SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The 2005 track and field season culminates this week as the fourth-ranked Tigers and 10th-ranked Lady Tigers prepare for the NCAA Outdoor Championships that begin Wednesday at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.
The two teams have combined to send a total of 10 athletes and four relay teams to the national meet.
“I think the group we have here, it’s a real tribute to their hard work and dedication all season long,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver.
The Tigers, with four athletes and both its 4×100 and 4×400 relays present, will have fewer scoring opportunities then heavily favored and top-ranked Arkansas. However, with speedsters Xavier Carter, Kelly Willie and Bennie Brazell, who are all serious contenders for individual NCAA titles, the Tigers have the opportunity to rack up substantial points in the team standings.
“If the men can come in and perform at the level that got them to this meet I feel we can challenge for a championship,” said Shaver.
The men placed third a year ago and have finished among the top five each of the last five seasons, a streak that included the program’s fourth ever outdoor national crown in 2002.
Leading the way will be Carter who enters the meet ranked No. 1 in the country in the 200 meters. The SEC and NCAA Mideast Regional champion in the event, Carter has posted the world’s second fastest time this season (20.02).
Willie comes into the championships with the field’s third-best 400-meter time (44.97). The 11-time All-American eyes his first-ever individual NCAA title after earning runner-up honors in the event a year ago.
Brazell, also an 11-time All-American, will go for individual gold in the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which he has finished second on two separate occasions.
On the women’s side, the Lady Tigers have qualified six athletes and both their short and long relays into the competition.
Freshman Kelly Baptiste will headline action on the track as she enters the meet ranked among the top-five in both the 100 and 200 meters. She is coming off an exceptional performance at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships where she won the 100 and placed second in the 200.
In the field, sophomore Tina Harris will seek a second-straight All-America honor in the long jump competition. Harris, who has finished second in the event at both the SEC and Mideast Regional Championships, was fifth a year ago.
Competition for the NCAA Championship gets underway tomorrow at 1 p.m. (CT).