BATON ROUGE — With the start of the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships just eight days away, the LSU athletes who have yet to qualify for the event have one last opportunity to do so at one of two last chance meets this weekend.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will play host to the LSU NCAA Indoor Qualifier on Friday evening, while LSU will send 10 athletes to the Cyclone National Qualifier in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.
Nine athletes who have already recorded NCAA provisional qualifying marks in their respective events are set to compete at the Carl Maddox Field House on Friday.
Among the Tigers competing include senior Rabun Fox (weight throw), junior Will Coppage (long jump), junior Josh Dominguez (pole vault), junior Patrick Lee (60 hurdles) and freshman Michael Lauro (weight throw). Four Lady Tigers with NCAA provisional marks will also compete, including senior Andrea Linton (long jump/triple jump), junior Katelyn Rodrigue (pole vault), sophomore Tenaya Jones (60 hurdles) and sophomore Kenyanna Wilson (60 meters).
The meet is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m. with the field events followed by the opening event on the track at 6:30 p.m.
“This weekend will give several of our athletes the opportunity to improve their standing so they can help us compete at the NCAA meet next weekend,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “It will be a big weekend for many of those who will compete, particularly our jumpers and throwers at home. They have a great opportunity at home this weekend to get something done for us.”
In addition, LSU has four entries set to make the trip to Iowa State’s Cyclone National Qualifier at the Lied Athletic Center in Ames on Saturday, including junior Jamaal James and sophomore Richard Jones in the 800-meter run and both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams.
Both James (1:49.85) and Jones (1:49.87) hope to improve their NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 800 meters, while the men’s (3:09.58) and women’s (3:37.50) 4×400 relays will look to improve their provisional times in order to secure their spot at the NCAA Indoor meet.
The men’s relay pool consists of Armanti Hayes, Jamar Howard, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Robert Simmons, while the women will run with a foursome of Cassandra Tate, Brittany Hall, Kayann Thompson and LaTavia Thomas in hopes of qualifying for the national meet.
The track at the Lied Athletic Center is conducive to running fast times as it features a 300-meter oval with 42-inch lanes, making it one of the largest and fastest indoor surfaces in the world.
“The oversized track that they have at Iowa State will give our athletes the chance to open up and really run,” Shaver said. “It’s a much better environment for running faster times not just because of the track they have, but the level of competition that will be at the meet. Many of the nation’s best athletes still needing a qualifying time for the NCAA meet will be running at Iowa State. We expect a lot of fast times to come out of that meet this year.”
The indoor season will come to a dramatic conclusion next weekend as the nation’s best teams meet at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas, for the 2009 NCAA Track and Field Championships beginning Friday, March 13.