BATON ROUGE – The top of this week’s men’s power rankings remained unchanged with the Tigers holding onto the No. 3 spot for the second-straight week while the Lady Tigers dropped just one spot to No. 7 in the latest women’s rankings released late Monday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Tigers’ 4×100-meter relay team set the pace for the team at the LSU Invitational held at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Saturday by clocking an NCAA-leading time for the third-straight week.
Running with a lineup of freshman Jaron Flournoy, junior Renard Howell, junior Tremayne Acy and junior Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake for the first time, the Tigers dropped their national-leading sprint relay with a clocking of 38.93 seconds as they remain the only team in the NCAA to break 39 seconds in the event this spring. They also clocked 38.95 at the Texas Invitational and 38.94 at the LSU Alumni Gold in recent weeks.
Each of the top nine men’s teams in the USTFCCCA national power rankings held their position from a week ago as third-ranked LSU joined SEC rivals No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Georgia in the Top 5 and No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Oregon, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Texas Tech and No. 10 Virginia Tech among the nation’s Top 10.
The Lady Tigers seized their opportunity to compete at the LSU Invitational by posting a trio of top-10 times in the NCAA this season, led by their 4×100-meter relay team that won the women’s event with the seasonal best of 43.20 to rank No. 4 in the country in 2016. LSU’s winning sprint relay featured the likes of sophomore Mikiah Brisco, freshman Kortnei Johnson, junior Jada Martin and sophomore Aleia Hobbs.
Johnson also cracked the NCAA’s Top 5 in the women’s 100-meter dash when she ran her fastest sprint race as a Lady Tiger with a wind-aided 11.13 (+3.8) to tie for the No. 5 spot on the national list this spring.
Two Lady Tigers later ran their fastest hurdle races of the 2016 season in the 400-meter distance when senior Chanice Chase and sophomore Kymber Payne both set personal bests to rank among the NCAA leaders for the year. Chase became the NCAA’s No. 6-ranked hurdler with a lifetime best of 55.76 for third place, while Payne finished just outside the NCAA’s Top 10 in the No. 11 spot with a personal best of 56.54.
LSU’s teams will take this weekend off as they prepare for the start of the championship season next week with the 2016 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held at Sam Bailey Stadium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from May 12-14. The NCAA East Preliminary Rounds then follow May 26-28 at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville.
USTFCCCA Top 25 (as of May 3)
MEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Texas A&M (340.58) 1
2. Florida (279.06) 2
3. LSU (250.08) 3
4. Arkansas (207.25) 4
5. Georgia (176.84) 5
6. Texas (175.84) 6
7. Oregon (159.44) 7
8. Alabama (154.92) 8
9. Texas Tech (130.41) 9
10. Virginia Tech (125.66) 13
11. Virginia (117.06) 10
12. Syracuse (113.30) 12
13. Mississippi State (107.52) 15
14. Minnesota (104.71) 11
15. Penn State (97.35) 14
16. Stanford (94.27) 38
17. UCLA (93.78) 16
18. Northern Arizona (88.99) 31
19. South Carolina (86.44) 17
20. TCU (82.42) 19
21. Middle Tennessee State (78.10) 21
22. Houston (76.23) 18
23. Southern California (75.85) 23
24. Tennessee (75.25) 28
25. Clemson (74.83) 27
WOMEN
Team (Points) Last Week
1. Kentucky (345.20) 2
2. Arkansas (318.98) 1
3. Oregon (249.66) 3
4. Texas (242.24) 4
5. Southern California (238.80) 7
6. Florida (235.24) 5
7. LSU (215.84) 6
8. Stanford (196.88) 11
9. Kansas State (195.26) 8
10. Texas A&M (194.27) 12
11. Georgia (192.57) 13
12. Harvard (147.66) 10
13. Tennessee (146.58) 9
14. New Mexico (144.72) 22
15. Oklahoma (126.79) 16
16. Mississippi State (121.76) 14
17. Miami, Fla. (111.49) 15
18. Oklahoma State (105.20) 21
19. Baylor (99.83) 17
20. Arizona (94.27) 18
21. Wisconsin (85.95) 19
22. Auburn (80.01) 20
23. Ole Miss (77.95) 24
24. Nebraska (74.20) 23
25. Washington (69.61) 43