Two weeks into its 2014 outdoor season, the LSU Track and Field team will host its fourth annual Battle on the Bayou meet Saturday, a chance for LSU to showcase its talent in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers, both ranked No. 8, will open up the Bernie Moore Track Stadium to Kansas, Mississippi State, Ohio State and UCLA. Saturday’s meet will be LSU’s first of its three home events this season.
“We love being able to host a meet at our home facility,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “It’s a great facility, and we’re usually able to get some good teams to come in and compete with us.”
Both LSU’s men’s and women’s squads are looking to win their third straight Battle on the Bayou event with UCLA’s No. 9 Bruins and No. 13 Lady Bruins being the biggest threats.
Saturday’s event is also a homecoming for the Tigers’ 4×400 meter relay team. Shortly removed from capturing gold in the 4×400 meter at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 15, the LSU squad comprised of juniors Vernon Norwood and Quincy Downing and sophomores Darrell Bush and Cyril Grayson will show off their speed to Baton Rouge folks for the first time since winning the title.
While many Louisiana natives for LSU’s teams will have family and friends coming to support them, competing on familiar ground isn’t necessarily an advantage, Shaver said.
“In our sport, the 400 meters is 400 meters, no matter where you’re at,” Shaver said. “But this is a good, competitive facility. I think the biggest thing outdoors is you have to deal with the elements. And you never know what the elements are going to be.”
The weekend is also another chapter in the 4×400 relay team’s quest for adding an outdoor championship trophy to its hardware.
The men’s 4×400 team joins an LSU sprint core that swept its competition in last year’s Battle on the Bayou. The Tigers won every sprint event in the 2013 meet, while their only other first place finish came from junior discus thrower Rodney Brown.
The Lady Tigers retain a successful history at the annual meet as well. In last year’s Battle on the Bayou, they won 10 of 18 events. 
Beyond the accolades LSU seeks this weekend, the meet is another step for the Tigers and Lady Tigers to improve and evaluate their progress at this point in the season.
“A lot of kids will be opening up for the first time in an individual event,” Shaver said. “The outdoor season goes by pretty fast. They’re trying to nail down some performances. This is really a starting point for us.”