BATON ROUGE – The 2015 indoor season will soon draw to a close with the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships running two days from March 13-14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the LSU Track & Field teams are set to take 14 qualifiers to the event being held at the University of Arkansas.
The No. 7-ranked Tigers cracked the Top 10 of the final men’s team standings in a tie for eighth place while scoring 18 points with their two entries at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago when Vernon Norwood was the national runner-up in the 400-meter dash and the Tigers were crowned national champions in the 4×400-meter relay.
The No. 20-ranked Lady Tigers piled up 16 points to tie for 12th place in the final women’s team standings a season ago after winning four-straight NCAA Indoor third-place team trophies from 2010-13.
The Lady Tigers have matched their entries from the 2014 indoor season as they will once again take eight qualifiers to the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville next week. The Tigers have added to their number of qualifiers from a team that earned a top-10 finish a year ago as they are ready to compete with six entries at this year’s national championship.
The Tigers will line up as a contender to defend their NCAA Indoor national championship in the men’s 4×400-meter relay as they return all four legs from the squad that won the program’s fourth NCAA Indoor title last season in the event. Joining Norwood are fellow senior Quincy Downing and juniors Darrell Bush and Cyril Grayson who have run the NCAA’s No. 3-ranked relay time for 2015 at 3 minutes, 4.28 seconds.
Norwood is also back to challenge for the NCAA Indoor title in the men’s 400-meter dash after winning the silver medal a season ago as he is the No. 4-ranked qualifier in the field with a seasonal-best time of 45.56.
Downing will also line up in the 400-meter dash for the second-straight season after just missing out on a spot in the final in 2014 when he raced to a 10th-place finish in qualifying to cap his junior season indoors. For the 2015 indoor season, Downing has run his seasonal-best time of 46.27 to follow Norwood as the No. 13-ranked qualifier in the men’s 400-meter field.
Fresh off of his gold-medal-winning performance at the 2015 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, senior Aaron Ernest is set to make his return to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200 meters for his final appearance as an LSU Tiger. Ernest clocked the NCAA’s No. 2 time this season at 20.67 in the preliminary round before winning his second SEC Indoor title with a run of 20.69 in the final on Saturday.
Ernest has rediscovered the All-America form he showed during his sophomore season in 2013 when he finished in sixth place nationally in the 200-meter final at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Two Tigers will be making their debut appearances at the NCAA Indoor Championships as senior Joshua Thompson has qualified in the men’s 60-meter hurdles and sophomore Tremayne Acy joins Ernest for the men’s 200-meter dash. Thompson ranks No. 6 in the 60 hurdles with a top time of 7.73, while Acy follows Ernest at No. 9 in the field for the 200 meters with a top time of 20.85 in 2015.
While the Tigers are the defending NCAA Indoor Champions in the 4×400-meter relay, the Lady Tigers feature a national championship contender of their own in the form of the NCAA’s shot put leader Tori Bliss.
Bliss joined the 60-foot club in the shot put while being crowned the SEC Indoor Champion in the event on Friday with an SEC Indoor meet record of 60 feet, 1 inch on her very first throw of the competition. LSU’s 2014 NCAA Outdoor silver medalist is poised to earn her second career All-America honor while making her first career appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
An NCAA Indoor finalist in the long jump in her debut a year ago, sophomore Nataliyah Friar is the team’s lone NCAA Championships qualifier in two events as she will appear in both the long jump and triple jump next weekend. Friar owns the No. 11-ranked mark at 20-9 ¾ in the long jump and No. 13-ranked mark at 42-6 in the triple jump in the field appearing at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Along with Bliss, a host of youthful Lady Tigers have qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time in their collegiate careers, including sophomore Jada Martin in the 200 meters with the No. 8 time this season at 23.30, sophomore Morgan Schuetz in the 800 meters with a time of 2:04.87 to grab the 16th and final spot in the field, freshman Daeshon Gordon in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.20 for the 13th-fastest time in the country and freshmen Aleia Hobbs (7.29) and Mikiah Brisco (7.30) at No. 15 and No. 16 in the women’s 60-meter dash.
LSU’s 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships Qualifiers
Men
Athlete, Event, Top Time/Mark (NCAA Rank)
Tremayne Acy, 200 meters, 20.85 (9)
Quincy Downing, 400 meters, 46.27 (13)
Aaron Ernest, 200 meters, 20.67 (2)
Vernon Norwood, 400 meters, 45.56 (4)
Joshua Thompson, 60 hurdles, 7.73 (T6)
Bush, Downing, Grayson, Norwood; 4×400 relay; 3:04.28 (3)
Women
Athlete, Event, Top Time/Mark (NCAA Rank)
Tori Bliss, Shot Put, 60-1 (1)
Mikiah Brisco, 60 meters, 7.30 (16)
Nataliyah Friar, Long Jump, 20-9 ¾ (11)
Nataliyah Friar, Triple Jump, 42-6 (13)
Daeshon Gordon, 60 hurdles, 8.20 (T13)
Aleia Hobbs, 60 meters, 7.29 (15)
Jada Martin, 200 meters, 23.30 (8)
Morgan Schuetz, 800 meters, 2:04.87 (16)