If the LSU track and field teams considered the Texas Relays a spectacle, the Penn Relays Carnival might as well be the Olympics. The Penn Relays have established themselves as the oldest and longest-running track and field competition in the United States. The three-day meet, held at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, usually averages more than 100,000 spectators.This year should be no different, as Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder Usain Bolt will compete in the 4×100-meter relay Saturday for Jamaica. Bolt will run in a segment of the meet called “USA vs the World,” which will be televised on ESPN2. LSU will compete in all three days of the meet, including the televised portion. The men’s and women’s 4×200-meter relays and 4×800-meter relays fall during the “USA vs. the World” segment.
The No. 9 Tigers and No. 2 Lady Tigers must prove themselves capable of handling the meet’s atmosphere if they want to compete well, said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. This meet will be the last regular-season opportunity for the Tigers and Lady Tigers to establish themselves firmly on the list of top 24 relays and top 48 individual events for regional qualification.”They will compete in an atmosphere unlike anything they have ever seen before … It will be electric,” Shaver said in a news release. “While it will be easy for our athletes to get caught up in this kind of an atmosphere, it’s important they understand that we need to take advantage of this one final opportunity to improve before championship season.”
Handling the atmosphere hasn’t been a problem for LSU in the past. The Tigers and Lady Tigers have combined for 58 Championship of America relay titles and 54 individual titles in the 116-year history of the Penn Relays.The Lady Tigers are the three-time defending sprint medley relay champions. They enter the meet with a good chance to defend their title, having already set a school record this season with a time of 3 minutes, 43.98 seconds with their win at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.The Lady Tigers’ 4×100-meter and 4×400- meter relay teams rank No. 2 in the nation this season. The Tigers rank No. 6 in the 4×100-meter relay and No. 7 in the 4×400 meter relay on the year.The LSU athletes will take their final exams after the Penn Relays before competing in the Southeastern Conference championship meet May 13.”The time between Penn and the time until conference is longer time than we would like to see as far as not having any competition,” Shaver said. “But there’s just not anything we can do about it with final exams falling where they do. So it’s a little unpredictable as to what it might be like when we get to the conference track meet.”Shaver said he feels confident in the ability of his team to compete well at SEC Championships even with the layoff.”It’s kind of just one meet at a time,” Shaver said. “But with each meet I’ve felt like we’ve had people who’ve been able to get things done and improve on their performance … I think it’s coming together quite well … And that’s what’s going to make us good, kids giving us those really great efforts because the times and the performances will come with that.”——Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]