BATON ROUGE – With the start of the championship season right around the corner, the LSU Track & Field teams will split up for a pair of two-day meets again this weekend as they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the Tyson Invitational and Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Classic with both events running Friday and Saturday.
LSU’s athletes are looking for improved performances for NCAA qualification just one week after appearing at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic while also hosting the Bayou Bengal Invitational last weekend.
The Randal Tyson Track Center will be the site of the Tyson Invitational as Friday’s action kicks off at 1:50 p.m. CT and runs through the invitational 400 meters at approximately 6:40 p.m. Saturday’s finale is scheduled to get underway at Noon before coming to a close at 5 p.m. following the 4×400-meter relays.
The Tyson Invitational will be streamed live on the SEC Network+ with coverage beginning at Noon CT on both days of the competition as fans can watch the Tigers and Lady Tigers in action on Friday and Saturday.
LSU’s athletes get rolling each day at the Iowa State Classic at Noon CT as FloTrack is set to stream live coverage from the meet through its paid subscription service available at http://www.flotrack.org. Events from the Lied Recreational Center at Iowa State University run through the end of the men’s 3,000 meters at 9 p.m. on Friday and men’s 800 meters at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
NCAA Qualification
There are just three competition weeks remaining to lock in a seasonal-best performance as LSU’s athletes continue to position themselves for NCAA Championship qualification as they head to Arkansas and Iowa this weekend. The Top 16 performers in each individual event and Top 12 relays that declare following conference championship weekend will be accepted into the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships running March 10-11 at the Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track & Field Stadium in College Station.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers enter this weekend’s events with a combined 13 individual athletes and four relay teams currently ranked among the qualifying positions for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Those athletes are poised to improve their standing while others have a great opportunity to join them at the Randal Tyson Track Center and Lied Recreational Center over the next two days.
Tyson Invitational
Senior Michael Cherry highlighted LSU’s appearance at the Randal Tyson Track Center two weeks ago as he turned in an NCAA-leading 45.91 seconds in his season-opening 400 meters at the Razorback Invitational.
Cherry is back at the University of Arkansas this weekend to solidify his position atop the national rankings as he lines up in the invitational 400 meters on Friday night. He is among a host of LSU athletes lining up during the Tyson Invitational with Top 16 national rankings thus far as senior Jada Martin (200 meters), juniors Mikiah Brisco (60 meters, 60 hurdles) and Aleia Hobbs (60 meters), sophomores Donte Jackson (60 meters) and Kortnei Johnson (60 meters, 200 meters) and both of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team will also be in action.
Season Openers
Senior Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake makes his return to the site of his fastest indoor 200 meters as an LSU Tiger as he was crowned the 2016 SEC Indoor Champion in the event with a run of 20.51 as the Randal Tyson Track Center played host to the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships a year ago. He will make his season debut in the event on Saturday as the reigning NCAA Indoor Silver Medalist in the event.
Mitchell-Blake is coming off a junior season in 2016 in which he scored the NCAA Indoor silver medal in the men’s 200 meters while finishing the season with an indoor personal best of 20.51 in the event. He then made his name outdoors while nearly setting the British record in the event with a wind-legal 19.95 to win the SEC Outdoor title before later advancing to the 200-meter semifinals at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Senior Tremayne Acy is another All-America hopeful opening up in the 200 meters in Fayetteville this weekend alongside Mitchell-Blake as he lines up with an indoor personal best of 20.85 in the event.
Iowa State Classic
While Cherry lines up at the Tyson Invitational as the current NCAA leader in the men’s 400-meter dash, fellow senior Johnnie Jackson will step into the circle at the Iowa State Classic as the nation’s top performer with the men’s weight throw thanks to his season-opening mark of 77 feet, 3 ¾ inches at the Auburn Indoor Invitational three weeks ago.
Senior Morgan Schuetz and freshman Ruby Stauber look to improve their NCAA position in the 800 meters with Top 10 national rankings already to their credit this season, while sophomore Jordan McClendon looks to position herself in the women’s weight throw as she sits just outside the Top 16 as the nation’s 17th-ranked performer.
Other athletes poised to break into the NCAA’s Top 16 are senior Blair Henderson in the 800 meters, sophomore Dajour Braxton in the 3,000 meters and freshman Nickolette Dunbar in the shot put.
Up Next
The Tigers and Lady Tigers return home next week to play host to their annual LSU Twilight meet scheduled to run next Friday, Feb. 17, at the Carl Maddox Field House in Baton Rouge. Selected athletes are also making a one-day trip to South Bend, Indiana, to compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational being held Saturday, Feb. 18, at Notre Dame’s Loftus Sports Center.