TEMPE, Ariz. – After spending their Spring Break week training in the Valley of the Sun, members of the LSU Track & Field teams will continue their 2012 outdoor season on Saturday afternoon as part of the Arizona State Tri-Meet being held at Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe.
Joining the Tigers and Lady Tigers in Saturday’s event are the homestanding Arizona State Sun Devils, as well as the Arkansas men and San Diego State women to round out the tri-meet field.
The afternoon session is slated to get underway at 5 p.m. CDT with the running of the 4×100-meter relays following a brief opening ceremony. Saturday’s competition kicks off in the field events with the morning session scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. local start and 12:30 p.m. start back home in Baton Rouge.
Although live results will not be available during Saturday’s tri-meet competition, fans can receive all live updates on the Tigers and Lady Tigers competing by liking LSU Track & Field on Facebook and following @LSUTrackField on Twitter. LSUsports.net will also provide a full recap and final results after the conclusion of the meet with the running of the 4×400-meter relays at 7:15 p.m. CDT.
The LSU Track & Field teams have remained among the Top 3 teams in the NCAA following their strong performance in sweeping team titles at the “Battle on the Bayou” a week ago.
The Lady Tigers are No. 2 and the Tigers are No. 3 in this week’s Top 25 national power ranking released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday morning.
Saturday’s tri-meet features some of the NCAA’s premier programs this season as the Razorbacks own an impressive No. 5 ranking in the USTFCCCA Top 25 men’s power ranking, while the Sun Devils are rated No. 7 on the men’s side and No. 15 on the women’s side in this week’s national rankings.
This weekend marks a homecoming for two Arizona natives as senior Samia Stokes and freshman Jeremy Tuttle have enjoyed outstanding outdoor seasons for LSU this spring.
Stokes, who hails from Tempe, is already one of the NCAA’s leading discus throwers this season with her seasonal best of 173 feet, 0 inches that is the No. 16-ranked performance nationally in 2012. She set a best of 173-0 this spring in winning the women’s discus title a week ago at the “Battle on the Bayou.” She also owns a mark of 171-4 in her season opener at the Louisiana Classics on March 17.
A native of Sierra Vista, Ariz., Tuttle is one of the top young javelin throwers in the SEC and NCAA with a seasonal best and personal best of 215-1 set two weeks ago at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. He has the No. 7-ranked mark among all javelin throwers in the SEC this spring with the No. 3-ranked effort by a freshman. He also owns top marks of 150-1 in the discus and 181-1 in the hammer this spring.
Stokes is scheduled to step into the ring for both the discus and hammer throws in Saturday’s event, while Tuttle will make an appearance in the hammer and javelin throws for the Tigers in the meet.
Two NCAA leaders will also be in action for the LSU Track & Field teams during Saturday’s competition as senior Barrett Nugent lines up in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and junior Kimberlyn Duncan steps onto the track for the women’s 100-meter dash to highlight the action.
Nugent is undefeated in the sprint hurdles this season as the defending NCAA champion in the event after taking the title at both the Texas Relays and “Battle on the Bayou” in each of the last two weeks. He owns the NCAA’s fastest wind-aided (13.37w) and wind-legal (13.49) times on the campaign.
Duncan sprinted to the top of the NCAA rankings in her season-opener in the 100-meter dash at the Texas Relays as she took the women’s university title with a seasonal-best wind-aided time of 10.94 seconds for the NCAA’s No. 1-ranked performance under all conditions in 2012.
Duncan, who also runs the anchor leg on LSU’s NCAA-leading 4×100-meter relay team, is tied as the No. 6-ranked performer under all conditions in NCAA history with her season-opening run of 10.94w.
After competing with the Arizona State Tri-Meet on Saturday, the Tigers and Lady Tigers return to Baton Rouge next weekend to play host to this year’s LSU Alumni Gold being held on April 21 at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Next weekend will be a true celebration of LSU Track & Field as the program will also host its third-annual Team Awards and Alumni Recognition Banquet on Friday, April 20.
The teams will then wrap up the 2012 regular season on the final weekend of April as they will make their annual trip to Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa., to compete at the 118th Penn Relays that is scheduled for April 26-28 in one of the premier spectacles of the outdoor season.