BATON ROUGE – The LSU Track & Field teams will kick off the NCAA Championships this weekend ranked among the nation’s elite teams once again as the Tigers are up one spot to No. 3 nationally and the Lady Tigers remain at No. 8 in the country in Tuesday’s power rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Tigers, who have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the men’s power rankings this season, are the No. 3-ranked men’s team nationally as they prepare for Thursday’s start to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds that is returning to Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville for the second-straight season.
The Lady Tigers are the No. 8-ranked women’s team in the country for the fifth week in a row as they maintain their highest national ranking of the season heading into the NCAA Championships.
LSU has qualified a total of 43 entries into the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds between the two teams, including 20 entries for the Tigers and 23 entries for the Lady Tigers to rank among the NCAA postseason leaders.
North Florida’s Hodges Stadium will serve as one of two host sites for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds this weekend as the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds will return to Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin. The NCAA East Preliminary Rounds return to Hodges Stadium for the third time in four years as the meet was also held in Jacksonville in both 2012 and 2014.
The NCAA Selection Committee has accepted the Top 48 performers in each individual event and the Top 24 relay teams in both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays to compete at each site serving as hosts of the NCAA Preliminary Rounds for a total of 96 individuals and 48 relays competing in all events nationwide with the goal of moving on to the national semifinals.
When competing at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds, the Top 12 finishers in each open and relay event will qualify for the semifinal and final rounds of the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to be held at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene from June 10-13.
USTFCCCA Top 25 (as of May 26)
MEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Florida (327.87) 1
2. Texas A&M (319.17) 2
3. LSU (291.91) 4
4. Oregon (281.50) 3
5. Southern California (221.41) 6
6. Arkansas (219.00) 5
7. Georgia (181.86) 7
8. Mississippi State (154.97) 8
9. Texas (143.62) 10
10. Florida State (143.18) 9
11. Alabama (143.15) 11
12. Texas Tech (133.80) 12
13. Virginia (133.40) 15
14. Baylor (122.85) 13
15. Penn State (120.86) 14
16. South Carolina (114.93) 16
17. Clemson (105.88) 19
18. Illinois (95.75) 18
19. BYU (93.93) 17
20. Oklahoma State (85.50) 20
21. Stanford (80.53) 24
22. Kansas State (77.45) 22
23. Tennessee (75.65) 25
24. Syracuse (75.18) 21
25. Villanova (67.11) 41
WOMEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Southern California (288.78) 2
2. Arkansas (278.87) 1
3. Kentucky (256.93) 5
4. Oregon (255.16) 3
5. Georgia (250.59) 4
6. Florida (237.12) 7
7. Texas (232.51) 6
8. LSU (228.16) 8
9. Texas A&M (225.51) 9
10. Kansas State (163.35) 10
11. Texas Tech (135.84) 11
12. Baylor (124.71) 12
13. Michigan State (115.82) 13
14. Stanford (111.79) 14
15. Mississippi State (110.96) 15
16. Notre Dame (104.33) 16
17. Michigan (98.96) 26
18. Clemson (98.92) 17
19. Alabama (98.69) 19
20. Florida State (97.37) 20
21. Virginia Tech (87.75) 18
22. North Carolina (85.04) 24
23. Iona (80.33) 23
24. Oklahoma State (78.12) 21
25. Kansas (77.46) 25