BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s track and field team won the NCAA Indoor title last month but will open the outdoor season as an underdog to take the outdoor crown when the NCAA Championships come to Baton Rouge in May, as the Lady Tigers hold the No. 2 spot in the first Trackwire outdoor rankings.
The Tigers, third at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month, rank second in the men’s poll as well.
Trackwire has selected both defending NCAA Outdoor champions to repeat, as Southern California owns the top spot in the women’s poll while Tennessee grabbed the top spot in the men’s rankings.
USC leads the first women’s poll with 84 points while LSU ranks second with 69. UCLA, South Carolina and Rice round out the top five.
The early men’s rankings indicate it will be a two-team race in Baton Rouge later this spring. Tennessee gained 77 points in the first poll, just two points ahead of LSU’s 75. SMU ranked a distant third with 36 points followed by Arkansas and Mississippi State.
The SEC is well represented in both polls, as five women’s teams are ranked while nine of the 11 men’s teams earned spots in the first poll.
After LSU and South Carolina in the women’s poll, Auburn sits ninth, Florida No. 12 and Arkansas No. 19.
In addition to having four of the top five teams in the men’s poll, Georgia holds the No. 6 position, while South Carolina enters at No. 11, NCAA Indoor runner-up Alabama at No. 13, Auburn at No. 14 and Florida at No. 17.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships return to Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge for the first time in 15 years from May 29-June 1.