BATON ROUGE — The LSU track and field teams will waste no time after wrapping up the indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend as they open the outdoor season Friday and Saturday at the Willy Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona’s Drachman Stadium will play host to the two-day meet as the action kicks off Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT with the field events followed by the first events on the track at 8:45 p.m.
LSU will begin its quest for outdoor supremacy as the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships are scheduled from June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The Lady Tigers were this year’s runners-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while the Tigers took fourth in the event.
“We feel pretty good about where we’re at after the indoor season, and this weekend will be the first step for both of our teams as we get ready for a long outdoor season,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “It’s been our plan all along to rest some people who competed at NCAAs a week ago because we’re going to need them rested and ready to go in the next few weeks.
“But we still have a number of athletes who are making the trip to Arizona this weekend and have a great opportunity to compete for the first time this season and get something done for us.”
The LSU throwers will headline the contingent making the trip to the desert as junior Chad Radgowski and sophomore Preston Chatham will make their 2008 season debut by competing in the javelin throw after making an appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.
Radgowski is among the favorites to be crowned national champion in the javelin throw this season after earning his first career All-America honor with a sixth-place finish in the event at the national meet in Sacramento, Calif., a year ago.
The native of Liberty, Pa., enjoyed a breakout season in 2007 in which he won his first SEC title in the javelin with a personal best throw of 239 feet, 8 inches at the conference meet.
Junior Anna Lyons will also make her 2008 debut by throwing the javelin for the Lady Tigers, while junior Rabun Fox and sophomore Kim Williams will attempt to earn qualifying marks for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in the hammer throw after competing in the weight throw during the indoor season.
“This will be a great opportunity for our athletes who don’t have an event to compete in during the indoor season to get out and throw for the first time this year,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We’re going to have a nice weekend with the weather, and you have to take advantage of the opportunities you’re given outdoors to go out and get something done early on.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will also be well-represented on the track as senior All-American Juanita Broaddus is set to line up in the 200 meters, while fellow senior All-Americans Reggie Dardar, Deonna Lawrence and Brooklynn Morris are slated to compete in the 400 meters.
They will be joined on the track by the likes of senior Ryan Fontenot and junior Patrick Lee in the 110-meter hurdles and freshman Gabriel Mvumvure in the 100-meter dash.
The squads will follow their trip to Arizona by playing host to the LSU Tiger Relays at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium next weekend as the two-day meet is scheduled for March 28-29. They will then head back on the road to compete against many of the nation’s best teams in the 81st Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin from April 3-5.