BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field teams have capitalized on their strong performances at the Sun Angel Classic this past weekend as the women are ranked No. 2 for the second week in a row, while the men jump five spots to No. 4 in the latest Coaches’ Poll released Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers are the nation’s consensus No. 2 team as they also hold the second spot in this week’s Trackwire 25 power ranking with 46 points. The Tigers are also ranked among the top-five teams in the country as they are No. 5 this week with 34 points.
Arizona State is the nation’s top-ranked team once again as the Sun Devils sit atop the women’s standings in both polls for the third straight week, while the Florida State Seminoles also hold their position as the top team in the country on the men’s side for the third week in a row.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers continue to be well-represented in the Trackwire Dandy Dozen as a total of 20 athletes and four relay teams are nationally-ranked in their respective specialty events. The weekly Trackwire Dandy Dozen ranks the top 12 athletes in each event scored at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior hurdles standout Isa Phillips is the favorite to win a national title in the 400-meter hurdles as he moves into the No. 1 spot in the event. Phillips is coming off of a strong performance at the Sun Angel Classic this past weekend as he clocked a seasonal best with a time of 49.76.
Fellow senior Alleyne Lett is among the national favorites in the 110-meter hurdles as he is the nation’s fourth-ranked performer in his specialty event, while freshman Jamaal James is also projected to score at the national meet as he is currently ranked No. 6 in the 800-meter run.
Junior sprint standout Richard Thompson is moves into this week’s Dandy Dozen as he is the nation’s 11th-ranked athlete in the 100-meter dash, while sophomore Trindon Holliday (100), senior Siraj Williams (400), junior Reuben Twijukye (800) are ranked No. 12 in their events.
The Tigers are led in the field events by a pair of standout javelin throwers as freshman Preston Chatham and sophomore Chad Radgowski are ranked fifth and sixth in the event, respectively. The duo is coming off of an outstanding weekend in which Chatham recorded a new PR of 233 feet, 1 inch, while Radgowski was equally impressive with at throw of 231-1.
The men’s squad also features a pair of nationally-ranked long jumpers as freshman All-American Will Coppage is currently ranked ninth in the event, while sophomore Jeremy Hicks has cracked the Dandy Dozen for the third straight week as he is ranked 12th.
On the women’s side, Kelly Baptiste, Nickiesha Wilson and Sherry Fletcher are each ranked in more than one event as Baptiste is the nation’s second-ranked performer in the 100 meters while coming in at No. 3 in the 200 meters. Wilson is ranked third in the 400 hurdles and sixth in the 100 hurdles this week, while Fletcher is ranked 11th in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Juniors Jessica Ohanaja and Angel Boyd are ranked fifth and 11th in the 100 hurdles, respectively, while senior Cynetheia Rooks (400) and freshman LaTavia Thomas (800) are each ranked sixth and freshman Samantha Henry (200) is ranked 12th on their respective events on the track.
Sophomore Amanda Harmata has cracked the Dandy Dozen for the first time this season as she vaults into the No. 7 spot in the javelin after a personal best performance in the event at the Sun Angel Classic. Harmata improved on her previous PR in the event with an impressive throw of 166-4 in a runner-up finish on Saturday.
The squads continue to boast four of the nation’s premier relay teams as the women are ranked second and third, respectively, in the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays, while the men move up three spots into second place in the 4×400 and up two spots into eighth in the 4×100.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers return home this weekend as they play host to the LSU Alumni Gold on April 21 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium followed by a trip to Philadelphia to compete in the 113th running of the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field from April 26-28.
Coaches’ Poll
WOMEN
1. Arizona State
2. LSU
3. Southern California
4. Georgia
5. South Carolina
6. Texas A&M
7. Texas
8. Auburn
9. Oregon
10. Michigan
11. UCLA
12. Stanford
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Texas Tech
15. California
16. Minnesota
17. Washington State
18. BYU
19. Washington
20. Tennessee
MEN
1. Florida State
2. Auburn
3. Southern California
4. LSU
5. Arizona State
6. Tennessee
7. Arizona
8. Texas
9. Oregon
10. Wisconsin
11. Washington
12. North Carolina
13. Georgia
14. Clemson
15. Louisville
16. Arkansas
17. UTEP
18. Florida
19. UCLA
20. Texas Tech
Trackwire 25
WOMEN
1. Arizona State, 65
2. LSU, 46
3. Southern California, 36
t4. Georgia, 33
t4. South Carolina, 33
6. Texas A&M, 32
t7. Texas, 27
t7. Michigan, 27
9. Auburn, 26
10. Oregon, 25
11. Stanford, 22
t12. Texas Tech, 21
t12. Miami, Fla., 21
t14. UCLA, 20
t14. BYU, 20
16. California, 17
t17. Washington, 14
t17. Tennessee, 14
t17. Minnesota, 14
t20. Duke, 13
t20. Washington State, 13
t22. UTEP, 12
t22. Penn State, 12
t22. Kansas, 12
t25. Florida, 11
t25. Weber State, 11
MEN
1. Florida State, 65
2. Auburn, 42
3. Southern California, 39
4. Arizona State, 36
5. LSU, 34
t6. Tennessee, 28
t6. Oregon, 28
8. Arizona, 26
9. Wisconsin, 24
10. Washington, 22
t11. Louisville, 20
t11. North Carolina, 20
t11. Texas, 20
t14. Georgia, 19
t14. BYU, 19
t16. McNeese State, 18
t16. Clemson, 18
t16. Stanford, 18
t19. Texas A&M, 17
t20. Arkansas, 16
t20. UCLA, 16
t20. Baylor, 16
23. Florida, 15
24. Texas Tech, 14
t25. UTEP, 11
t25. Nebraska, 11
t25. Liberty, 11
t25. Ole Miss, 11