BATON ROUGE – With the start of the 2011 indoor season now just eight days away, the LSU track and field teams are sure to join the national championship chase once again as the Tigers are ranked No. 2 and the Lady Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the preseason power ranking released Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
LSU is among the national title favorites indoors on both the men’s and women’s sides yet again after the Lady Tigers finished in third place and the Tigers finished in fourth place overall at the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., a season ago.
This year’s NCAA Indoor Championships will be held at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas, as the two-day meet will run from March 11-12.
The Tigers trail only the defending NCAA Indoor champion Florida Gators in the men’s power ranking as they are followed by No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Virginia Tech among the nation’s top five teams. The Lady Tigers trail only No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Texas A&M in the women’s power poll as they are followed in the top five by the likes of No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Clemson.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers are ready to host their 2011 indoor season opener next weekend as the Purple Tiger Invitational will be held at the Carl Maddox Field House on Jan. 15.
USTFCCCA Indoor Preseason Top 25 Power Rankings
MEN
1. Florida, 150.45
2. LSU, 132.22
3. Texas A&M, 120.56
4. Oregon, 104.38
5. Virginia Tech, 97.31
6. Florida State, 86.08
7. Texas Tech, 86.00
8. Penn State, 83.23
9. Stanford, 82.26
10. Indiana, 71.99
11. Auburn, 69.99
12. Nebraska, 65.53
13. Arkansas, 64.55
14. Georgia, 64.16
15. Texas, 63.85
16. Minnesota, 59.92
17. California, 59.27
18. Oklahoma, 52.57
19. Oklahoma State, 50.06
20. Kansas State, 49.58
21. North Carolina, 49.14
22. Washington, 44.87
23. UCLA, 44.17
24. Baylor, 43.58
25. Arizona State, 43.00
WOMEN
1. Oregon, 186.54
2. Texas A&M, 154.07
3. LSU, 122.90
4. Tennessee, 98.79
5. Clemson, 97.56
6. Arkansas 91.64
7. Auburn, 88.42
8. West Virginia, 84.74
9. Southern Illinois, 79.47
10. Oklahoma, 74.00
11. Villanova, 68.33
12. BYU, 66.79
13. Florida State, 60.24
14. Texas, 54.03
15. Texas Tech, 54.03
16. Arizona, 53.99
17. Nebraska, 53.51
18. Louisville, 48.91
19. Penn State, 47.13
20. South Carolina, 43.84
21. Kentucky, 43.54
22. Georgetown, 42.77
23. TCU, 42.35
24. Ohio State, 42.24
25. Washington, 39.06