BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s track and field team enters the championship season as the nation’s top-ranked squad as it strengthens its hold on the No. 1 spot in this week’s Trackwire 25 power ranking, while the men are tied for fourth in the poll released Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers are the national favorite as they are projected to score a total of 69 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next month to win their 25th national title in program history.
The Arizona State Sun Devils, who are the reigning NCAA indoor champions, follow closely behind the Lady Tigers in the No. 2 spot with 61 points, while South Carolina is a distant third at 37 points followed by Auburn in fourth with 32 points and Michigan in fifth with 31 points.
The Tigers drop one spot into a tie for fourth place with the Louisville Cardinals this week as they are projected to score a total of 31 points at the national meet.
The Florida State Seminoles remain the prohibitive favorite to repeat as outdoor national champions as they hold on to the No. 1 spot in the poll for the sixth week in a row with 63 points, while USC follows in second with 48 points and Auburn is in third place with 32 points.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers continue to be well-represented in the Trackwire Dandy Dozen as a total of 19 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 in June.
Senior hurdles standout Isa Phillips continues to lead the men’s squad as he is the favorite to win the national title in the 400-meter hurdles as he is the nation’s top-ranked performer in the event for the third consecutive week with a seasonal best time of 49.76 seconds.
The Tigers also boast a pair of national favorites in the 800-meter run as junior Reuben Twijukye and freshman Jamaal James rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the event. In addition, senior Marvin Stevenson is ranked 11th in the 400 meters, while fellow senior Alleyne Lett also ranks 11th in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the field events, freshman Will Coppage and sophomore Jeremy Hicks are eighth and 12th in the long jump, respectively, while sophomore Chad Radgowski ranks ninth and freshman Preston Chatham ranks 10th in the men’s javelin competition.
The Lady Tigers are led by a trio of All-Americans who are nationally ranked in more than one event, including senior Sherry Fletcher, junior Kelly Baptiste and sophomore Nickiesha Wilson.
Fletcher is ranked second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters, while Baptiste is ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the same events. Wilson continues to prove why she is one of the nation’s premier hurdlers as she ranks third in the 400 hurdles and fourth in the 100 hurdles.
Wilson is joined in the 100-meter hurdles by junior All-American Jessica Ohanaja, who currently ranks No. 2 in the event after finishing as the national runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season.
The Lady Tigers also feature a trio of nationally-ranked athletes in the 400-meter dash as junior Deonna Lawrence ranks sixth, senior Cynetheia Rooks ranks seventh and junior Brooklynn Morris ranks eighth in the event, while freshman LaTavia Thomas ranks fourth in the 800 meters.
Junior Andrea Linton leads the squad in the field events as she is currently ranked 11th nationally in the triple jump, while sophomore throws standout Amanda Harmata remains 12th in the javelin.
The squads continue to boast four of the nation’s premier relay teams as the women are among the national favorites as they rank second in both the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays, while the men hold their positions among the nation’s best squads as they rank fourth in the 4×100 and second in the 4×400 relay.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers kick off the championship season this weekend as they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Thursday to begin competition in the 2007 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sam Bailey Stadium.
Trackwire 25
WOMEN
1. LSU, 69
2. Arizona State, 61
3. South Carolina, 37
4. Auburn, 32
5. Michigan, 31
6. Southern California, 30
7. Georgia, 28
8. Texas, 25
9. Oregon, 24
10. UCLA, 23
11. Stanford, 22
12. Texas Tech, 21
13. Miami, Fla., 17
t14. Texas A&M, 15
t14. Washington State, 15
t16. Nebraska, 14
t16. Arkansas, 14
t18. California, 13
t18. Virginia Tech, 13
t20. UTEP, 12
t20. Colorado, 12
t20. Iowa, 12
t23. BYU, 11
t23. Wake Forest, 11
t23. Northern Iowa, 11
MEN
1. Florida State, 63
2. Southern California, 48
3. Auburn, 32
t4. LSU, 31
t4. Louisville, 31
6. Arizona State, 27
7. Tennessee, 25
t8. Arizona, 24
t8. Clemson, 24
10. Florida, 23
t11. Oregon, 22
t11. Baylor, 22
13. BYU, 21
14. North Carolina, 20
15. UCLA, 19
t16. Texas, 18
t16. Wisconsin, 18
t18. Texas Tech, 16
t18. Northern Iowa, 16
20. McNeese State, 15
21. Ole Miss, 14
t22. Oklahoma, 13
t22. Nebraska, 13
24. Georgia, 12
t25. Arkansas, 11
t25. Texas A&M, 11
t25. Michigan, 11