Both the LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams will compete for national championships in June, but the Tigers still have business to finish at the Southeastern Conference and regional meets later this month.
Conference bragging rights will be on the line next weekend at the SEC meet in Knoxville, Tenn. No regional qualifying marks will be accepted from the meet, but with nine of the men’s teams and five of the women’s teams ranked in Trackwire’s Top 25, LSU coach Pat Henry hopes the Tigers compete with a high intensity level.
The No. 12 LSU men’s team looks for its 23rd SEC Outdoor Championship and its first since 1990, while the No. 1 LSU women’s team runs after its ninth conference title and first since 1996.
“It’s an opportunity to get on the track and compete hard,” Henry said. “Most importantly, we need to remain healthy for the regional meet.”
Henry said the NCAA’s new regional format makes it more difficult for teams to qualify for events at the national meet.
“I’m looking forward to competing well on both sides,” Henry said. “It comes down to how we do at the regional meet … If we do things right down the stretch, we have a chance to do very well at nationals.”
The NCAA split the country into four geographic regions of the East, Mideast, Midwest and West much like a NCAA basketball or baseball regional. With the track and field regionals, teams within the region are restricted to competing in that region no matter what the balance.
For example, LSU is in the Mideast Regional where there are 78 men’s teams and 81 women’s teams. The West and Midwest regionals combined will host participants from 79 men’s teams and 82 women’s teams. The East regional hosts even more participants with 110 men’s teams and 112 women’s teams.
Track and field athletes from colleges across the nation work to qualify for a regional by meeting certain marks by either time or distance in their respective events. Those athletes meeting the mark then compete against other qualifiers from their own region with the top five advancing to the national meet.
Henry said the men’s 800-meter run is one event where some of the nation’s best athletes will not qualify for the national meet. He said 18 of the nation’s fastest times in the event were posted by athletes in the Mid-East region and only five will qualify for the national meet. In past years, the athletes with the best performances automatically qualified for the national meet in their event.
LSU will compete at the Mideast Regional on May 30-31 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
LSU athletes who qualify for the national meet will compete at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University in Sacramento, Calif., on June 11-14. The Tigers return to the meet as defending national champions and will try to win their fifth crown in school history, while the Lady Tigers go after their 13th national title and their first since 2000.