BATON ROUGE – As they prepare for the regular-season finale with the 119th running of the Penn Relay Carnival being held this weekend, the Tigers and Lady Tigers are ranked among the nation’s Top 10 teams in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 power rankings released Tuesday morning.
The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 4 and the Tigers are ranked No. 10 nationally as two of the premier programs in collegiate track and field for the 2013 outdoor season.
Tuesday’s release of the USTFCCCA Top 25 power rankings marks the first time this year that the organization is using only performances recorded during the 2013 season for its ranking calculation.
As they march toward the championship season, the Lady Tigers feature 10 performances that rank among the Top 10 fo the NCAA rankings this season, including junior Natoya Goule as the NCAA and World leader for the 800-meter run after breaking her own school record with a run of 2 minutes, 0.76 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold on Saturday.
Three Lady Tigers rank No. 3 nationally in their respective events this week as senior Kimberlyn Duncan has run a seasonal best of 11.06 seconds in the 100-meter dash, senior Charlene Lipsey has run a seasonal best of 2:03.13 in the 800 meters and junior Jasmin Stowers has run a seasonal best of 12.88 wind-aided for the 100-meter hurdles. Duncan is also the NCAA’s No. 6-ranked sprinter in the 200 meters with a best of 22.82 on the year as the two-time defending NCAA Outdoor champion in the event.
Junior Nikita Tracey posted a top-five performance in the NCAA of her own at the LSU Alumni Gold as she ran the nation’s No. 5-ranked time in the 400-meter hurdles at 56.51 for a new personal record. Laura Carleton also ranks No. 8 in the 5,000 meters at 15:44.41 and sophomore Tori Bliss ranks No. 9 in the shot put at 55 feet, 11 inches as each has set a new school record this spring.
The Lady Tigers also rank among the Top 10 nationally in both relays as they are currently No. 5 in the 4×100-meter relay at 43.70 and No. 6 in the 4×400-meter relay at 3:32.04 for 2013.
The Tigers have claimed a No. 10 national ranking on the strength of five performances that rank among the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings, led by senior Damar Forbes and sophomore Rodney Brown in the field events.
Brown is the NCAA’s No. 2-ranked discus thrower this spring as he has uncorked a seasonal-best throw of 206-3 in a runner-up finish at the Texas Relays back on March 30. Forbes also posted his seasonal best mark for the long jump at the Texas Relays as he jumped a wind-aided 25-10 ¾ that is the No. 6-ranked performance in the collegiate ranks this season.
Sophomore Aaron Ernest is an All-America contender once again in the sprints as the NCAA’s No. 9-ranked sprinter in the 100-meter dash with a seasonal-best time of 10.18 that was also set at the Texas Relays. He has a best of 20.78 in the 200-meter dash that ranks No. 19 on the national list heading into this weekend’s action.
Like the Lady Tigers, the Tigers also feature two of the nation’s Top 10 relay teams as they have run 39.24 for a No. 4 national ranking in the 4×100 relay and 3:05.27 for a No. 6 national ranking in the 4×400 relay.
USTFCCCA Women’s Top 25
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Texas A&M (304.95) 2
2. Kansas (290.49) 1
3. Arizona (260.80) 6
4. LSU (257.58) 4
5. Arkansas (222.31) 10
6. Florida (218.76) 5
7. Oregon (217.22) 3
8. Arizona State (214.58) 8
9. Georgia (187.24) 12
10. Texas (185.74) 7
11. Clemson (178.28) 11
12. Central Florida (163.19) 13
13. UCLA (136.10) 20
14. Stanford (133.72) 9
15. Texas Tech (119.72) 15
16. Florida State (112.84) 30
17. Illinois (104.75) 18
18. Baylor (103.54) 17
19. Washington (100.24) 14
20. Iowa State (93.90) 16
21. San Diego State (92.84) 21
22. Oklahoma (83.86) 24
23. Southern California (80.66) 27
24. Kentucky (78.92) 41
25. South Carolina (78.74) 33
USTFCCCA Men’s Top 25
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Florida (352.67) 3
2. Texas A&M (309.58) 1
3. Arkansas (281.86) 2
4. Oregon (259.78) 4
5. Florida State (234.61) 5
6. Texas (187.47) 6
7. Georgia (185.97) 12
8. Virginia Tech (158.13) 28
9. Southern California (155.07) 8
10. LSU (154.59) 10
11. Penn State (136.81) 15
12. Iowa (124.42) 30
13. UCLA (116.31) 13
14. Clemson (108.76) 38
15. Nebraska (108.36) 20
16. Ole Miss (104.32) 11
17. BYU (100.70) 37
18. Texas Tech (96.76) 16
19. Alabama (93.33) 29
20. Tennessee (91.58) 35
21. Indiana (85.81) 19
22. Oklahoma (84.03) 17
23. Ohio State (82.52) 26
24. Kansas State (81.00) 21
25. UTEP (79.50) 42