in the triple and 14th in the long jump.
Alleyne Francique ranks third in the nation in the 400-meter dash and joins with fellow 400-meter qualifier Lueroy Colquhoun, as well as freshmen Pedro Tunon, Robert Parham and Peter Simon to form the nation’s fourth-ranked mile relay.
On the women’s side, Muna Lee leads the nation in the 200-meter dash and ranks seventh in the 60-meter dash, while SEC 60-meter champion Sa’Donna Thornton ranks fifth in the event.
The Tigers send a strong quarter mile group, as Ronetta Smith ranks sixth in the nation, while Myra Combs ranks 10th. The two also join with Xyllena Lynch and Stephanie Durst to form the nation’s 10th-ranked mile relay.
Lolo Jones can become the first freshman to earn All-American honors in the short hurdles indoors since Tananjalyn Stanley, as the newcomer enters her first NCAA meet.
In the jumps, junior SEC triple jump Bianca Rockett ranks fourth in the nation and will seek her first All-American performance, while Combs and Chenelle Marshall give the Tigers two threats in the long jump field.
The Lady Tigers will be looking to regain the crown they last held in 1997 after finishing second in both 1998 and 1999 and fourth a year ago. The Tigers have finished seventh each of the last two years, but appear ready to challenge for their first-ever NCAA Indoor crown. The highest the Tigers have ever finished is fourth in 1988, Henry’s first year at LSU.
2001 LSU TRACK & FIELD NCAA INDOOR QUALIFIERS
| MEN (7) | ||
| Name | Event | NCAA |
| Lueroy Colquhoun | 400m | 14th |
| 4×400 relay | 4th | |
| Walter Davis | Triple Jump | 1st |
| Long Jump | 2nd | |
| Alleyne Francique | 400m | 3rd |
| 4×400 relay | 4th | |
| Robert Parham | 4×400 relay | 4th |
| Peter Simon | 4×400 relay | 4th |
| Marcus Thomas | Triple Jump | 4th |
| Long Jump | 14th | |
| Pedro Tunon | 4×400 relay | 4th |
| WOMEN (9) | ||
| Myra Combs | 400m | 9th |
| Long Jump | 14th | |
| 4×400 relay | 9th | |
| Stephanie Durst | 4×400 relay | 9th |
| Lolo Jones | 60-hurldes | 13th |
| Muna Lee | 60m | 7th |
| 200m | 1st | |
| Xyllena Lynch | 4×400 relay | 9th |
| Chenelle Marshall | Long Jump | 14th |
| Bianca Rockett | Triple Jump | 4th |
| Ronetta Smith | 400m | 6th |
| 4×400 relay | 10th | |
| Sa’Donna Thornton | 60m | 5th |