BATON ROUGE – The LSU track and field teams will be well-represented at the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend as a total of 20 entries have been accepted into the meet beginning Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Lady Tigers will have one of the nation’s largest contingents in the meet once again as 11 athletes are set to compete in seven different events this weekend for a total of 11 entries.
The Tigers are poised for another strong performance at this year’s championship event as they boast nine athletes also competing in seven different events this weekend for a total of nine entries.
After earning All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the 35-pound weight throw last year, Tiger junior Walter Henning is a strong NCAA title contender this year as he enters the meet as the No. 1-ranked performer in the country this season with a top throw of 78 feet, 1 inch. That throw ranks Henning more than three feet farther than his nearest competitor in the event in 2010.
Henning set his seasonal-best mark of 78-1 in winning his second-straight SEC championship in the event at the SEC Indoor Championships. For his dominance in the weight throw event, Henning was recognized as the SEC Men’s Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year by the league’s head coaches.
The Tigers will also compete with two other SEC Indoor champions this weekend as junior Richard Jones and sophomore Barrett Nugent are among the nation’s premier performers in their respective events.
Nugent is ranked No. 3 nationally in the 60-meter hurdles with a best time of 7.65 seconds, while Jones is ranked No. 5 in the country in the 800-meter run with an indoor personal best of 1 minute, 47.78 seconds.
Junior jumper Zedric Thomas is the only LSU Tiger scheduled to compete in two individual events at this year’s meet as he has qualified in both the long jump (26-3) and triple jump (53-3 ½). Other Tigers set to compete in individual events this weekend include senior Jamaal James (800 meters), sophomore Michael Lauro (weight throw) and freshman Caleb Williams (400 meters).
In addition, the Tigers boast the nation’s No. 4-ranked 4×400-meter relay team as Jones and Williams will combine with senior Armanti Hayes and sophomore Robert Simmons to run the event. The foursome has recorded the fourth-fastest time in the country this season at 3:06.11.
The Lady Tigers are sure to be led by senior LaTavia Thomas, who will compete in the 800-meter run for the third time in her brilliant career at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Thomas is a former NCAA Indoor champion in the event after capturing the national title as a sophomore in 2008, and she enters the meet with the nation’s third-fastest time this season at 2:03.77. She has also anchored the Lady Tigers’ 4×400-meter relay team of sophomore Cassandra Tate, senior Kayann Thompson and junior Brittany Hall to the nation’s fourth-fastest time at 3:34.11.
In addition to running a leg on LSU’s 4×400 relay, Tate will compete in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor meet for the first time in her career as she enters the meet with the nation’s No. 10 time at 23.37.
Senior Samantha Henry, a 10-time All-American during her LSU career, is set to compete in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash this weekend. Henry earned a pair of indoor All-America honors last year as she took seventh place in both sprint races as a junior in 2009.
The Lady Tigers also feature two athletes ranked No. 4 in the nation in their respective specialty events as sophomore Rachel Laurent boasts a seasonal-best clearance of 14-3 ½ in the pole vault and freshman Takeia Pinckney has run a seasonal-best time of 7.24 in the 60-meter dash.
Junior All-American Brittani Carter also enters the meet ranked among the top five nationally in her event as she has the country’s No. 5-ranked performance with a clearance at 6-0 ¾.
Among the other Lady Tigers declared to compete in an individual event at the NCAA meet this weekend include junior Melissa Ogbourne (triple jump), junior Keyanna Wilson (60 meters) and freshman Kimberlyn Duncan (200 meters). Wilson ranks in a tie for No. 8 in the NCAA in the 60 meters with a best time of 7.30, while Ogbourne ranks No. 9 in the country in the triple jump with a top mark of 43-5.
LSU’s combined total of 21 entries is five more than its 16 entries into the NCAA Indoor Championship a year ago. The team’s also combined for an impressive 10 automatic qualifiers into the meet.
The 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to kick off Friday as the Randal Tyson Track Center will play host to the event for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The Tigers hope to improve upon their fourth-place finish from a year ago, while the Lady Tigers are looking to improve the sixth-place finish they earned during the 2009 season.
LSU’S 2010 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS
MEN
Athlete, Event, Top Mark/Time
Walter Henning, Weight Throw, 78-1
Jamaal James, 800 meters, 1:48.73
Richard Jones, 800 meters, 1:47.78
Michael Lauro, Weight Throw, 68-3 ¼
Barrett Nugent, 60 hurdles, 7.65
Zedric Thomas, Long Jump, 26-3
Zedric Thomas, Triple Jump, 53-3 ½
Caleb Williams, 400 meters, 46.53
Armanti Hayes, Robert Simmons, Richard Jones, Caleb Williams; 4×400 Relay; 3:06.11
WOMEN
Athlete, Event, Top Mark/Time
Brittani Carter, High Jump, 6-0 ¾
Kimberlyn Duncan, 200 meters, 23.57
Samantha Henry, 60 meters, 7.30
Samantha Henry, 200 meters, 23.42
Rachel Laurent, Pole Vault, 14-3 ½
Melissa Ogbourne, Triple Jump, 43-5
Takeia Pinckney, 60 meters, 7.24
Cassandra Tate, 200 meters, 23.37
LaTavia Thomas, 800 meters, 2:03.77
Kenyanna Wilson, 60 meters, 7.30
Cassandra Tate, Kayann Thompson, Brittany Hall, LaTavia Thomas; 4×400 Relay; 3:34.11