BATON ROUGE — Just one week after wrapping up the 2009 indoor season with an appearance at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the LSU track and field teams will kick off the outdoor campaign Saturday with a trip to Lafayette, La., to compete in the Louisiana Classics.
The meet is set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and will be held at the Ragin’ Cajuns Track Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will begin preparation for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to be held at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark., from June 10-13.
“Our plan for the first meet outdoors is to rest many of our athletes who competed at NCAAs last week, but to give our other athletes the opportunity to compete this weekend and get something done for us early on,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We’re pleased with the way our kids competed at the NCAA Indoor meet and where we are heading into the outdoor season. This is an important first step for us as we prepare for what is sure to be an exciting outdoor season.”
Among those slated to compete this weekend include five athletes who represented the LSU team at the NCAA Outdoor Championships a year ago.
Sophomore Gabriel Mvumvure, who was an NCAA semifinalist in the 200-meter dash a year ago at the outdoor national meet, will double in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Louisiana Classics. The native of Harare, Zimbabwe, earned All-America honors as a freshman in 2008 after running the third leg on the Tigers’ NCAA champion 4×100-meter relay team.
Mvumvure will be joined Saturday by three NCAA Championship veterans in senior Rabun Fox (hammer throw), junior Jamaal James (800 meters) and junior Josh Dominguez (pole vault).
Junior pole vaulter Katelyn Rodrigue is the only Lady Tiger competing this weekend who saw the LSU women win the NCAA Outdoor crown in Des Moines, Iowa, a year ago. Rodrigue is looking to earn a qualifying mark for the NCAA Mideast Regional for the third-straight year.
In addition, other Lady Tigers who qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships last season that are looking to post a regional qualifying mark in their outdoor debut at the Louisiana Classics on Saturday include senior Anna Lyons (javelin), junior Kristina Davis (100 meters and 200 meters) and junior Kim Williams (hammer throw).
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will return to Baton Rouge and the Bernie Moore Track Stadium next weekend to play host to the LSU Relays as the two-day meet will be held March 27-28.