The LSU track and field teams will return home to wrap up the outdoor regular season with the LSU Invitational starting at 9:30 a.m Saturday at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will both head into the meet with some momentum after a strong showing at the last couple of meets. The teams are looking at this meet as a tune-up before they compete in the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 14 through 16.
“Each week we’ve really made progress and we’ve accomplished a lot in the last month,” said LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver. “We’ve got final exams going on, so we’re not asking people to do very much. We’re just trying to keep everybody sharp, so it’s not a huge weekend for us. But it is an important weekend for us to be able to compete because we’ll have one week off prior to the SEC championship meet.”
On the men’s side, the No. 2 ranked Tigers are running at their best in the most important time of the season. They have several All-American hopefuls and feature two seniors that are the NCAA’s No. 1-ranked athlete in their respective event.
Senior sprinter Vernon Norwood is at the top of the national 400-meter dash rankings. He has held the No. 1 spot since his season opening time of 44.44 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold Meet and he said he looks at this meet as one more opportunity to improve before the postseason.
“It’s an opportunity to work on some things and improve in some areas,” Norwood said. “We want to look good as a team. We want to end on a solid week and be injury free so we can perform well (in the SEC championships).”
Senior thrower Rodney Brown also enters his final regular season meet after being a force for the Tigers this season.
Brown earned SEC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors for the third time this season last week and has won the discus title at every meet he has participated in this spring. He has also exceeded the 200 foot mark at every competition.
The Lady Tigers enter the LSU Invitational as the No. 8 ranked team in the country.
They have been led by senior thrower Tori Bliss, who is the third ranked shot putter this season and recently broke her own school record in the event. The reigning NCAA outdoor silver medalist will compete in her last regular season meet as a Lady Tiger.
Both teams will have a week off following the LSU Invitational before championship season begins with the SEC Championships starting May 14th.
You can reach Mario Jerez on Twitter @MJerezIII.