BATON ROUGE – The LSU track and field teams are among the title favorites this weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships after earning a pair of No. 2 national rankings in the latest power poll published by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday morning.
This marks the second week in a row that both the Tigers and the Lady Tigers share a No. 2 ranking in the USTFCCCA Top 25 power ranking of the top men’s and women’s teams nationwide.
The Tigers have actually locked down the No. 2 spot for the fourth-straight week after climbing to as high as No. 1 in all of collegiate track and field back in the second week of the regular season on Jan. 25. They trail only No. 1 Florida in this week’s power poll, while the rest of the top five remains unchanged from a week ago with No. 3 Indiana, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Arkansas.
The Lady Tigers are No. 2 nationally for the second week in a row after spending the previous four weeks in the No. 3 position. Top-ranked Oregon has held the same position for six-straight weeks, while the top five is unchanged from a week ago with No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Texas A&M.
The teams will open the championship season this weekend as they trip to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2011 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships beginning Friday afternoon.
USTFCCCA Top 25
Team (Points) Last Week
MEN
1. Florida (167.42) 1
2. LSU (158.45) 2
3. Indiana (92.88) 3
4. Texas A&M (86.75) 4
5. Arkansas (80.81) 5
6. Stanford (77.35) 7
7. BYU (72.71) 6
8. Texas (72.51) 8
9. Oklahoma (71.80) 10
10. Penn State (71.42) 9
11. Florida State (67.27) 11
12. Oregon (64.34) 12
13. Nebraska (60.77) 17
14. Arizona (58.23) 15
15. Iowa (57.33) 14
16. Wisconsin (56.32) 13
17. Alabama (55.91) 19
18. Texas Tech (55.00) 18
19. Kansas State (54.69) 20
20. Minnesota (54.09) 25
21. Washington (52.69) 16
22. Ohio State (52.41) 21
23. Virginia Tech (49.07) 35
24. Georgia (43.51) 22
25. Clemson (41.74)
WOMEN
1. Oregon (199.08) 1
2. LSU (147.16) 2
3. Texas (120.45) 3
4. Arkansas (118.29) 4
5. Texas A&M (112.61) 5
6. Tennessee (98.54) 6
7. Florida State (94.62) 7
8. Oklahoma (83.28) 9
9. Central Florida (79.17) 8
10. BYU (70.91) 10
11. Nebraska (68.39) 11
12. Arizona (67.05) 12
13. Michigan (60.62) 13
14. Southern Illinois (55.46) 14
15. Clemson (49.92) 15
16. TCU (49.20) 16
17. Texas Tech (47.46) 17
18. Connecticut (41.66) 19
19. Duke (41.43) 24
20. Baylor (40.96) 18
21. Florida (39.52) 22
22. Stony Brook (39.10) 27
23. Stanford (37.60) 21
24. Auburn (37.17) 23
25. Arizona State (36.96) 20