BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams will have one final opportunity to prepare for the indoor championship season this weekend as they return home to host to the LSU Twilight meet on Friday night at the Carl Maddox Field House on campus.
The field events are scheduled to get underway at 12:30 p.m. CT with the men’s weight throw. The action starts on the track at 5:15 p.m. with the preliminary round of the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles.
Live results from this year’s LSU Twilight will be provided by LSUsports.net. Live updates with the meet can also be received as a fan of LSU Track & Field on Facebook and @LSUTrackField on Twitter.
Friday’s competition marks the final meet of the regular season for the Tigers and Lady Tigers as they get set to compete at the 2011 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships being held next weekend on Feb. 25-27 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers are ranked No. 2 nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 power ranking released Tuesday. Also set to compete are such college teams as Hinds Community College, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Prairie View A&M, South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern, Southern Miss, Tulane and UL-Monroe.
“This is certainly an important weekend for both of our teams in preparation for the championship season that starts next weekend,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “After being on the road for four weeks in a row, it’s good for our teams to have a week off from traveling and sort of rest and prepare themselves to get ready for another big trip to Fayetteville where we will try to win a conference championship.
“Many of our athletes who have already qualified for the NCAA Championships will get a weekend off to rest while we’re at home, but there are still a number of athletes who will be competing for that qualifying standard at the LSU Twilight. This is just the next step in postseason preparation for both of our teams.”
Friday’s action features a trio of LSU athletes who have already qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet with senior Walter Henning, junior Semoy Hackett and freshman Jasmin Stowers scheduled to compete.
Henning, the reigning NCAA Indoor champion in the men’s 35-pound weight throw, is the favorite again to defend his crown as he currently owns the nation’s No. 1-ranked performance with a seasonal-best mark of 72 feet, 7 inches set two weeks ago at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Hackett owns the distinction as the only Lady Tiger in 2011 to hold the NCAA qualifying standard in two events with seasonal-best times of 7.24 in the 60-meter dash and 22.98 in the 200-meter dash. She will be on the track in the 60 meters this weekend. Stowers is currently the No. 3-ranked performer in the NCAA in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a top time of 8.13 also set at the New Balance meet.
Six other LSU athletes who are on the cusp of the NCAA qualifying standard in their respective event are also slated to be in action at the LSU Twilight meet on Friday night.
Three Tigers who rank among the nation’s top five in their respective events and are in position to qualify for the national meet this weekend are juniors Horatio Williams in the 60-meter dash (6.61), Barrett Nugent in the 60-meter hurdles (7.73) and Michael Lauro in the weight throw (69-9 ½).
The Lady Tigers will feature such NCAA Championships hopefuls as senior Kenyanna Wilson (7.29) and sophomore Kimberlyn Duncan (7.30) in the 60-meter dash and senior Tenaya Jones in the 60 hurdles (8.13). The teams have already combined for nine automatic entries into the national meet so far this year.