BATON ROUGE — After a pair of impressive team efforts at the SEC Indoor Championships this past weekend, the LSU men’s and women’s track and field squads each moved up two spots in the Top 10 of the latest Trackwire 25 released Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers have firmly established themselves among the favorites to compete for a national title as they move into the No. 3 spot in the latest power rankings as they are projected to score 38 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Tigers have cracked the Top 10 for the first time this season as they are in a tie for No. 9 with 23 points.
The women’s squad from Arizona State enters the final two weeks of the regular season as the prohibitive favorite in the national championship race as the Sun Devils hold the top spot with 51 points, while No. 2 Michigan (39), No. 3 LSU (38), No. 4 Stanford (30) and No. 5 Georgia (27) round out the nation’s top five teams.
On the men’s side, the Florida State Seminoles sit atop the rankings for the fourth straight week as they are projected to score a total of 47 points at the national meet. Second-ranked Wisconsin follows closely behind with 44 points, while No. 3 Texas (38), No. 4 Auburn (30) and No. 5 Baylor (25) enter the final weekend of the regular season as the nation’s top five squads.
A total of four individual Southeastern Conference champions highlight a group of 10 LSU athletes ranked among the top 12 performers in their respective specialty events in this week’s Trackwire Dandy Dozen. The Dandy Dozen is a listing of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each individual event scored at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Junior All-American and SEC hurdles champion Jessica Ohanaja has moved up two spots this week to No. 3 in the 60-meter hurdles, while fellow conference champion and half mile standout freshman LaTavia Thomas improves to the No. 7 spot in the 800 meters. Junior Reggie Dardar went from unranked to No. 3 in the men’s 400 meters and men’s 800-meter champion Jamaal James moves up to No. 5 in his specialty event.
Dardar and James are joined on the men’s side of the Dandy Dozen by junior All-American sprinter Richard Thompson, who is the nation’s fourth-ranked performer in the 60-meter dash after breaking the school record in the event with a time of 6.64 seconds in the finals at the SEC Indoor Championships this past weekend. Thompson earned his first career individual all-conference honor with his performance.
Junior Kelly Baptiste is the lone Lady Tiger to appear in the Dandy Dozen in more than one event as she is currently ranked third in the 60-meter dash and sixth in the 200 meters. Baptiste is joined in the 200-meter sprint by fellow junior All-American Brooklynn Morris at No. 7 this week. In addition, three Lady Tigers are also ranked in the 400 meters, including sophomore Nickiesha Wilson at No. 5, junior Deonna Lawrence at No. 6 and junior Cynetheia Rooks at No. 7.
The Lady Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay squad overtakes SEC rival South Carolina for the top spot in the Dandy Dozen this week after winning the SEC title over the Gamecocks this weekend by clocking the nation’s No. 1 time this season at 3 minutes, 29.86 seconds. The men’s foursome holds onto the No. 2 spot for the fourth straight week after taking second place in the event at the conference meet.
Any LSU athlete that has not already qualified for the national meet will have one final opportunity to do so as the Tigers and Lady Tigers host the LSU Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Friday. The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled to return to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 9-10.
Trackwire 25
WOMEN
1. Arizona State, 51
2. Michigan, 39
3. LSU, 38
4. Stanford, 30
5. Georgia, 27
6. South Carolina, 26
7. Tennessee, 24
t8. Auburn, 23
t8. Texas, 23
10. Texas Tech, 21
11. Minnesota, 20
t12. UCLA, 19
t12. Texas A&M, 19
14. Arkansas, 17
15. Southern Illinois, 15
15. Villanova, 15
17. Penn State, 14
18. Hampton, 12
19. Oregon, 11
t20. Washington State, 10
t20. Kansas, 10
t20. Duke, 10
t20. USC, 10
t20. Ole Miss, 10
t25. Georgia Tech, 9
t25. Iowa, 9
MEN
1. Florida State, 47
2. Wisconsin, 44
3. Texas, 38
4. Auburn, 30
5. Baylor, 29
6. Tennessee, 28
t7. Louisville, 24
t7. Oregon, 24
t9. LSU, 23
t9. Stanford, 23
11. Florida, 21
12. Washington, 19
13. Arkansas, 16
t14. UCLA, 14
t14. Idaho, 14
t16. Clemson, 12
t16. Providence, 12
t19. Northern Arizona, 10
t19. Texas A&M, 10
t19. Georgia, 10
t19. Ole Miss, 10
t23. Michigan, 8
t23. McNeese State, 8
t23. N.C. State, 8
t23. Iona, 8
t23. Kansas, 8
t23. Arizona, 8