BATON ROUGE – With their rosters set with 12 semifinalists apiece heading to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Tigers and Lady Tigers take their place among the nation’s elite with the release of the final U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 25 power rankings released Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers have held firm with the No. 4 national ranking in the women’s power ranking for the seventh-straight week, while the Tigers have reached their peak as the No. 6-ranked men’s team in the country this week after earning a No. 7 national ranking at the start of the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds a week ago.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will each compete with 12 semifinalists at Oregon’s Hayward Field after a combined 24 qualifiers emerged from the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds last weekend.
The Tigers making a trip to Eugene are senior Joseph Caraway (pole vault), senior Damar Forbes (long jump), senior Thomas Reinecke (pole vault), sophomore Rodney Brown (discus), sophomore Quincy Downing (400 meters), sophomore Aaron Ernest (100 meters, 200 meters), freshman Darrell Bush (400 meters) freshman Fitzroy Dunkley (triple jump) and freshman Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (200 meters).
The Lady Tigers who are making the trip next week are senior Laura Carleton (5,000 meters), senior Kimberlyn Duncan (100 meters, 200 meters), senior Charlene Lipsey (800 meters), senior Brittany Porter (long jump), junior Natoya Goule (800 meters), junior Denise Hinton (hammer), junior Takeia Pinckney (100 meters), junior Jasmin Stowers (100 hurdles) and junior Nikita Tracey (400 hurdles).
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will also feature 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay teams in the semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships that are set to start on Wednesday, June 5, at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The four-day meet will turn through Saturday, June 8, in the finale of the 2013 collegiate season.
USTFCCCA Top 25 (as of May 28)
WOMEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Kansas (317.16) 1
2. Texas A&M (271.81) 2
3. Florida (260.17) 5
4. LSU (247.86) 4
5. Oregon (245.62) 3
6. Arizona (211.26) 6
7. Arkansas (201.76) 8
8. Central Florida (195.52) 7
9. Arizona State (192.60) 9
10. Georgia (175.97) 10
11. Stanford (173.45) 12
12. Texas (168.38) 11
13. Clemson (161.44) 15
14. UCLA (141.51) 13
15. Iowa State (134.35) 14
16. Illinois (117.82) 27
17. Texas Tech (108.39) 20
18. Florida State (105.66) 17
19. Southern California (96.92) 21
20. Washington (96.52) 19
21. Wichita State (88.94) 18
22. South Carolina (87.34) 35
23. San Diego State (83.37) 16
24. Penn State (82.16) 26
25. Michigan State (81.94) 24
MEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Texas A&M (346.23) 2
2. Arkansas (327.31) 4
3. Oregon (275.24) 3
4. Florida (259.00) 1
5. Florida State (231.06) 5
6. LSU (191.88) 7
7. Southern California (178.82) 6
8. Texas (176.97) 8
9. Nebraska (162.54) 10
10. Virginia Tech (141.53) 11
11. Georgia (137.63) 12
12. TCU (118.43) 20
13. Wisconsin (112.73) 9
14. Ole Miss (111.48) 13
15. Kansas (97.05) 21
16. Alabama (96.90) 17
17. Oklahoma State (95.97) 27
18. Penn State (92.11) 14
19. UCLA (87.90) 15
20. Iowa (87.30) 30
21. Ohio State (85.29) 23
22. Arizona (83.66) 22
23. Mississippi State (78.42) 29
24. BYU (78.06) 19
25. Kansas State (77.16) 28