BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s track and field team remained No. 3 in the latest Trackwire 25 power rankings released Tuesday, while the men’s squad entered the standings for the first time this season in a tie with Washington at No. 12.
Stanford holds on to the No. 1 spot in the women’s standings for the second straight week with a total of 55 points followed by Pac-10 rival and surging Arizona State with 51 points, while No. 4 Michigan (33) and No. 5 South Carolina (30) round out the nation’s top five spots.
On the men’s side, Arkansas has overtaken Florida State for the top spot as the Razorbacks are projected to score 47 points at the NCAA meet, while the Seminoles follow closely behind with 43 points. Third-ranked Wisconsin (38), No. 4 Texas (34) and No. 5 Auburn (29) are also ranked among the top-five teams in the country.
Individually, the Tigers and Lady Tigers have a combined 15 athletes and a pair of relay teams ranked in the latest Trackwire Dandy Dozen, which is a listing of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each individual event scored at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams are expected to compete for national titles during the indoor campaign as the Lady Tigers boast the nation’s top-ranked foursome for the first time this season, while the Tigers are ranked No. 2 for the second straight week after turning in solid performances at the Modrall Sperling Lobo Invitational this past weekend.
LSU may have one of the deepest women’s sprints and hurdles groups in the country in 2007 as a trio of Lady Tigers are ranked nationally in both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles.
Junior standout Kelly Baptiste remains the nation’s No. 1 athlete in the 60 meters followed by freshman sensation Samantha Henry at No. 8 and junior Sherry Fletcher at No. 9. In the 60-meter hurdles, junior Jessica Ohanaja is ranked fifth in the country followed by sophomore Nickiesha Wilson at No. 6 and senior Angel Boyd at No. 8.
Baptiste and Henry also find themselves ranked nationally in the 200 meters at No. 4 and No. 10, respectively, while junior Brooklynn Morris is ranked among the nation’s top 12 athletes in the event for the second straight week at No. 6.
In addition to LSU’s representation in the sprints, junior Deonna Lawrence is ranked fifth in the country in the 400 meters followed by senior Cynetheia Rooks at No. 8, and sophomore Andrea Linton leads the Lady Tigers’ effort in the field events as she is ranked seventh in the triple jump.
On the men’s squad, junior Richard Thompson improved his national standing in the men’s 60-meter dash after clocking the second-fastest time in school history this weekend as he is currently ranked No. 4 in the country in his specialty event. Thompson was also named the Southeastern Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday.
The Tigers have a trio of athletes ranked in the 400 meters led by seniors Melville Rogers and Siraj Williams at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, followed by junior Reggie Dardar at No. 11. Freshman middle distance standout Jamaal James remains among the nation’s top 12 performers in the 800 meters as he is ranked 12th this week.
Trackwire’s power rankings are based on a projected point total at the NCAA Indoor Championships generated by scoring the “Dandy Dozen.” It considers injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA qualifying competitions across the country.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers return to the track this week as they host both the LSU Combined Events and the Bayou Bengal Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse. The first day of competition is slated to begin Thursday at 3:30 p.m. with Friday’s action scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m.
Women’s Trackwire 25
1. Stanford, 55
2. Arizona State, 51
3. LSU, 44
4. Michigan, 33
5. South Carolina, 30
6. Texas A&M, 26
7. Kansas State, 22
t8. Texas, 21
t8. Auburn, 21
t10. Miami, Fla., 20
t10. North Carolina, 20
12. Minnesota, 18
13. Arkansas, 16
t14. Tennessee, 15
t14. Iowa, 15
t16. Washington State, 14
t16. Oregon, 14
18. Washington, 13
t19. Georgia, 12
t19. Southern California, 12
t19. Texas Tech, 12
22. Colorado, 11
t23. Duke, 10
t23. Georgia Tech, 10
t23. Florida, 10
t23. Southern Illinois, 10
Men’s Trackwire 25
1. Arkansas, 47
2. Florida State, 43
3. Wisconsin, 38
4. Texas, 34
5. Auburn, 29
6. Oregon, 25
7. Florida, 21
t8. UTEP, 19
t8. Baylor, 19
10. Louisville, 18
11. Clemson, 17
t12. LSU, 16
t12. Washington, 16
t14. Tennessee, 15
t14. South Carolina, 15
16. Nebraska, 14
17. UCLA, 13
t18. Arizona State, 11
t18. Stanford, 11
t18. Texas A&M, 11
t18. Liberty, 11
t22. Northern Arizona, 10
t22. Idaho, 10
t22. Michigan, 10
t22. Maryland, 10