BATON ROUGE- The LSU track and field team welcomes a world class field to Bernie Moore Track Stadium Saturday afternoon for its 2000 outdoor home opener, as the U.S. Collegiate Track and Field Series comes to Baton Rouge. Field events will get underway at 10 a.m. with track events starting at 12:15 p.m.
The U.S. Collegiate Series will be a four-way scored meet with LSU, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. The men’s competition figures to be especially strong on Saturday. TCU finished fourth in the nation at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships, while LSU finished seventh and Oklahoma 19th.
“If the weather holds up, the opportunity is there for a tremendous competition,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “The teams coming in and our facility make that possible. Anytime you hear names like TCU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, it’s not very hard to get up for a competition like that when you know the quality of the meet will be so high.”
The U.S. Collegiate Track and Field Series is part of a group of scored meets held throughout the nation with the goal of increasing fan interest through team scoring. It marks the third consecutive year that the series has been held in Baton Rouge.
After starting off conservatively at the SEC Quadrangular last weekend, Henry has indicated the he will use his athletes more aggressively this weekend, opening up a number of athletes he rested last weekend to give them time to rest after the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Fresh off of winning NCAA Indoor titles in their respective events, pole vault champion Russ Buller and triple jump winner Keisha Spencer will open the outdoor season at home this weekend.
In addition, a number of LSU’s high profile athletes will be running their signature events at Bernie Moore Track Stadium this weekend. 1999 NCAA 400-meter runner-up Derrick Brew headlines a world class field in the quarter, while 1999 NCAA Outdoor 800-meter champion Claudine Williams will run the half mile.
Joyce Bates, who finished second in the 60-meter hurdles at the recent NCAA Indoor Championships, and Monique Freeman, who also registered a second place finish in the long jump at the national meet will get their outdoor seasons underway in their signature events on Saturday.
Look for the men’s 4×400-meter relay to be one of the hottest races of the day. TCU won the NCAA Indoor title in Fayetteville, Ark., two weeks ago with Oklahoma finishing second. The Tigers were tied with the two schools on the third leg before dropping the baton and falling back.
The U.S. Collegiate Series is one of only two regular season home appearances for LSU during the outdoor season. LSU hits the road for a pair of tough competitions over the next two weekends before returning to Baton Rouge for the Alumni Gold Relays on April 15. LSU travels to Los Angeles for a four-way meet with Southern California, Nebraska and North Carolina next weekend before heading to Austin, Texas for the prestigious Texas Relays from April 5-8.