BATON ROUGE — Glance quickly at the NCAA track and field national rankings and it doesn’t take long to notice the overwhelming presence of the Southeastern Conference. Seven of the top nine teams in the nation in the men’s top 25 are from the SEC. A total of six women’s teams are ranked in the top 25.
Which team is the deepest, the most balanced and healthiest will be proven this weekend at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Weems Baskin Track in Columbia, S.C., from Thursday through Sunday.
LSU enters both the men’s and women’s competitions as the highest ranked team on hand. The Tigers moved up one spot to the No. 2 ranking, while the Lady Tigers entered ranked fourth nationally.
The Tigers finished second in Baton Rouge a year ago and will be in search of their first title since 1990, while the Lady Tigers have finished third each of the last two years and look for their first title since 1996.
The men’s squad also finished second at the SEC Indoor meet in February before going on to win the NCAA Indoor title, while the Lady Tigers finished fourth at the indoor conference meet.
LSU head coach Pat Henry likens the meet to a “mini NCAA Championship field.”
“If you can get it done at this meet, you can win a national championship,” said Henry. “It’s the best track and field meet in the nation – bar none. Over the last several years, the level of competition and the performances witnessed at this meet have been remarkable. It will take an incredible effort to win on either side.”
Action gets underway on Thursday with the decathlon and the heptathlon and the Tigers figure to make their presence felt quickly. Claston Bernard will attempt to become the first man in SEC history to win three consecutive decathlon titles this weekend.
Bernard enters with the nation’s top mark in the event, a score of 7,872 at College Station in March. The Olympian will have his work cut out for him, however, as the competition will boast the nation’s top three decathletes.
In addition to Bernard, Stephen Harris of Tennessee ranks second nationally with a score of 7,804, while David Lehman is the nation’s third-ranked decathlete with a season-best score of 7,772.
In the men’s competition, LSU will battle with defending champion Arkansas, ranked seventh in the nation currently, and fourth-ranked Tennessee. Arkansas will be going for its 10th straight title.
“You can never count Arkansas out, they’re always a tough team to beat and they know what it takes to win at this meet,” added Henry. “Tennessee will be a very tough team to beat because of their tremendous depth across the board. They have great sprinters and they can really do some damage with their multi-event athletes.”
Several events will be critical in the Tigers’ bid to win their first title in over a decade this weekend.
At the SEC Indoor Championships in February, Walter Davis was able to sweep the horizontal jumps and will attempt to become only the fifth man to ever do so outdoors this weekend. Davis enters with the SEC lead in the triple jump while ranking third in the long jump.
The Tigers will need to get plenty of production out of its quarter milers in a loaded field this weekend.
Alleyne Francique finished second at the SEC Indoor Championships in the 400-meter dash in February and enters the meet ranked second behind defending NCAA Outdoor champion Avard Moncur of Auburn. Lueroy Colquhoun, a third-place finisher at the SEC Indoor Championships, will have to get into the mix for the Tigers to add critical points.
Francique and Colquhoun also serve as the catalysts for the nation’s premier 4×400-meter relay team. Tigers’ mile relay leads the nation and SEC entering this weekend’s meet, however, they finished third in their last outing at the Penn Relays behind SEC rivals Florida and Auburn.
On the women’s side, it appears to be a four-team race. Defending champion Arkansas will compete with LSU, Florida and host-South Carolina for the title.
The Lady Tigers will rely heavily on its sprint corps, but will also get solid contributions from its jumps and distance corps.
Muna Lee enters the SEC Championships at the conference leader in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Lee will attempt to become LSU’s seventh 100-meter champion in nine years.
In addition, Lee joins with Sa’Donna Thornton, Stephanie Durst and Myra Combs to form the one of the nation’s top 4×100-meter relay squads. The Lady Tigers’ short relay is tied with Florida for the national lead entering this weekend. The Lady Tigers have won six straight SEC titles in the event and will be going for their 12th in the last 14 years.
The Lady Tigers have not suffered a defeat in the 4×100-meter relay at the SEC Championships since 1994.
In the field, SEC Indoor triple jump champion Bianca Rockett will look to add to LSU’s dominance in the event. The junior can become LSU’s fifth champion in the last six years.
In the distance events, the Lady Tigers figure to make a bigger impact than in recent years. Susanne Strunz will be among the top threats to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Lady Tigers have never had an SEC champion in an event over 800-meters.
Following the SEC Championships, those athletes who have not met the NCAA automatic standard but are close will have one last opportunity at the LSU Last Ditch on May 18 at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Following that, LSU will gear up for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., at venerable Hayward Field from May 30-June 2.