BATON ROUGE – For the second time in three weeks, the LSU track and field teams will travel to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the 2011 Tyson Invitational scheduled for this weekend on Friday and Saturday at the University of Arkansas.
The refurbished Randal Tyson Track Center will also serve as host for the 2011 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships that are scheduled to run Feb. 25-27.
The action at this year’s Tyson Invitational is set to begin at noon CT on Friday and Saturday. The meet’s live results can be found online at www.flashresults.com. Fans can also receive live updates from the meet by becoming a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.
“This is always an interesting week for both of our teams as we go to the Tyson Invitational to compete as part of another NCAA Championships caliber field,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “It’s important for us to keep up our intensity level this week after already being on the road for the last few weeks, along with a big weekend for both of our teams last weekend in New York.
“This is another great opportunity for our teams to strengthen their postseason position at the NCAA meet about a month from now. We have another great chance to improve as a program.”
The No. 2-ranked Tigers and No. 3-ranked Lady Tigers will have the opportunity to compete alongside an NCAA Championships caliber field once again as LSU will join 11 nationally-ranked men’s teams and 12 nationally-ranked women’s teams this weekend at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Joining the Tigers in Fayetteville are such nationally-ranked teams as No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Florida State, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 21 Georgia and No. 22 Kansas State.
The Lady Tigers will also receive a preview of what to expect at the NCAA Championships by competing alongside such nationally-ranked programs as No. 1 Oregon, No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 9 Auburn, No. 10 Florida State, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 17 Central Florida, No. 18 Texas Tech, No. 19 Penn State, No. 20 Indiana, No. 22 TCU and No. 23 Louisville.
The LSU men’s and women’s teams have already combined for a total of eight automatic qualifiers in the NCAA Indoor Championships with four entries for the Tigers and four entries for the Lady Tigers.
Senior Walter Henning will have the opportunity to defend his NCAA Indoor title in the 35-pound weight throw as he already owns the NCAA’s No. 1-ranked performance this season with a top mark of 72 feet, 7 inches. He will be joined at the national championships by senior Zedric Thomas (26-3 ¾) and sophomore Damar Forbes (26-3) in the long jump and junior Kyron Blaise (53-4 ½) in the triple jump.
Junior Semoy Hackett leads the Lady Tigers this season as she has already qualified in both the 60 meters (7.24) and 200 meters (22.98). Senior Brittani Carter has also qualified for the meet in the high jump with a mark of 6-1 ¼, while freshman Jasmin Stowers has qualified in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.13.
The Tyson Invitational will provide LSU’s 4×400-meter relay teams with their first true chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor meet as they will run against many of the nation’s top teams this weekend.
Other LSU athletes who find themselves on the cusp of NCAA qualification in their respective events this weekend include performers in each of the event areas.
Tigers looking to qualify this weekend are Thomas in the triple jump (52-6 ¾), junior Horatio Williams in the 60 meters (6.61), junior Riker Hylton in the 400 meters (46.99), junior Barrett Nugent in the 60 hurdlers (7.75) and junior Michael Lauro in the 35-pound weight throw (69-9 ½).
Lady Tigers who are also looking to add their names to LSU’s NCAA Championships roster include such stars as senior Kenyanna Wilson in the 60-meter dash (7.29), senior Tenaya Jones in the 60-meter hurdles (8.16), senior Melissa Ogbourne in the triple jump (43-2 ½) and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan in the 60-meter dash (7.30) and 200-meter dash (23.31).
After competing this weekend at the Tyson Invitational, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will return home next weekend to play host to the LSU Twilight on Feb. 18 at the Carl Maddox Field House. The championship season is set to begin in two weeks with the 2011 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.