BATON ROUGE – As the LSU track and field teams prepare for this week’s scored competition at the inaugural LSU Invitational being held on Saturday at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium, they welcome the likes of two-time defending NCAA Outdoor team champion Texas A&M to Baton Rouge for the event.
LSU and Texas A&M are just two of six elite programs from across the country that are ready to compete in what is sure to be an exciting scored meet on campus for fans to enjoy. The field also features teams for Army, Connecticut, Illinois and Iowa during the inaugural event.
The competition will begin at 2 p.m. CDT following a brief opening ceremony, while the team champions will be crowned following the running of the 4×400-meter relays at approximately 5:30 p.m.
“We expect this to be an exciting event for our fans to enjoy. It’s not often that we have the opportunity to compete in a scored meet during the regular season, but we are fortunate to have some quality teams joining us for a great afternoon of world-class track and field,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “It’s the start of a tradition that we hope to continue for many years to come here at LSU.”
With the publication of the 2011 preseason outdoor Top 25 national ranking a week ago by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, LSU and Texas A&M are sure to compete for a national championship as both rank among the nation’s premier programs again this outdoor season.
The Lady Tigers open the outdoor season ranked No. 3 and the Tigers kick off the campaign ranked No. 5 according to the USTFCCCA Top 25 power ranking of the top teams in collegiate track and field.
The Texas A&M women are ranked No. 1 and the Texas A&M men are ranked No. 2 after sweeping both men’s and women’s national titles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in each of the last two seasons.
The inaugural field for the LSU Invitational enjoyed tremendous success throughout the 2011 indoor year as both LSU and Texas A&M earned top-five finishes on both the men’s and women’s sides at the NCAA Indoor Championships. For the second-straight season, the Lady Tigers placed third and the Tigers placed fourth in the final standings. The Aggie men placed second and the Aggie women placed fifth.
In addition, Iowa tied for eighth place, Illinois tied for 22nd place and Connecticut tied for 26th place in the final men’s team standings at the NCAA Indoor Championships.