BATON ROUGE — Fresh off of a pair of dominating performances at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships this past weekend, the LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams hold their No. 2 rankings in the final Coaches Poll of the season released Wednesday.
The Lady Tigers trail only top-ranked Arizona State on the women’s side as the Sun Devils are the national favorite heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week after holding on to the No. 1 spot for eight straight weeks.
The Tigers will square off against No. 1 Florida State for this year’s outdoor national title as the Seminoles have also been the nation’s top-ranked squad for eight straight weeks in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 20.
Following the Lady Tigers in this week’s Coaches Poll are No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Georgia, while the Tigers are followed by No. 3 Southern California and No. 4 Auburn with No. 5 Tennessee rounding out the top five teams in the nation.
The women’s squad is looking to secure its 12th outdoor national championship in program history and first since the 2003 season when they line up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week. The Lady Tigers are the most dominant program in the history of women’s track and field as they have won a combined 25 NCAA team titles all-time.
The men are looking to bring home their first outdoor national championship since the 2002 season as they have won four outdoor national titles in their history with a combined total of six between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships return to Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University in Sacramento, Calif., for the third straight year as it is scheduled to get underway June 6 at noon CST. This year’s national champions will be crowned following the action on June 9.
Coaches Poll
WOMEN
1. Arizona State
2. LSU
3. Texas A&M
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. Stanford
10. Southern California
11. Texas Tech
12. Oregon
13. California
14. Nebraska
15. Auburn
16. Virginia Tech
17. Washington State
18. Miami
19. Georgia Tech
t20. Houston
t20. Penn State
t20. UTEP
MEN
1. Florida State
2. LSU
3. Southern California
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. Oregon
7. Baylor
8. Arizona State
9. North Carolina
10. Texas
11. Washington
12. Wisconsin
13. Ole Miss
14. Louisville
15. UCLA
16. Texas Tech
17. Arizona
18. Clemson
19. BYU
t20. Kansas
t20. Michigan
t20. Oklahoma