BATON ROUGE – The LSU track and field teams will head back on the road this weekend with their first of three trips to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., where they will compete against an NCAA Championships caliber field on Friday and Saturday at the Razorback Invitational.
The meet will begin Friday at 6 p.m. CT and Saturday at 11 a.m. as the Tigers and Lady Tigers will battle many of the nation’s premier programs at the site of the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships.
Live results for the meet will be provided by www.flashresults.com. Fans can also receive live updates for the event as a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to compete in a competitive meet like this that will feature a number of teams we will see again at the NCAA Championships,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “This is a competition that will better prepare us to compete against the nation’s best in the championship meets.”
The Tigers are the new No. 1-ranked team in men’s collegiate track and field following the publication of the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 power ranking on Tuesday.
The Razorback will feature an NCAA Championships caliber field as the Tigers will face seven programs ranked among the Top 25 teams in the country, including No. 5 Oregon, No. 8 Stanford, No. 9 Florida State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 18 Texas and No. 19 Oklahoma State. Other premier teams scheduled to compete alongside the Tigers this weekend are Arizona and TCU.
The Lady Tigers enter the meet with a No. 3 national ranking in this week’s USTFCCCA Top 25 ranking, and will face No. 1 Oregon, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 14 Florida State, No. 17 Nebraska, No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Arizona, Oklahoma State, Stanford and TCU on the women’s side.
LSU looks to continue its early season momentum as it has already qualified a total of five entries into the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Three LSU athletes who have already punched their ticket to the national meet will be in action again this weekend, led by Lady Tiger sprinter Semoy Hackett. The reigning SEC Female Runner of the Week is set to compete in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash this weekend as she currently ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in the 60 (7.24) and No. 2 in the NCAA in the 200 (22.98) to this point in the season.
A pair of Tigers who have already qualified for the NCAA Championships in the long jump will compete in the triple jump this weekend as senior Zedric Thomas and sophomore Damar Forbes look to qualify for their second event. The men’s triple jump will also feature LSU junior Kyron Blaise, who opened with an impressive mark of 52-7 ¼ a week ago that is less than five inches from the NCAA qualifying standard.
The nation’s No. 1-ranked performer in the men’s 60-meter dash will also compete this weekend as junior Horatio Williams is in search of his first NCAA automatic qualifying performance of the 2011 season.
After opening the season with the nation’s fastest 60-meter time of 6.61 at the Purple Tiger Invitational on Jan. 15, Williams followed by setting a new indoor personal best with the nation’s third-fastest time of 20.86 in the 200-meter dash during the LSU vs. Texas A&M Dual Meet this past weekend.
Other Tigers who are poised to add their names to LSU’s NCAA Championships roster this week include junior All-America candidates Riker Hylton in the 400 meters (47.32), Michael Lauro in the weight throw (67-1 ¼) and Barrett Nugent in the 60-meter hurdles (7.75).
Among the Lady Tigers who will be competing with NCAA Championship aspirations are senior Brittani Carter in the high jump (6-0 ½), senior Melissa Ogbourne in the triple jump (41-5 ¼), senior Kenyanna Wilson in the 60 meters (7.36) and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan in the 200 meters (23.56).
Following their trip to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will make a return trip this season to The Armory Track & Field Center in New York to compete in the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational that is scheduled to run Feb. 4-5 as one of the nation’s premier indoor meets.