BATON ROUGE – The Tigers and Lady Tigers are ready to spike up and wear their purple and gold for the first time since the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June when they open up the 2016 indoor season Friday by playing host to this year’s Purple Tiger Invitational at the Carl Maddox Field House with the action set to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT.
The men’s and women’s weight throws get the afternoon session underway at 2:30 p.m. CT followed by the first preliminary races on the track beginning at 3:30 p.m. The first event finals on the track are scheduled to run at 4:50 p.m. as the evening session will continue through the distance medley relays at 9:35 p.m.
Delta Timing will provide live results from the meet as fans can follow the action at http://www.deltatiming.com. Fans can also receive live updates from the LSU Indoor Invitational throughout the afternoon at the Carl Maddox Field House by following @LSUTrackField on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/lsutrackfield and by liking LSU Track & Field on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lsutrackfield.
Southeastern Conference rival Mississippi State headlines the list of visiting teams making the trip to Baton Rouge to kick off the 2016 indoor season on Friday night in what should be an exciting season opener.
The meet also features an in-state flair with the likes of Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, New Orleans, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana and Tulane all set to compete this weekend. Rounding out the field are Hinds Community College, Meridian Community College, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin and Texas Southern.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers are ready to start their march toward the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships as they now have just nine weeks to prepare for the national meet. This year’s NCAA meet will be held for the first time at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama, and will run in just over two months from March 11-12.
LSU brought home a pair of top-10 team finishes from the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago as the Tigers tied for seventh place and the Lady Tigers tied for ninth place in the final standings to close out their 2015 campaign. The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 12 and the Tigers are ranked No. 14 heading into the season after the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its preseason rankings Wednesday.
Among those ready to open their 2016 seasons at the Carl Maddox Field House on Friday are five returning All-Americans from a season ago as seniors Chanice Chase, Fitzroy Dunkley and Cyril Grayson; junior Nataliyah Friar and sophomore Daeshon Gordon will all be in action. Gordon is the only returning All-American competing in her primary event as she will line up in the 60-meter hurdles for the first time in 2016, while Chase, Dunkley and Grayson will each run the 600 meters and Friar will compete in the 60 meters.
LSU’s season opener allows many of the program’s new recruits to make their debuts each year, and the Purple Tiger Invitational is no different as fans will get their first look at the likes of LaMar Bruton (600 meters), Michael Cherry (600 meters) and Johnnie Jackson (weight throw) for the Tigers and Cayla Nikodemus (60 hurdles, long jump, shot put) and Shayna Yon (60 meters) for the Lady Tigers.
A full event program is on tap for Friday’s competition as fans are invited to come out and enjoy the meet throughout the afternoon and evening as admission to the Carl Maddox Field House is absolutely free.
After opening up their 2016 indoor season by playing host to the Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday night, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will return to action next week when they are back at the Carl Maddox Field House to host the Bayou Bengal Invitational running Saturday, Jan. 16. They will then make their first trip to Birmingham in 2016 to compete in the Conference Class Power Five Invitational on Jan. 22-23.