BATON ROUGE – As the LSU Track & Field teams prepare for the start of the 2012 indoor season this weekend, the Tigers and Lady Tigers are ranked among the top programs in the country once again with a release of the first Top 25 rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Only defending NCAA Indoor champion Oregon is ranked ahead of the Lady Tigers in the power ranking released by the USTFCCCA for the preseason. The Lady Tigers earned a pair of third-place team finishes at the NCAA Championships to highlight another impressive season in 2011.
The Tigers are ranked No. 3 to open the 2012 campaign after taking home team trophies with fourth-place finishes both indoors and outdoors at the NCAA Championships a year ago. Defending NCAA Indoor champion Florida tops the preseason power ranking, while Arkansas follows in the No. 2 position to open with an SEC sweep of the top three spots on the men’s side.
Other SEC programs in the power rankings include No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 21 Georgia on the men’s side and No. 3 Arkansas and No. 14 Georgia on the women’s side.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers kick off the 2012 indoor season Saturday as they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to compete as part of the Crimson Tide Indoor Opener being held at Fair Park Arena. They follow with an anticipated trip to College Station, Texas, next weekend for the second-annual LSU vs. Texas A&M Dual Meet to be held Jan. 21 at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
USTFCCCA Indoor Preseason Top 25
WOMEN
1. Oregon, 200.25
2. LSU, 142.63
3. Arkansas, 124.93
4. Texas, 112.27
5. Clemson, 111.83
6. Central Florida, 100.67
7. BYU, 85.81
8. Texas Tech, 70.09
9. Florida State, 61.83
10. Arizona, 59.78
11. Ohio State, 57.99
12. Southern Illinois, 57.69
13. Southern Miss, 57.17
14. Georgia, 53.38
15. Stony Brook, 48.21
16. Arizona State, 47.75
17. Texas A&M, 47.71
18. Baylor, 47.66
19. Michigan, 45.21
20. Connecticut, 44.24
21. Oklahoma, 43.10
22. Villanova, 40.02
23. Stanford, 36.71
24. Georgetown, 34.84
25. Nebraska, 32.39
MEN
1. Florida, 150.54
2. Arkansas, 149.44
3. LSU, 130.87
4. Ohio State, 86.42
5. Nebraska, 89.02
6. Florida State, 81.50
7. Stanford, 76.51
8. Indiana, 74.81
9. Arizona, 74.80
10. Texas, 72.28
11. Kansas State, 69.82
12. Texas A&M, 69.17
13. Wisconsin, 64.25
14. BYU, 62.40
15. Minnesota, 59.95
16. Iowa, 59.49
17. Oregon, 53.63
18. Virginia Tech, 53.56
19. Ole Miss, 49.60
20. Mississippi State, 44.94
21. Georgia, 42.57
22. Iona, 39.88
23. Oklahoma, 39.08
24. NC State, 37.43
25. Northern Arizona, 34.06