BATON ROUGE ? The field for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is set and the LSU men’s and women’s squads have combined to qualify 29 athletes and four relay teams into the meet as announced Tuesday by the NCAA selection committee.
The four-day meet returns to Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University in Sacramento, Calif., for the third straight year as it is scheduled to run from June 6-9.
The Lady Tigers will have more opportunities to score than any other team at this year’s meet as they are sending a total of 19 individuals to Sacramento, while the Tigers will be well-represented with 10 athletes of their own competing at the national meet.
The squads are also looking to repeat last year’s success in the relay events as they will send both 4×100 and 4×400-meter relay teams. The Tigers capped off an undefeated season in the relays by sweeping NCAA titles a year ago, while the Lady Tigers are also looking to defend their national title in the 4×400.
This year marks the largest contingent of LSU athletes that will be making the trip to the national meet since the NCAA instituted the regional format in 2003. The squads sent a total of 22 athletes and four relay teams to the NCAA meet in 2004 for their second highest total in that span.
“One of the things that will allow us to compete for national championships at this meet is the number of scoring chances that we have,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “That doesn’t necessarily guarantee points at this meet, but if our athletes perform the way they did to get here, then they’ll have a great chance to score for the team.”
The Lady Tigers are among the favorites to win their 12th outdoor national title in program history and 25th NCAA championship overall as they will score the bulk of their points on the track.
Sophomore Nickiesha Wilson enters the meet with the nation’s leading time in the 400-meter hurdles at 55.20 seconds after winning her first career NCAA Mideast Regional title in the event last weekend. The native of Kingston, Jamaica, is also set to compete in the 100 hurdles along with juniors Jessica Ohanaja and Angel Boyd.
In addition to her efforts in the hurdles, Wilson will attempt to help the Lady Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay team defend its title after running the third leg on the squad that recorded the No. 2 time in the country at 3 minutes, 28.89 seconds at the SEC Outdoor Championships three weeks ago.
The Lady Tigers’ sprint relay team of senior Sherry Fletcher, freshman Samantha Henry, junior Brooklynn Morris and junior Kelly Baptiste also boasts the nation’s fastest time at 43.26 entering the meet as the foursome clocked its seasonal best time at the LSU Alumni Gold on April 21.
Baptiste is looking to earn her 10th career All-America honor as a Lady Tiger as she will lead the team in the sprints with the nation’s fifth-fastest time at 11.22 in the 100-meter dash entering the meet, while Fletcher and Henry are set to compete in both the 100 and 200 at the national meet in addition to the sprint relay.
The Lady Tigers also boast two of the nation’s top quarter-milers as senior Cynetheia Rooks and junior Deonna Lawrence make their return to the national meet this season, while senior Tanya Osbourne and freshman LaTavia Thomas will look to score valuable points in the 800 meters.
In the field events, senior Shaunette Davidson (high jump), junior Andrea Linton (long jump, triple jump) and freshman Katelyn Rodrigue each punched their ticket to the NCAA meet after securing automatic bids at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships this past weekend.
Joining them in the field will be junior Kathy Coleman in the long jump and sophomore Amanda Harmata in the javelin as each was awarded an at-large bid to compete at the national meet by the NCAA selection committee on Tuesday.
“Our women are in a good position, but we’ve got to approach this as a different track meet each day,” Shaver said. “We want to give ourselves the best opportunity we can to do well in the meet, and the best way to do that is to take it one day and one event at a time.”
The men’s squad will be led by the efforts of national title hopeful Trindon Holliday, who enters the NCAA meet with the second fastest wind-legal time in the country and fifth fastest time in the world this season at 10.07 in the 100-meter dash.
Holliday is looking to become the second Tiger in as many years to win an individual title in the event as LSU great Xavier Carter accomplished the feat last season with a then school-record time of 10.09 in the finals. Holliday broke Carter’s school record with a time of 10.08 at the SEC Championships followed by his seasonal best time of 10.07 at the regional meet last weekend.
Also in the hunt for a national title is senior All-American Isa Phillips, who carries the No. 2 400-meter hurdle time in the country at 49.54 into the national meet. Phillips is seeking his second career All-America honor in the event in as many years after finishing fifth in the finals last year.
Joining Holliday and Phillips on the track will be seniors Siraj Williams in the 400 meters and Alleyne Lett in the 110-meter hurdles. Both athletes are making their NCAA debut in their specialty events after earning a pair of third place finishes at the NCAA Mideast Regional.
Sophomore Chad Radgowski leads the way for the Tigers in the field events as he enters the meet with the nation’s fourth best mark in the javelin with a seasonal best throw of 239 feet, 8 inches, while he will be joined in the event by freshman Preston Chatham. Sophomore Jeremy Hicks will also compete in the field as he is set to make his second career appearance in the long jump.
Receiving at-large bids from the NCAA selection committee on Tuesday for their outstanding performance in the regular season were juniors Richard Thompson in the 100-meter dash, Reuben Twijukye in the 800-meter run and Ryan Fontenot in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Tigers are also in title contention in both relays as the sprint relay team of Hicks, Thompson, senior Marvin Stevenson and Holliday boast the nation’s fourth fastest time at 39.37, while the foursome of Williams, Stevenson, freshman Armanti Hayes and senior Melville Rogers are No. 2 in the country in the 4×400 with a seasonal best time of 3:03.62.
“We have to be at the top of our game when the first gun goes off on Wednesday,” Shaver said. “We’re competing with a lot of confidence right now, and we’re pretty healthy for this time of the season. We’ve got our kids ready to go and it’s going to be an exciting weekend for both teams.”
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will get underway June 6 with the men’s decathlon competition beginning at noon CST. The four-day meet will conclude June 9 with the running of the women’s 4×400-meter relay at 1:48 p.m.