BATON ROUGE – The LSU Track & Field teams are poised to add to their NCAA Championships roster this weekend as they make their annual trip to The Armory Track & Field Center in New York for a clash with many of the nation’s elite teams at this year’s New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
The two-day meet kicks off Friday with the field events at 10 a.m. CST followed by the first events on the track at 1:50 p.m. Saturday’s action continues on the track at 8 a.m. and in the field at 8:15 a.m.
Live streaming video and live results from this weekend’s New Balance Collegiate Invitational is found at the competition’s official website at www.armorytrack.com.
Live updates throughout the meet will also be available on the official Facebook and Twitter pages for the LSU Track & Field program. To receive these live updates, fans are invited to like LSU Track & Field on Facebook and follow @LSUTrackField on Twitter. Additional coverage for the LSU Track & Field teams on Twitter will be provided by @WillStaffordLSU by sports information director Will Stafford.
Fans are also invited to join in the Twitter conversation during the New Balance Collegiate Invitational by using LSU Track & Field’s official Twitter hashtag for the meet of #LSUNewBalance.
“This is a meet we really look forward to each indoor season,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “This is probably the deepest field of competition we will face during the regular season. It’s also special in that our athletes have a chance to compete in one of the truly unique venues in our sport at The Armory.”
The first weekend in February attracts many of the nation’s elite collegiate programs to the Armory Track & Field Center each season as part of the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
The 2012 edition of one of the nation’s leading indoor track meets is no exception as the No. 2-ranked Lady Tigers and No. 3-ranked Tigers compete against an NCAA Championships caliber field featuring an impressive field with more than 100 programs from across the country. That includes a combined total of 20 teams ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25.
The Tigers are set to battle such teams as No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Texas, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 14 BYU, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 19 Iowa and No. 23 Iona.
The Lady Tigers join such nationally-ranked women’s programs as No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Central Florida, No. 7 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Iowa State, No. 14 Baylor, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 25 Villanova.
The New Balance Collegiate Invitational is also unique in that it is traditionally just one of the few scored meets in which LSU Track & Field competes during the regular season each year.
The Tigers brought home their fourth team title all-time from the New Balance Collegiate Invitational last season when they eclipsed runner-up Texas A&M by a score of 97-80 in the final men’s team standings. The Lady Tigers scored 85 points to finish in second place overall in the final women’s standings as BYU captured the team title after scoring 90.5 points in two days of competition at The Armory.
“There is no doubt that our athletes will need to step up their game this week and compete for one another if they hope to challenge for the team title at The Armory,” Shaver said. “And with the competition at this meet, it provides our athletes with a tremendous opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships.”
LSU qualified its first two entries into the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 28 with junior Charlene Lipsey running the NCAA’s top time in the 800-meter run at 2 minutes, 3.79 seconds and the men’s 4×400-meter relay clocking the No. 2-ranked time nationally at 3:06.11.
Other LSU athletes are on the verge of meeting the NCAA qualifying standard in their respective event as the teams look to strengthen their postseason roster at The Armory Track & Field Center.
Among the Tigers in search of an NCAA qualifying performance this week include senior Barrett Nugent in the 60-meter hurdles (7.76), junior Damar Forbes in the long jump (26-0 ¼) and junior Caleb Williams in the 400-meter dash (46.60). A number of Lady Tigers are also closing in on NCAA qualification which includes seniors Cassandra Tate (53.13) and Rebecca Alexander (53.63) in the 400 meters, sophomore Denise Hinton in the weight throw (66-1 ½), sophomore Jasmin Stowers in the 60 hurdles (8.13) and their 4×400-meter relay team (3:35.41) as each rank among the NCAA leaders for 2012.
After competing this weekend at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will return to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., for the second time in three weeks with an appearance at the Tyson Invitational being held from Feb. 10-11 at the University of Arkansas.