BATON ROUGE – The LSU track and field teams will compete with two of the nation’s top rankings when they make their return trip to Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the 116th running of the Penn Relays as the Lady Tigers are ranked No. 2 and the Tigers are ranked No. 9 nationally this week.
LSU capitalized on its performance at the LSU Alumni Gold this past weekend as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its latest Top 25 power ranking late Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers moved up one spot and closed the gap on No. 1-ranked Texas A&M thanks in large part to their middle distance group that recorded the top three times in the NCAA in the 800-meter run.
Senior LaTavia Thomas led the way by setting a new personal best and the fastest time in the country this season at 2 minutes, 1.40 seconds. Senior Kayann Thompson followed with the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season at 2:03.54, while junior Brittany Hall clocked the NCAA’s third-fastest time at 2:03.76 in the same race. Freshman Charlene Lipsey also recorded the No. 7-ranked time in the NCAA at 2:05.89.
Freshman Kimberlyn Duncan and junior Kenyanna Wilson also recorded two of the nation’s fastest times in the 200-meter dash. Duncan clocked the No. 3-ranked time in the country under all conditions at 22.96, while Wilson followed with the No. 8-ranked time nationally at 23.24.
The Tigers were also led by their middle distance group as senior Richard Jones became the No. 1-ranked 800-meter runner on the men’s side with a personal-best time of 1:46.90, while fellow senior Jamaal James followed with the sixth-fastest time in the country this spring at 1:48.34.
USTFCCCA Top 25 Power Ranking
Women
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Texas A&M (340.33) 1
2. LSU (285.57) 3
3. Oregon (245.88) 2
4. Florida State (196.70) 4
5. Florida (178.17) 5
6. Penn State (175.06) 7
7. Oklahoma (173.21) 6
8. Baylor (165.56) 8
9. Virginia Tech (153.68) 11
10. Southern California (149.95) 9
11. Auburn (142.46) 14
12. UTEP (138.38) 10
13. BYU (134.57) 12
14. Washington (133.06) 15
15. Miami, Fla. (132.66) 13
16. Nebraska (114.41) 16
17. Texas (103.52) 17
18. Arkansas (100.38) 19
19. Arizona (100.09) 20
20. Louisville (94.22) 22
21. Clemson (90.90) 51
22. South Carolina (90.80) 21
23. Illinois (88.01) 24
24. Tennessee (85.19) 25
25. UCLA (79.79) 23
Men
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Florida (397.97) 1
2. Texas A&M (323.79) 2
3. Oregon (266.44) 3
4. Florida State (247.56) 5
5. Texas Tech (223.83) 4
6. Southern California (190.61) 7
7. Arizona State (181.50) 6
8. Auburn (173.72) 9
9. LSU (159.49) 8
10. Mississippi State (153.24) 11
11. South Carolina (148.90) 12
12. Oklahoma (148.70) 10
13. Nebraska (132.05) 13
14. Ole Miss (122.36) 15
15. Louisville (120.08) 14
16. Baylor (118.90) 16
17. Arkansas (117.36) 17
18. Virginia Tech (116.58) 18
19. California (101.32) 19
20. Minnesota (95.58) 21
21. BYU (93.86) 20
22. Kansas State (91.23) 22
23. Tennessee (79.66) 23
24. Wisconsin (79.54) 25
25. Texas (76.88) 35