Nationally ranked teams will swarm the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Saturday as LSU hosts its last home meet, the LSU Invitational, before the SEC Championships on May 12-14 and the NCAA Championships on June 8-11.
The LSU Invitational will feature 11 nationally-ranked teams, including the Nos. 1-4 overall men’s teams and four of the top-six women’s teams.
According to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings, the Tigers are in the No. 3 spot and the Lady Tigers are in the No. 6 spot.
LSU coach Dennis Shaver said the individual performances at the LSU Alumni Gold meet on April 23 helped the teams move closer to a comfortable foothold in individual rankings, but they are not where they want to be yet.
“After that, we reevaluate what is it that we didn’t get done at the Alumni Gold meet that we feel like is important that we get done this week,” Shaver said. “The quality is not going to be lacking in the meet at all.”
The lineup includes No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 8 Alabama, Kentucky and Miami for men’s.
The Lady Tigers will compete against No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 5 Florida, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 15 Miami and Alabama.
LSU junior jumper Nataliyah Friar said she can’t wait to test her training against worthy competition.
“I want to be at the top, the best,” Friar said. “I’ve always said, if you want to be the best, you have to train like you’re No. 2 … If you train like you’re number two, it’s going to make you want to work hard to be the best that you can be.”
Friar, an All-American, set a season-best jump when she finished second in the long jump at LSU’s Alumni Gold meet, jumping 20 feet, 9 inches.
Friar said she is determined to do better because she knows, with her training, she “should be jumping a lot farther” than she has been, and the Missouri native is anxious to get to the track.
Teammate junior sprinter Tremayne Acy is also preparing to put his best foot forward, as this will be his third meet back with the Tigers after sitting out for nearly two months because of a hamstring injury.
In the two meets he has competed in since being back, Acy ran as the third leg and was a part of a winning 4×100 relay team. Both times the relay team accomplished NCAA-leading times.
This week, the Dallas native will also be competing in the 100-meter dash, Acy said.
“I’m staying off my legs while doing a lot of explosive drills,” Acy said. “It’s a lot more risk than I had last week, but I’ve definitely been working on my blocks, getting explosive and getting back to my running form.”
Field events will start at 9 a.m., with track finals starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.