BATON ROUGE — After kicking off the indoor season by hosting the Purple Tiger Invitational last weekend, the LSU track and field teams will go on the road for the first time in 2010 as they make the trip to Albuquerque, N.M., on Saturday to compete in the New Mexico Invitational.
LSU makes its return to the Albuquerque Convention Center for the first time since the 2007 campaign as it will compete at the site of this year’s USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in February.
More importantly, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will have the opportunity to compete on a banked track for the first time as they look for more qualifying performances for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
“This is really our season opener in many ways because this will be the first opportunity our athletes have to compete on a banked track and qualify for the NCAA meet,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We will actually be on the road in four of the next five weeks to compete on banked tracks so that our athletes have the chance to fully prepare themselves to perform at the highest level in the championship meets.
“This will be our first big step in that direction. It’s important that we start to show both improvement and consistency in our performances each week as we work toward our ultimate goal of competing for NCAA championships with both the men’s and women’s teams.”
LSU is off to a fast start in 2010 after eight athletes enjoyed NCAA qualifying performances at the Purple Tiger Invitational at the Carl Maddox Field House on Jan. 22.
Junior Zedric Thomas, who qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships with a personal best of 26 feet, 3 inches in the long jump last week, will look to add the triple jump to his NCAA resume as he is scheduled to compete in the event for the first time this season. Thomas competed in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as a freshman in 2008.
Fellow junior Walter Henning is also scheduled to compete this weekend after opening the season with an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 71-4 ¾ in the weight throw in his season debut. Henning earned All-America honors in the event a year ago with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA meet.
In addition, six LSU athletes who opened the season with NCAA provisional qualifying performances last weekend at the Purple Tiger Invitational will compete Saturday at the New Mexico Invitational in hopes of improving their position on the national descending order list for postseason qualification.
Sophomore Barrett Nugent enters the meet as the NCAA leader in the 60-meter hurdles with a provisional qualifying time of 7.74 seconds, while freshmen Damar Forbes (24-11 ¾) and Rynell Parson (6.69) are also provisional qualifiers in the long jump and 60-meter dash, respectively.
For the Lady Tigers, freshman Takeia Pinckney opened the season with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.40 in the 60 meters, while sophomore Rachel Laurent (13-5 ¼) and senior Katelyn Rodrigue (13-1 ½) enjoyed provisional qualifying performances of their own in the pole vault.
The banked track at the Albuquerque Convention Center is sure to allow LSU’s 200-meter and 400-meter runners the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships early in the season.
Sophomore All-American Robert Simmons is sure to lead the way on the track for the Tigers as he makes his season debut in the 400-meter dash after earning indoor All-America honors in the event a year ago.
A trio of All-America candidates will compete in the 200-meter dash for the Lady Tigers led by 2009 All-American and senior standout Samantha Henry, junior Kenyanna Wilson and sophomore Cassandra Tate. Both Henry and Wilson are also slated to line up in the 60-meter dash during Saturday’s competition.
In addition, both the Tigers and Lady Tigers have the opportunity to run their 4×400-meter relay teams on a banked track for the first time during the 2010 season.
Other Tigers who look to qualify for the NCAA Championships in their respective specialty events on Saturday include senior Will Coppage (long jump) and junior Gabriel Mvumvure (60 meters, 200 meters). Junior Tenaya Jones (60 hurdles), junior Melissa Ogbourne (triple jump), freshman Latoya McDermott (400 meters) and freshman Brittany Porter (long jump) are among the Lady Tigers competing Saturday in hopes of qualifying for the national meet.
“We’re looking forward to the opportunity to compete on a track similar to what we will see at the NCAA Championships and see if we can’t get something done at this meet,” Shaver said. “It’s important for us to take advantage of every opportunity we have to qualify, starting with this weekend.”
After competing at the New Mexico Invitational on Saturday, LSU will go back on the road next weekend with its annual trip to New York to compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 5-6.