NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The LSU Track & Field teams have made their return trip to Nashville this weekend as they line up as the No. 4-ranked Lady Tigers and No. 8-ranked Tigers are ready to kick off the championship season at the 2017 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships running Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility.
Vanderbilt University is playing host to the SEC Indoor Championships for the first time as it marks LSU’s second trip to Nashville this season after competing at the Commodore Invitational on Jan. 13-14.
Athletes competing in conference meets across the country have one final opportunity to post a qualifying mark for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships as Friday’s action in Nashville is scheduled to get underway at 10:15 a.m. CT with the first field events of the day followed by the first preliminary races on the track at 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s action continues at 11 a.m. in the field and 2 p.m. on the track.
The 2017 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships will run through the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays with this year’s team champions being crowned on Saturday evening at approximately 6:30 p.m. CT.
Fans can watch the Tigers and Lady Tigers in action this weekend as the online SEC Network+ will broadcast live coverage of the championship on Friday from 4:25-9:30 p.m. CT and Saturday from 1:55-6:45 p.m. The live video from the meet can be found online at http://ESPN3.com or by using the WatchESPN app available on all smartphones and tablet devices.
Highlights from this year’s SEC Indoor Championships are also scheduled for a two-hour, tape-delay broadcast on ESPNU as fans can also watch events from the meet on Sunday night from 7-9 p.m. CT.
Fans following the Tigers and Lady Tigers in action at the championship can also receive live updates and behind-the-scenes content from the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility by following @LSUTrackField on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsutrackfield and Instagram at http://instagram.com/lsutrackfield and liking LSU Track & Field on Facebook at http://facebook.com/lsutrackfield.
SEC Teams in the National Rankings
LSU’s teams arrive in Nashville with top-10 national rankings to their credit in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association power rankings as the Lady Tigers have reached their peak this season at No. 4 in the women’s rankings and the Tigers have slotted into the No. 8 spot in the men’s rankings released Monday.
The Tigers are among seven men’s teams ranked among the Top 12 teams in the country competing at the SEC Indoor Championships as they join the likes of No. 1-ranked Florida, No. 2-ranked Arkansas, No. 4-ranked Georgia, No. 5-ranked Texas A&M, No. 9-ranked Alabama and No. 12-ranked Tennessee. Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and South Carolina round out the 12 teams in the men’s field.
The Lady Tigers feature the third-highest-ranked women’s team in the field this weekend as they trail No. 2 Arkansas and No. 3 Georgia in the Top 5 of the USTFCCCA power rankings. The women’s competition for the SEC Indoor Championships boasts six top-10 and eight top-15 teams as No. 6 Kentucky, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 Florida and No. 13 Ole Miss join a full field of 14 programs that also features the likes of Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Arkansas is the defending SEC Indoor Champion on both sides as the Razorbacks scored 110 points to win the men’s title and 109 points to win the women’s title on their home track in Fayetteville a year ago.
Last Season
LSU’s women were runners-up in the women’s team race in 2016 as they totaled 67 points to finish second to Arkansas for their best team finish since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013. The Tigers were tied for sixth place at the SEC Indoor Championships a year ago with 49 points scored in two days of competition at Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center.
Mikiah Brisco and Morgan Schuetz were both crowned SEC Champions during the 2016 indoor season as they extended the Lady Tigers’ streak to 32-straight seasons of winning at least one SEC Indoor event title.
Brisco became the first Lady Tiger in history to sweep SEC Indoor titles in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles in the same meet, while Schuetz was crowned an SEC Champion for the first time in her career with an impressive win in the women’s 800 meters. The LSU women boast a title-winning streak in individual events and relays that dates back to their debut appearance at the SEC Indoor meet in 1985.
Brisco is eyeing a double-double as she tops the SEC rankings in the women’s 60 hurdles this season with a personal best of 7.98 to rank No. 2 nationally and ranks No. 2 in the SEC and No. 3 in the NCAA with a seasonal best of 7.19 in the 60 meters. Schuetz will relinquish her 800-meter title this weekend as she will instead run the mile.
LSU’s athletes claimed five event championships in all a year ago as senior Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake won the men’s 200-meter dash and former Tiger All-American Jordan Moore took the men’s 60 hurdles to lead their team during the competition. Mitchell-Blake is a strong contender to repeat as an SEC Indoor Champion with an indoor PR of 20.49 in his only 200-meter race of the season.
Six other LSU athletes compete this weekend as SEC-title favorites as they line up at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility with the SEC’s No. 1-ranked performance this season in their respective events.
Senior Johnnie Jackson is the SEC and NCAA leader in the men’s weight throw with a seasonal-best and personal-best mark of 77 feet, 3 ¾ inches to his credit in 2017, while fellow senior Jada Martin owns the best time in the women’s 200 meters at 22.95. Freshman Ruby Stauber, senior Travia Jones, sophomore Hollie Parker and Schuetz have also combined to run the fastest women’s distance medley relay in the conference with an LSU school record of 10 minutes, 57.66 seconds last week at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
With the SEC awarding all-conference honors for the top-three finishers in each individual event and relay this weekend, Stauber (800 meters), senior Michael Cherry (400 meters), senior Blair Henderson (800 meters), sophomore Kortnei Johnson (60 meters), the women’s 4×400-meter relay and men’s distance medley relay are strong All-SEC contenders with top-three rankings heading into the championship.
Up Next
Sunday is the last day any team can strengthen its NCAA Championship roster with athletes achieving a qualifying performance for the national meet. The Top 16 individuals and Top 12 relays in each event that declare will compete at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships being held March 10-11 at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.