BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field teams are ready for the most important part of their season as they kick off the championship season this weekend by traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to compete in the SEC Outdoor Championships at Sam Bailey Stadium beginning Thursday.
The meet is scheduled to get underway Thursday with the first day of the women’s heptathlon and the men’s decathlon, while the action continues Friday through Sunday with the conclusion of the multi-events and the start of the open field and running events.
The competition is sure to be fierce as the race for both the men’s and women’s conference championships will feature a total of 12 teams ranked in the latest Trackwire 25 power rankings.
The Lady Tigers are the nation’s top-ranked squad for the third consecutive week as they will battle for SEC supremacy alongside No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Auburn, No. 7 Georgia and No. 16 Arkansas. Third-ranked Auburn is the favorite on the men’s side followed by No. 4 LSU, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 10 Florida, No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 24 Georgia and No. 25 Arkansas.
The individual competition at this year’s meet will be just as exciting as a total of 37 men and 33 women enter the weekend ranked in at least one event in the latest Trackwire Dandy Dozen. The men also boast nine of the nation’s top 12 squads in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays with the women following closely behind with seven.
“Everybody seems to be in good spirits, and we’re relatively healthy heading into the most important part of the season,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “Both teams have prepared themselves well and are ready for a great start to the championship season.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers enter this weekend’s meet with a number of athletes in position to compete for all-conference honors. In fact, a total of 14 athletes are projected to earn All-SEC recognition as they currently rank either No. 1 or No. 2 on the updated SEC performance list.
The men’s squad is led by junior Reuben Twijukye and sophomore Chad Radgowski as the duo holds the top spot in the 800 meters and javelin, respectively. Twijukye has clocked a league-leading time of 1 minute, 48.53 seconds in the half mile, while Radgowski is currently the SEC’s No. 1 performer in the javelin with a mark of 236 feet.
On the women’s side, sophomore Nickiesha Wilson is the top hurdler in the conference as she has clocked league-best times of 13.06 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 55.87 in the 400 hurdles. Freshman SEC indoor champion LaTavia Thomas is the league’s top-ranked performer in the 800 meters with a seasonal best time of 2:04.38.
In addition, Jamaal James (800), Isa Phillips (400H), Josh Dominguez (pole vault), Jeremy Hicks (long jump), Reggie Haslom (triple jump) and Preston Chatham (javelin) are each looking to earn all-conference accolades as they currently rank second in the SEC in their respective events.
Juniors Kelly Baptiste (100, 200), Deonna Lawrence (400), Jessica Ohanaja (100 hurdles) and Andrea Linton (long jump) are also in the hunt for All-SEC recognition as they enter the weekend No. 2 on the league’s updated performance list in their events.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers enter the meet among the favorites to compete for conference titles in both the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays as the men rank No. 1 in the conference in both events with seasonal best times of 39.43 and 3:04.51, respectively. The women also boast the top team in the sprint relay with a time of 43.26, while their 4×400 squad has the second best time at 3:30.13.
“We’ve reached that point in the season where we need everyone to do the very best that they can to contribute to the success of the team,” Shaver said. “That’s what these championship meets are about. All I can ask is for our athletes to focus and do the very best that they can do to achieve at the level I know we’re capable.”
After returning to Baton Rouge, the squads will break for two weeks before returning to action at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Columbia, Mo. The two-day meet is scheduled to run from May 25-26 at Walton Stadium on the campus of the University of Missouri.