BATON ROUGE – With the LSU Track & Field teams combining for 25 national semifinalists with their performance in Jacksonville, Florida, this past weekend, the Tigers are ranked No. 4 and the Lady Tigers are ranked No. 8 as they prepare to make the trip to Eugene, Oregon, next week for the conclusion of the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Tigers qualified 11 semifinalists and the Lady Tigers advanced 14 semifinalists from the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds that wrapped up Saturday at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida.
After entering the weekend as the No. 3-ranked men’s team nationally this spring, the Tigers emerged from the preliminary rounds as a strong team trophy contender at the NCAA Championships as the No. 4-ranked team going to Eugene next week. The Lady Tigers held their position as the No. 8-ranked women’s team for the sixth-straight week.
LSU’s teams were among the top performers at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds over the weekend as the Lady Tigers led all women’s teams with 14 semifinalists and the Tigers qualified the second-most among the men’s teams with 11 semifinalists advancing to the semifinal and final rounds of the competition to be held at Oregon’s Hayward Field from June 10-13. Both teams actually rank fifth among all programs nationally with their number of qualifiers from the NCAA Preliminary Rounds between the East and West sites.
While advancing both their 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays, the Tigers will also compete Tremayne Acy (100 meters, 200 meters), Rodney Brown (discus), Quincy Downing (400 hurdles), Aaron Ernest (100 meters, 200 meters), Jordan Moore (110 hurdles), Vernon Norwood (400 meters) and Joshua Thompson (110 hurdles) in the NCAA semifinals beginning next week at the University of Oregon.
Not only did the Lady Tigers qualifying both of their relay teams into the national semifinals, but they will also feature Tori Bliss (shot put), Mikiah Brisco (100 meters), Chanice Chase (100 hurdles, 400 hurdles), Nataliyah Friar (triple jump), Daeshon Gordon (100 hurdles, 400 hurdles), Aleia Hobbs (100 meters), Jada Martin (200 meters), Morgan Schuetz (800 meters), Annie Simoneaux (javelin) and Rebekah Wales (javelin).
USTFCCCA TOP 25 (as of June 1)
MEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Florida (313.87) 1
2. Oregon (313.08) 2
3. Texas A&M (293.32) 2
4. LSU (264.07) 3
5. Arkansas (226.30) 6
6. Southern California (223.40) 5
7. Georgia (164.99) 7
8. Virginia (163.87) 13
9. Florida State (149.01) 10
10. Mississippi State (134.42) 8
11. Illinois (134.28) 18
12. Texas (129.62) 9
13. Texas Tech (119.11) 12
14. Baylor (111.71) 14
15. Penn State (111.56) 15
16. Ohio State (103.95) 33
17. Tennessee (97.67) 23
18. BYU (96.73) 19
19. Alabama (94.85) 11
20. Oklahoma State (92.27) 20
21. Clemson (89.65) 17
22. Syracuse (84.11) 24
23. Kansas State (78.27) 22
24. Stanford (75.29) 21
25. Texas-Arlington (70.83) 34
WOMEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Oregon (306.71) 4
2. Arkansas (274.71) 2
3. Kentucky (267.80) 3
4. Texas A&M (262.19) 9
5. Southern California (257.73) 1
6. Florida (240.48) 6
7. Georgia (232.60) 5
8. LSU (204.57) 8
9. Texas (176.61) 7
10. Kansas State (160.11) 10
11. Mississippi State (145.48) 15
12. Texas Tech (136.18) 11
13. Florida State (125.42) 20
14. Michigan State (116.85) 13
15. Clemson (112.20) 18
16. Stanford (102.47) 14
17. Kansas (96.00) 25
18. Oklahoma (88.77) 28
19. Virginia Tech (86.95) 21
20. Baylor (82.87) 12
21. Miami, Fla. (82.56) 33
22. Nebraska (80.31) 34
23. Michigan (79.62) 17
24. Wisconsin (77.34) 29
25. Alabama (74.74) 19