NAMPA, Idaho – After receiving a combined 20 entries from the NCAA Selection Committee on Monday night, the No. 3-ranked Lady Tigers and No. 4-ranked Tigers will join the national championship chase this weekend as they wrap up the indoor season at the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships beginning Friday at the Jackson Indoor Track.
Live results at the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be provided by Flash Results and can be found online at www.flashresults.com.
ESPN3.com will provide live video of the meet on Friday from 6:30 p.m.-10:45 p.m. CT and on Saturday from 7 p.m.-10:15 p.m. NCAA.com and broncosports.com will also provide a live video stream for events not covered by ESPN3.com on Friday (11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. CT) and Saturday (11:30 a.m.-7 p.m.).
In addition, ESPNU will air a two-hour tape-delay broadcast of the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championship on Sunday, March 18, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. CT. Check local listings for ESPNU in your area.
This year’s championship will begin for the Tigers and Lady Tigers on Friday at 3 p.m. CT as sophomore Denise Hinton competes in the women’s weight throw. The teams will step onto the track for the first time at 6:30 p.m. with the preliminary heats of the 60-meter hurdles. The first day of competition will end after the running of the distance medley relays at approximately 10:45 p.m.
Senior Michael Lauro will be the first Tiger to compete Saturday as the day begins with the men’s weight throw at 5 p.m. followed by the first finals on the track at 7:35 p.m. The 2012 NCAA Indoor men’s and women’s team champions will be honored during a brief awards ceremony at 10:05 p.m. after the running of the 4×400-meter relays in the finale of this year’s championship.
Fans can receive additional coverage for the Tigers and Lady Tigers competing at the NCAA Indoor meet by liking LSU Track & Field on Facebook and following @LSUTrackField on Twitter.
The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 3 and the Tigers are ranked No. 4 in the final national power rankings put out Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
LSU Track & Field is one of only a handful of programs with an opportunity to compete for team trophies on both sides signifying a top-four finish in the final men’s and women’s team standings.
The Lady Tigers are tied for the national lead with 12 entries into the meet as they are ready to compete in nine different events at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Tigers feature eight entries in six different events as they are also a trophy contender during the meet this weekend.
“Our student-athletes have done a tremendous job all year long of working hard and preparing themselves to compete this weekend at the NCAA Championships,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “They now have an opportunity to compete for a national championship as we finish up the indoor season. I am proud of the way they have performed and how they have improved each week to get to this point.
“Now is the time for them to step up their game and take their performance to the next level and get ready to lay it all on the line this weekend for themselves and their teammates.”
LSU Track & Field is among the most successful and most consistent programs year in and year out at the NCAA Championships as the Tigers and Lady Tigers have combined for eight trophy finishes indoors for the last five seasons dating back to the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships.
After earning back-to-back second-place finishes in the final standings in 2007 and 2008, the Lady Tigers are among the teams competing for the 2012 NCAA Indoor team crown this weekend after earning a third place finish in each of the last two seasons in 2010 and 2011. They took home the bronze during the event in College Station, Texas, a year ago while scoring 37 points in two days of competition.
The Tigers are looking to improve upon the fourth-place finish they have claimed in each of their last four seasons as they have won a trophy at the NCAA Indoor Championships each year from 2008-11. The club scored a total of 31 points during the two-day meet en route to a fourth-place finish a year ago.
LSU has found a home on the awards podium throughout the history of the NCAA Indoor Championships as the teams have combined for 13 team titles all-time. The Lady Tigers have captured 11 national crowns and the Tigers have won a pair of team titles all-time at the NCAA Indoor meet. They have also combined to win 30 team trophies awarded to teams earning a top-four finish during the meet.
LSU owns the distinction of being the first program to sweep men’s and women’s team titles at the indoor national meet after winning their last NCAA Indoor team titles in 2004.
“We’ve certainly enjoyed our fair share of success at the national meet over the year,” Shaver said. “That is a testament to our student-athletes and how hard they’ve pushed themselves and worked in our program at LSU. They understand that these are the meets that will always be remembered.”
Lady Tigers junior Kimberlyn Duncan is the defending NCAA Indoor 200-meter dash champion after she captured her first career national title with at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas, as a sophomore in 2011 after clocking in at 22.85 seconds in the national final.
Duncan enters the meet as the NCAA’s No. 2-ranked 200-meter runner on the 2012 indoor campaign with a seasonal-best effort of 23.07 set in defending her SEC Indoor crown two weeks ago at the Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky. She lines up this weekend with an impressive run of 13-straight victories in 200-meter finals against collegiate competition dating back to the 2011 indoor season.
Duncan is also an All-America contender in the 60-meter dash as she owns one of the Top 10 times in the field with a seasonal best of 7.26 as the only Lady Tiger entered in two events this weekend.
Two other Lady Tigers are strong national title contenders on the track as both senior Rebecca Alexander and junior Charlene Lipsey are the NCAA’s No. 3-ranked performers in their respective events.
Alexander owns a lifetime personal record and 2012 indoor seasonal best of 52.66 for the 400-meter dash that ranks No. 3 in the championships field this weekend. Lipsey also owns the No. 3-ranked time for this season in the 800-meter run with her seasonal-best effort of 2 minutes, 3.79 seconds.
Tiger junior Damar Forbes is a leading contender for the men’s long jump title as he owns the No. 1 mark in the NCAA this season with a seasonal best and indoor personal best of 26 feet, 7 ¾ inches set during the Tyson Invitational back on Feb. 10. Forbes will double in the long jump and triple jump for this year’s NCAA Indoor meet as his lifetime PR of 52-10 ¼ ranks No. 7 nationally in the triple jump.
In addition, the Lady Tigers feature a strong NCAA title contender in the 4×400-meter relay this weekend as the team of Alexander, senior Cassandra Tate, junior Siedda Herbert and senior Jonique Day boasts the No. 3-ranked time in the field with a best of 3:31.55 in 2012.
Other LSU athletes who rank among the NCAA’s Top 5 in their respective events include senior Kyron Blaise in the triple jump (53-0), senior Michael Lauro in the weight throw (72-6 ¼), senior Barrett Nugent in the men’s 60-meter hurdles (7.70), sophomore Jasmin Stowers in the women’s 60-meter hurdles (8.03) and the Tigers in the 4×400-meter relay (3:05.41).
LSU’S 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships Qualifiers
Men
Athlete, Event, Top Mark/Time
Kyron Blaise, Long Jump, 25-4 ½
Kyron Blaise, Triple Jump, 53-0
Damar Forbes, Long Jump, 26-7 ¾
Damar Forbes, Triple Jump, 52-10 ¼
Michael Lauro, Weight Throw, 72-6 ¼
Barrett Nugent, 60 hurdles, 7.70
Caleb Williams, 400 meters, 46.31
Simmons, Hylton, Alleyne-Forte, Williams; 4×400 relay; 3:05.41
Women
Athlete, Event, Top Mark/Time
Rebecca Alexander, 400 meters, 52.66
Kimberlyn Duncan, 60 meters, 7.26
Kimberlyn Duncan, 200 meters, 23.07
Shanekia Hall, 60 hurdles, 8.15
Denise Hinton, Weight Throw, 69-9 ¾
Rachel Laurent, Pole Vault, 13-10 ½
Charlene Lipsey, 800 meters, 2:03.79
Takeia Pinckney, 60 meters, 7.34
Lynnika Pitts, Triple Jump, 42-9 ¾
Jasmin Stowers, 60 hurdles, 8.03
Cassandra Tate, 400 meters, 53.13
Alexander, Tate, Herbert, Day; 4×400 relay; 3:31.55