The No. 2 LSU track and field teams are in College Station, Texas, to try to add to the program’s storied championship history this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers are hoping to capitalize on a large contingent of athletes competing this weekend.
With 29 athletes in the fray, LSU will have the most competitors of any school in the meet.
The high number of entrants bodes well in a team championship meet, as individuals gain points toward their team based on the place they finish in their event.
First place nets 10 points for the team, second place gets eight points, and third through eighth get from six to one point toward team scores.
LSU brought 20 athletes to last season’s indoor championships, and came away with a fourth place finish for the men and a third place finish for the women.
“Performing in the championship meets is what we as coaches and athletes prepare for all year long,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver in a news release. “We know that our athletes are prepared to reach their peak performance this weekend.”
Neither the men nor the women have clinched an indoor national championship since the 2004 season, when LSU became the first program in history to sweep both the men’s and women’s titles.
The Tigers figure to have the toughest route to the team championship, as they will have to unseat reigning champ No. 1 Florida.
The interesting competition between the two Southeastern Conference foes figures to be in the jumps, where LSU and Florida both feature three athletes competing in the long jump and triple jump.
The Lady Tigers will try to build on their third-place finish last year with a batch of stellar sprinters.
Kimberlyn Duncan and Semoy Hackett are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in the 200-meter dash, and Rebecca Alexander will also compete in the 200.
The Lady Tigers also have five athletes competing in the 60-meter in a 16-athlete field.
“We’ve certainly enjoyed our fair share of success at the national meet over the years,” Shaver said. “They understand that these are the meets that will always be remembered.”