FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The indoor season will come to an end this weekend as teams from around the country converge on the Randal Tyson Track Center to battle one another for the national title at the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held Friday and Saturday.
Live results from the meet can be found online at www.flashresults.com, while fans can follow up-to-the-minute and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Tigers and Lady Tigers competing at this year’s event by following @LSUTrackField on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lsutrackfield.
Live streaming video from the meet will also be available online at www.ESPN360.com beginning 8 p.m. CT on Friday and 6:10 p.m. on Saturday. ESPN2 will also air a 90-minute tape-delay broadcast of the meet to a nationwide audience on Wednesday, March 17, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
The meet is scheduled to get underway Friday at 10 a.m. with the multi-events followed by the start of the field events at noon and the first events on the track at 4:55 p.m.
The action continues Saturday at 11 a.m. with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon, while the first field events of the day are slated for 2 p.m. followed by the first events on the track at 6:15 p.m.
The Lady Tigers are poised for a title run as they enter the event ranked No. 3 nationally, while the Tigers are also in line for a strong performance as they are ranked No. 5 in the country in the final Top 25 power ranking released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
“This is certainly the meet that we’ve been looking forward to and preparing for all season long,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We have prepared our athletes these last two months to reach their peak performance this weekend at the NCAA meet. We feel like we have a great opportunity to come here and compete at the highest level. We look forward to doing that starting tomorrow.”
LSU will be well-represented this weekend as a total of 20 entries have been accepted into the meet as the Lady Tigers boast 11 entries and the Tigers feature nine entries of their own.
The Lady Tigers rank third among women’s teams competing this weekend in the total number of scoring opportunities in the meet as they trail only Oregon (16) and Texas A&M (12), while the Tigers also rank third on the men’s side behind only Florida (12) and Texas &M (10).
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. 6 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 20 entries is four more than its 16 entries into the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago, which featured 10 entries for the women and six entries for the men.
The Oregon men and Tennessee women are the defending NCAA Indoor champions after taking the team titles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships held a year ago at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
The Tigers earned a spot on the awards platform with a fourth-place finish with 29 points in the final team standings, while the Lady Tigers earned a sixth-place finish with 28 points in 2009.
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