The LSU track and field teams will continue their fast break into the 2016 season when they compete in three separate events this weekend: the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, and the LSU High Performance Meet on Saturday in the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.
LSU currently enters the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championship with four NCAA-leading Tigers in 17 events after competing in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb. 5 and 6.
“This is the kind of competitiveness we want to see from our athletes each time they step out there to compete,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver in a press release on Feb. 6.
The Tyson Invitational
LSU’s sprinters and hurdlers take the track at the Randall Tyson Track Center in Arkansas with running events today starting at 11 a.m. and field events starting at 3 p.m. Running events start at noon and field events start at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Teams in the Invitational include Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Tennessee.
LSU junior sprinter Jada Martin will compete in the 200-meter dash with a personal best of 23.10 seconds, and LSU sophomore sprinter Mikiah Brisco will race in the 60-meter dash with a seasonal best of 7.25 seconds. Both women rank third in their events in the NCAA.
The SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place at the Randall Tyson Track Center on Feb. 26 and 27.
The Iowa State Classic
LSU’s middle distance and distance runners compete in Iowa State at the Lied Recreational Center with field events beginning at 11 a.m. today and running events beginning at noon. On Saturday, field events begin at noon and running events are set for 10 a.m.
The field features Alabama, Bradley University, Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss.
The LSU High Performance Meet
Field events take off at 10 a.m. and running events start at noon on Saturday.
Headlining the LSU High Performance Meet is Hinds Community College, Mississippi Valley State Universityand Miami.
The meet will feature LSU junior weight thrower Johnnie Jackson and LSU junior jumper Jonathan Pitt, who are ranked in the NCAA’s Top 25.
The meet also highlights national championship and All-American contender LSU junior hurdler Jordan Moore, who will compete in the preliminary running events at noon. Moore ties for the top spot of the NCAA standings in the sprint-hurdle event this season.
Tiger Rankings
At the Conference Clash Power Five Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 22 and 23, Moore set a national-leading and personal-best time of 7.69 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.
LSU junior sprinter Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake also topped the national-championship and the world standings with a time of 20.57 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Both were the first Tigers to top the rankings. Moore will compete at the LSU High Performance Meet and Mitchell-Blake will participate in the Tyson Invitational.
LSU had two more national-leading Tigers at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Jan. 29 and 30.
There, LSU junior sprinter Michael Cherry set a personal best and top NCAA-ranked time of 45.78 seconds in his debut in the 400-meter dash. His time is the NCAA’s fastest time for the 2016 season. Cherry will race in the Tyson Invitational with fellow Tiger Mitchell-Blake.
“Our athletes are turning in a number of personal bests each time we have a chance to compete,” Shaver said in a press release on Feb. 5. “That’s great to see, especially at this time of the season when we’re trying to build some momentum as we get close to the championship season.”
You can reach Jourdan Riley on Twitter @Jourdanr_TDR