BATON ROUGE ? After months of extensive training and preparation, the LSU track and field teams are set to open the 2008 indoor season Saturday by hosting the Purple Tiger Indoor Track and Field Classic at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
The morning session kicks off at 10 a.m. with the field events followed by the meet’s first events on the track at 11 a.m. Field events in the afternoon session are set to begin at 1 p.m. with the sprinters and hurdlers taking to the track for the first time at 3 p.m.
Following a pair of NCAA runner-up finishes a year ago, the Lady Tigers are among the national favorites once again as they open the indoor season ranked No. 1 according to the preseason poll released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Dec. 21.
The Tigers also return a strong squad that placed second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2007 as they have earned a No. 5 preseason ranking from the organization.
“We’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a long time now and our kids are excited about getting started,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “At this point in the season, it’s important that we take it one step at a time and just get our feet wet a little bit. We’re trying to get everyone into the competition that we feel is ready to compete.”
The Lady Tigers are looking to make a run at their 12th indoor national championship this season as they return five national champion athletes and nine All-Americans from last year’s squad.
Among those set to make their season debut on Saturday are All-Americans Kelly Baptiste, Samantha Henry, Brooklynn Morris, Jessica Ohanaja and Nickiesha Wilson. Baptiste, Henry and Morris will square off against one another in the 60-meter dash, while Ohanaja and Wilson will line up in the 60-meter hurdles after earning All-America honors in the event a year ago.
Highlighting the action in the field events for the Lady Tigers are standouts Katelyn Rodrigue in the pole vault, Kathy Coleman in the long jump and Andrea Linton in the triple jump.
While the Lady Tigers will feature one of the more experienced squads in the nation in 2008, they welcome the services of a number of highly-touted freshmen who have the ability to compete on a national level in just their first season in Baton Rouge.
Freshman Kenyanna Wilson of Peoria, Ariz., will make her collegiate debut in the 60-meter dash, while freshman Tenaya Jones of Dallas, Texas, is set to join Ohanaja and Wilson in the 60-meter hurdles and freshman Brittani Carter of Missouri City, Texas, will compete in the high jump.
“I’m certainly looking forward to seeing the progress these women have made from this time last year,” Shaver said. “They’ve done a tremendous job of getting themselves ready for this season and are as competitive a group as I’ve been around. If we progress like I know we’re capable, I feel like we can be right up there with the best teams in the country at the end of the season.”
The Tigers look to improve upon their 10th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago and compete for their first NCAA indoor crown since the 2004 season.
A pair of returning All-Americans will be in action Saturday as junior Jeremy Hicks and sophomore Will Coppage go head-to-head in the long jump. Coppage finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships last year, while Hicks placed seventh at the NCAA Outdoor meet in 2007.
Joining Coppage and Hicks in the long jump is one of the premier jumps prospects in the nation as freshman Zedric Thomas of New Iberia, La., is set to make his collegiate debut at the Purple Tiger Classic. Sophomore standout Josh Dominguez and freshman Kyle Rose also highlight the action in the field events as the duo is scheduled to compete in the pole vault.
LSU’s distance corps has the potential to be the most improved group on the squad in 2008 as the Tigers welcome the addition of a pair of Kenyans to the roster as John Kosgei and Elkana Kosgei will battle one another in the mile run on Saturday.
In addition, returning distance standout Joseph Simuchimba is slated to run the 3,000 meters at the Purple Tiger Classic on Saturday after becoming LSU’s first cross country runner since 2001 to represent the squad at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November.
“Our athletes have the opportunity this weekend to evaluate where they’re at in this stage of the game,” Shaver said. “That’s our focus as we open it up this weekend. They’ve prepared themselves well over the past few months and are ready to get going. It’s going to be an exciting season for us, and this is just the first step for our team.”
After playing host to the Purple Tiger Classic on Saturday, LSU will make its first of five trips to Fayetteville, Ark., this year as it competes in the Razorback Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas at the Randal Tyson Track Center from Jan. 25-26.