The top-ranked LSU track and field team continues its quest for an indoor national championship when it hosts the Bayou Bengal Invitational today at 3 p.m. in the Carl Maddox Field House.
Head coach Pat Henry reiterated his concern this week for the team’s health early in the season. He said he needs “to be selective at this time of year” in which events the team competes because other tracks are more “conducive” for running faster and qualifying automatically for the NCAA championships.
Henry hopes some of the Lady Tigers emerge as good quarter-mile runners at the meet. Otherwise, he does not have much to complain about.
“The women are doing very well right now,” Henry said. “We’re about the same kind of group [as last year].”
If the LSU women repeat as indoor national champions, junior Muna Lee certainly will play a key role on the team.
Last week, Lee automatically qualified for the 60-meter dash, setting a school record with a time of 7.2 seconds. She earned the Southeastern Conference’s Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week award with the performance.
The Lady Tigers will not face any nationally ranked teams as a whole this week, but two athletes from in-state schools rank among the nation’s finest in their events.
Northwestern State’s Stephanie Sowell currently holds the third best distance nationally in the women’s triple jump. Sowell made the 43-1 jump last week at LSU and is a provisional qualifier in the event.
Tawanna Williams from Louisiana Tech threw the shotput a distance of 51-1 in a meet at the University of Houston on Jan. 18. The throw ranks No. 12 nationally and makes her a provisional qualifier.
The men’s team still lacks consistent performances in certain events, but Henry likes the progress the team has made so early in the season.
“I’m pleased with the overall team aspect,” Henry said.
LSU welcomes Texas A&M as the only other team ranked nationally at No. 19 in Trackwire’s Top 25.
The Aggies boast Chris Pinnock as their top athlete. Trackwire projects Pinnock to win the NCAA 60-meter dash. He qualified in the preliminaries at the University of Houston with a second-best time of 8.01 seconds but chose not to run in the finals and has yet to qualify for a spot at the national meet.
Other teams competing in the meet include UL-Monroe, UL-Lafayette, McNeese State, UNO, Southeastern La., Stephen F. Austin, Southern Mississippi, Troy State, Alabama-Birmingham and Central Florida.