The LSU men’s and women’s track teams will return to Bernie Moore Stadium for its first home meet since both won NCAA Indoor National Championships. Henry said he is optimistic about the outdoor season awaiting the Tigers.
“We just try to pick up from where we are,” Henry said.
Henry said he is not concerned about his athletes becoming complacent after sweeping the indoor championships.
“Just because we ran fast indoors, doesn’t mean we can get the stick around outdoors,” Henry said. “We’ll be starting from scratch and building towards the end of the season.”
Last week’s opening outdoor event showed why Henry is not concerned, with both teams qualifying athletes at the opening outdoor meet at the Texas A&M Multis in College Station. Four Tigers posted five NCAA qualifying marks.
Junior Katie McKeever qualified for the NCAA Championships in the shot put and discus events this past weekend.
“I’ve been having good practices so I was thinking I would get a solid mark,” McKeever said.
McKeever said since she no longer needs to focus on qualifying for NCAA Championships, she is working to improve her distances by practicing more to relieve nervous jitters.
“I’ve thrown a lot farther in practice,” McKeever said. “I think I’ve gotten better in relaxing during meets. It’s still something I can always improve on, I’ve gotten better.”
LSU coach Pat Henry, who is the only coach to win both men’s and women’s Indoor Coach of the Year honors, said he does not set numbers for how many athletes he expects to qualify.
“I have no idea,” Henry said. “The is the first time to get our athletes running outside.”
Japan’s National Sprint Team, Ole Miss, Illinois and Houston are teams that should give LSU competition. In-state rivals Tulane, Southern and Northwestern are some of the 41 teams that will be competing at LSU this weekend.
Day one of the LSU Tiger Relays will begin at 3 p.m., with running events beginning at 4:30 p.m. Day two will begin at noon Saturday.
Following this weekend, the Tigers will enter a stretch of nationally-regarded meets. In consecutive weeks, LSU will compete in the Texas Relays, the Miami Invitational, the LSU Alumni Gold and the Penn Relays.
“This is the first week of a very competitive five week span for us,” Henry said. “Right now every meet is very important.”
Track and field hosts Invitational
March 26, 2004