BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field teams are off to a fast start in 2008, and the Lady Tigers hold on to their No. 1 ranking while the Tigers are No. 10 in this week’s U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 released Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers remain the nation’s top-ranked squad after receiving the No. 1 ranking in the preseason coaches’ poll released on Dec. 17. The Tigers have dropped five spots to No. 10 in this week’s poll after opening the season at No. 5 in the country.
The squads have raced out of the blocks in the first two weeks of the indoor season, combining for five automatic qualifiers and 11 provisional qualifiers to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Lady Tigers have shown why they are one of the favorites to win this year’s indoor national title as senior Jessica Ohanaja (60 hurdles), junior Nickiesha Wilson (60 hurdles) and sophomore Samantha Henry (60 meters/200 metes) have already qualified automatically for the NCAA meet. Senior Richard Thompson (60 meters) has punched his ticket on the men’s side.
LSU did not have any NCAA automatic qualifiers after its first two meets of the season last year despite having 12 provisional qualifiers.
Rounding out the top five on the women’s side are No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Michigan. Arkansas is ranked No. 1 in this week’s men’s Top 25, while No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Boise State and No. 5 Texas Tech
The squads are back in action this weekend as they play host to the LSU Combined Events and Bayou Bengal Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Thursday and Friday. They will then make their annual trip to New York to compete in the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational at The Armory Track and Field Center beginning Feb. 8.
USTFCCCA Top 25
WOMEN
1. LSU, 201.99
2. Tennessee, 133.57
3. Texas A&M, 99.80
4. Arkansas, 86.77
5. Michigan, 84.64
6. Virginia Tech, 73.01
7. Ole Miss, 70.57
8. Minnesota, 67.12
9. Penn State, 64.38
10. South Carolina, 54.03
11. Florida, 52.54
12. Memphis, 47.06
13. Baylor, 45.78
14. Southern Illinois, 42.49
15. Purdue, 42.31
16. Texas, 40.64
17. Georgia Tech, 38.86
18. Kansas, 38.03
19. Kansas State, 37.73
20. Arizona, 37.58
21. Arizona State, 36.70
22. Indiana, 36.53
23. Oregon, 33.95
24. Florida State, 33.92
25. Texas Tech, 31.94
MEN
1. Arkansas, 117.21
2. Tennessee, 109.12
3. Oklahoma, 84.70
4. Boise State, 80.46
5. Texas Tech, 77.72
6. Nebraska, 69.73
7. Liberty, 68.00
8. Baylor, 64.56
9. Clemson, 60.25
10. LSU, 58.37
11. Florida, 55.61
12. Arizona, 53.81
13. BYU, 52.42
14. Auburn, 46.48
15. Idaho, 42.95
16. South Carolina, 36.93
17. Princeton, 35.51
18. La Salle, 35.14
19. Arizona State, 34.66
20. Oral Roberts, 34.10
21. Ohio State, 33.71
22. Florida State, 31.37
23. Washington, 27.96
24. Michigan, 27.38
25. Purdue, 27.32